Big thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of The Bro Code!
The Bro Code follows high school boy Nick Maguire. Nick blindly follows the rules of the Bro Code, created by him and his best friends Carter and Austin. One of the rules in The Bro Code is that you aren’t allowed to date a bro’s sister. But when Caster’s younger sister Eliza comes home after a year in Australia, Nick starts to realize that The Bro Code isn’t always fair…
It starts off as a typical ya contemporary romance, but instead of an underdog as main character, The Bro Code has one of the ‘cool’ guys. Nick is incredibly close with his friends and they always support each other, but they leave a lot of other people around them with a mess to deal with. Nick is actually kind of an ass. But despite of that, I was rooting for him and Eliza. Real hard. Eliza is a good influence on Nick and it was heartwarming to read about their developing relationship.
The plot was fine. I was looking for a fun contemporary read after reading lots of fantasy and The Bro Code managed to fulfill that need. The writing style took some time getting used to, but once used to it, I enjoyed it a lot. It was like Nick himself was telling a story, instead of the reader following Nick as he experiences everything.
The book deals with a lot of important problems, like sexism, sexual harassment and misogyny. These problems were presented with humor and I think that’s an interesting way to confront the reader with them. The Bro Code clearly sends a message that a lot of things that seem harmless, are part of the current problems in the world.
I enjoyed seeing the character development. HOWEVER, an important revelation in the end of the book destroys basically all that character development and ruins the whole message of the book. If that didn’t happen, the book would have gotten 4 stars instead of 3.
The Bro Code is a fun, witty contemporary read. With lots of editing to remove spelling mistakes, it would become a fine book. I recommend reading it if you’re a sucker for cliches (like me) and enjoy a witty main character. Don’t go into this book expecting Nick is a ‘good’ person or that all his actions will be explained, because you will be disappointed. Nick is flawed but willing to learn and I think that’s great.