PanThe Harvard CrimsonWhitney Goodman attempts to straddle the divide between popular psychology and science. Unfortunately, her delicate balancing act does not always succeed ... Her argument sounds compelling, but the way she presents her evidence is unconvincing and disorganized. The book is glutted with case studies, all of which aim to support Goodman’s thesis. These studies can be illuminating, but Goodman has a tendency to jump from one to the next in rapid succession, causing the reader to fall into a new character’s story without time to process the psychological implications of the previous story. She provides a short synthesis of each character’s experience, but it’s not enough to fully connect their story to the toxic trend. Devoting time to fewer, more detailed examples might have better served Goodman’s reasoning and prevented the reader from getting lost. It’s also incredibly difficult to sympathize with those featured in the case studies. Goodman states at the beginning of her book ... the details become too sparse, leaving her stories without depth and emotional charge ... Despite a valiant effort by Goodman, her book’s tendency to sensationalize, lack of organization, and weak narrative arc result in an unremarkable and often unsatisfying read.
