Locus Amoenus: All By My Shelf

And Sang's Pokeboy collection keeps growing! We're up to... maybe 6 curiously hot and attentive boys? I know they mention there's seven of them who are friends, but the last one hasn't made his catwalk-ready appearance yet.

I know I'm poking a lot of fun at this book, but I'm also enjoying it quite a bit. There's some huge secret just always on the brink of bursting out like the Kool-Aid pitcher smashing through a wall, but I sense that will come more towards the end. The title is, after all, "Introductions," and this book is true to that theme.

I'm still really bothered by Sang's personality: clumsy, out of touch, painfully innocent, and willing to go along with anything the guys do because "I guess that's how friendships work because I've never had any and don't know better." To boot, there's the requisite "maiden in distress" scene earlier on, where Sang is nearly assaulted by another boy and in the end feels like she caused it. Nobody suggests otherwise, and the boys simply react by saying they're not letting her out of their sight again. Not cool.

The boys themselves don't bother me as much, because it's clear from the start that they're not all they seem to be, and that there's some ulterior bond and mission they all share. They're clearly protector types, and while that's also not necessarily my type of male character, they have their place in the story.

I just hope Sang comes into her own at some point. Right now, she reads as just an object to show how cool the guys are: someone constantly in need of rescue and surveillance, to the point where she's being guided in picking out her courses at school! I really want her to have more personality.