Review: Rebels by Accident by Patricia Dunn

Rebels by Accident

Author: Patricia Dunn
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Genre: YA Historical Fiction
Format: ebook
Release Date: October 1, 2014
Source: egalley received from pubisher via Netgalley
Rating: 2 Stars
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***I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way changed my opinion of the book. The review below is my open and honest opinion.***

Synopsis from Goodreads:

A Troubled Teen Sent to Cairo Finds Revolution is Everywhere, Including in Ourselves.

When my first party ends in jail, I think things can’t possibly get worse. But then my parents send me to my grandmother in Cairo, and I’m sure my life is over. My sittu is Darth Vader’s evil sister, and I’m sure the only sites I’ll get to see in Egypt are the rooms in her apartment.

Turns out she’s not so bad. We ride camels by the pyramids and ice skate at a mall.

As Sittu says, “Sometimes a moment can change your life.” But it can change the life of a country too. When a girl named Asmaa calls the people of Egypt to protest, I find myself in the middle of a revolution, running from tear gas and guns.

Oh yeah, and I meet the cutest guy I’ve ever seen. Fall in love for the first time. And have my first kiss.

My Review:

I requested this book because of the interesting topic and setting. I’m calling this historical fiction, but this is pretty recent historical fiction, as these events just happened in 2011. I was excited to learn more about this time in Egypt’s history as well as experience a different setting from the usual [insert U.S. city here] that typically occur in YA.

But ultimately this book fell completely flat for me. Here’s what I didn’t like:

1. The main character. Mariam was literally one of the most annoying people I have ever met. She was constantly hating on herself, her religion, her people, her country. I get having insecurities about yourself and being uncomfortable that your family is different, but this girl just took it to the extreme. Her blatant jealousy of her friend was over the top and seemed both exaggerated and cliché.

2. The setting. Egypt is an awesome setting. So why do I feel like we weren’t in Egypt? None of the descriptions in this book transported me to Egypt. Even when they went to visit the pyramids, it just felt like a fun outing. The magic of Egypt and the difference in culture wasn’t captured.

3. Instalove. Oh my gosh, you guys. There was so much freaking instalove in this book. Instalove for the main character. Instalove for the best friend. Even instalove for the freaking Grandmother. I’m surprised that my eyes aren’t permanently stuck in the back of my head from all the eye-rolling I did in this one.

4. Mariam’s friend, Deanna. Deanna just seemed so fake to me. She complained about stupid American tourists, but then she acted like a stupid American tourist. “A protest? We have to go to that! It’ll be so fun!” Fun? Are you kidding me? No, you just sound ignorant.

5. Mariam’s parents’ decision to send her to Egypt. This makes zero sense to me. Her parents are super strict and super overprotective. They know there is dissent in Egypt right now. It’s not a secret. So where do they send their daughter? Directly into all that political dissent. Into a country that they know beats and tortures their prisoners. This decision just didn’t seem to make any sense to me.

What I liked:

1. The historical aspect where we got to know about the revolution. The sense of hope as the people protested. I liked Hassan’s sister. And Asmaa, the girl who made the video. It was these minor characters who we only saw for five seconds that captured me. They showed extreme courage. I don’t know that I could ever risk getting arrested and tortured for the sake of my country. I’m not sure if I would be that brave. But these kids were.

The characters in this book just kind of killed it for me. Not one of them really stood out. Most of them either made me cringe or roll my eyes. I think the topic is an important one, but it could have been executed much better with improved characterization. Still, this book has an average rating on Goodreads of 4.28 stars so maybe it was just me... 

Have you read this one? What did you think of the characters? The setting?