Nudes

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ☆ ☆

Nudes (Exposed, Book 1) by Sarah Robinson

Wrong message received. 🙃

My takeaway from this book ended up being the exact opposite of what it was aiming for.

By the final page, it feels less like a story and more like a podium for preaching gender equality, except the narrative undercuts its own message. It’s not that it delivers an opposing viewpoint, but rather that it weakens and muddles the one it’s trying to send.

More importantly, though, the book inadvertently highlights something deeper: humanity’s selfishness. Even at our most giving, we’re biased. We tend to care about justice only when we’re the ones wronged. We rally for causes only after they’ve touched us personally.

Take the main character, consider where she begins, where she ends up, and how she gets there. Would she have become an activist if she hadn’t been victimized herself? Would her convictions have been as strong without that personal stake?

The story unintentionally leaves you with a sobering thought: our kindness often isn’t born from pure empathy; it’s the product of circumstance.