Reviews

Felt so authentic- I could see myself in so many aspects. And the grace Searle tackles the complexity of "finishing" growing up in high school is beautiful to behold

It was pretty good. The characters were strong, but other things like the setting and time period left much to be desired. I was intrigued that this took place twenty years ago in the early 2000s, and was excited for how that would inform the story. But it didn't. At all. This could very well have taken place in the present. So, an underutilization of the setting was disappointing.

And then what was really questionable was how FAST the author zipped through the mental health parts. When everything else was paced really decently, suddenly her self-harm scratches were immediately seen and reported by her friend, and she was INSTANTLY getting help and therapy and meds for it. HUH? That process doesn't even go that fast TODAY. I can't imagine what it was like in 2002. That took me way out of the story.

And then this teenaged main character is totally okay with her friend having done that? If I remember anything about being a teenager, it's that that kind of thing would at least upset me, even if I hid it and never talked about it. But Win has not one single grumble about it. She just embraces her friends in a group hug and talks about her therapy very casually. It felt very unrealistic, as well as out of character. And I know this character is supposed to be a one-to-one version of the author herself, so who am I to say that her character is inconsistent? Except... I can only go by what the author herself gives me, and so far this character had proven herself to be extremely anxious and uncomfortable with attention and is bogged down by self-doubt. I can't imagine she'd just go along for the ride during this whole process. We definitely didn't get enough of her thoughts during this (very fast) section.

Okay I think I'm rambling. Basically... I did like the utilization of the zines. I enjoyed the characters. They were believably annoying and self-obsessed but also earnest and good-hearted. Very realistic teenagers. I could appreciate the narration, as it was obvious that Win had grown up and was looking back on her life. I could have done with more setting and a bit more fleshed out sections. Also, not to discredit the art, because it was really lovely, but I also felt like the backgrounds were a bit flat. Okay, I need another compliment to end this nicely. I liked the queer elements. I read a couple reviews saying it was barely queer but I think it was the perfect amount of queer for someone who is 15 and questioning and also it's 2002 so chill. I personally found it really relatable and sweet. OKAY I'M DONE. Overall, it was a pretty okay book! 3.5/5.

ellytheskelly's review

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

Loved this, and I love the free teaching resources for it!

But the story felt like it was cut short at 75%, and although it’s intentional, it left me a little dissatisfied.