by Myra (link)
Genre het, drama, romance
Pairings Isaac/OFC, Taylor/OFC, Zac/OFC
Length 65 chapters
Status Completed (with sequel)
Myra is one of the most well known and prolific authors of early hanfic. Her stories have often been praised for their mature content, but I have to say that all I can really find in Just Like You And Me is a story of teen romance and drama that hits a whole bunch of the early hanfic cliches.
From the very first chapter, I’m confused. The story revolves around a family with seven daughters, all of whom have names beginning with M. You can ignore four of those; the only ones that matter are the three who eventually get involved with their mother’s best friend’s sons, also known as the Hanson brothers. Still, there are a few too many names and details for me to keep track of, so I find myself just skimming over some paragraphs. That’s never a good sign.
As the story goes on, I can see why people considered Myra’s stories so “adult.” She tackles a lot of the typical after school special topics, although few of them are handled well. I don’t have any complaints about including those topics — teen pregnancy, eating disorders, etc — in fic, but Myra’s sparse writing makes it hard to connect to the characters emotionally and all the drama just falls flat.
I will give Myra credit for her attempts at foreshadowing, which sometimes succeed but sometimes smack you over the head. Still, with a little more practice to perfect her pacing and make her writing a little less dry, she would have a decent story. As it is, Just Like You And Me barely stands out from any other early hanfics I’ve read.
Review by Bethany (website)