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tigger89's review
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This was one of those books that I read, and then had to spend a few days deciding if I'd liked or not. There's a lot going on here, and despite the brisk pace of the narrative I think most readers will require a bit of processing time to work through the various connections. Something important to note is that the book summary is marketing lies, specifically the part where it teases a cover up for violent crimes. It's technically true, in that violent crimes did take place and I suppose there must have been a cover up, but it was all off-screen and it wasn't what the characters were primarily concerned with. Rather, this novel is about identity, and spends a great deal of time investigating the fallout resulting from trauma. I sympathize with the author(who doesn't really get a say in the cover copy) on this, and try not to hold it against the story.
But describing it that way makes it sound like a sad book, which it wasn't. It read like the kind of thriller where you've got all the puzzle pieces almost from the start, and the tricky bit is putting them together in a way that makes sense to get from A to Z. I wasn't particularly surprised by any of the reveals, but I also didn't mind; I was invested in uncovering the how and the why, rather than the who and the what, if that makes sense.
One thing I really appreciated about this book was the depiction of Brandon as not only bisexual, but as an unapologetically messy bisexual. He doesn't have his anything together, and as the narrative unfolds it begins to make sense as to why. If you're looking for a competent, well-put-together protagonist, this isn't the book for you. But his bad decisions are the journey, and I couldn't help but feel a certain fondness for this disaster of a man, even if I didn't agree with many of the actions he chose to take. I also had a lot of thoughts about whether or not he did the right thing, in the end. I'm still not sure I've reached a decision on that.
Something I didn't mind but that will be a dealbreaker for some is the technology. It's definitely closer to the "reverse the polarity!" end of the sci-fi spectrum, which is to say it's barely explained and doesn't even pretend to be plausible. I though it suited the novel that way, but if you're someone who likes fictional technology — or magic pretending to be technology — to be explained to you, be warned this is not that kind of story. You kind of have to just accept it for what it is.
I enjoyed this debut, and would be interested to see what the author might come out with next. And hopefully the marketers leave his summaries alone in the future, because no reader likes getting to the end of a book only to realize they've been mislead!
But describing it that way makes it sound like a sad book, which it wasn't. It read like the kind of thriller where you've got all the puzzle pieces almost from the start, and the tricky bit is putting them together in a way that makes sense to get from A to Z. I wasn't particularly surprised by any of the reveals, but I also didn't mind; I was invested in uncovering the how and the why, rather than the who and the what, if that makes sense.
One thing I really appreciated about this book was the depiction of Brandon as not only bisexual, but as an unapologetically messy bisexual. He doesn't have his anything together, and as the narrative unfolds it begins to make sense as to why. If you're looking for a competent, well-put-together protagonist, this isn't the book for you. But his bad decisions are the journey, and I couldn't help but feel a certain fondness for this disaster of a man, even if I didn't agree with many of the actions he chose to take. I also had a lot of thoughts about whether or not he did the right thing, in the end. I'm still not sure I've reached a decision on that.
Something I didn't mind but that will be a dealbreaker for some is the technology. It's definitely closer to the "reverse the polarity!" end of the sci-fi spectrum, which is to say it's barely explained and doesn't even pretend to be plausible. I though it suited the novel that way, but if you're someone who likes fictional technology — or magic pretending to be technology — to be explained to you, be warned this is not that kind of story. You kind of have to just accept it for what it is.
I enjoyed this debut, and would be interested to see what the author might come out with next. And hopefully the marketers leave his summaries alone in the future, because no reader likes getting to the end of a book only to realize they've been mislead!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Dementia, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Drug use, Infidelity, Racism, Car accident, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism