I can’t
I had high hopes when I picked up 10,000 Hours with a rich Meance. The cover of the book has me intrigued and the premise of a young girl who exists in her own world, piqued my interest. It seemed like a book that promised depth and originality. However, after diving into the story, I found myself struggling to continue after only 84 pages.
The plot revolves around a young girl whose best friend manipulates her and introduces her to a character named Menace. While the setup was promising, the pace of the narrative was incredibly slow, making it difficult to remain engaged. There was potential for a deeper exploration of the characters, especially the protagonist's unique perspective, but unfortunately, it felt underdeveloped.
One of the more perplexing aspects was the protagonist's tendency to give people random nicknames, such as calling someone named Stevie Ray "Wonder" or referring to another character by various colors of the rainbow. This quirk was never adequately explained and left me confused. It seemed as though the author attempted to weave in elements of ADHD and OCD in the protagonist's characterization, but it wasn't executed in a way that felt authentic or relatable.
The writing style contributed to my frustration. It felt disjointed, almost as if the book were written by AI, lacking the natural flow and coherence that one expects from a seasoned writer. The narrative jumped from one part to another without the necessary connective tissue, leaving gaps that disrupted the reading experience.
While I believe the book has potential, it ultimately fell short for me. The character of Menon, a tough individual with OCD and ADHD, was intended to be complex and intriguing. However, his portrayal came across as clichéd and corny, making it hard to sympathize with him or the situations he found himself in.
Despite these shortcomings, I do think the author has promise. With tighter pacing and more depth in character development, this story could have been much more engaging. Unfortunately, as it stands, *10,000 Hours* didn't quite hit the mark for me.