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noodlebooknook's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
3.5 Stars
I think some parts of this book were very very good while others I did not enjoy so 3.5 seems like a good middle ground.
Let’s start with the good:
- I felt all the characters were 3D and very realistic. Even be side characters felt very flushed out and real which made me really care about everyone involved in this story.
- the dialogue was very realistic for the age group like I talked exactly like this from ages 15-17 and that made the whole story feel more immersive.
- the emotionality was just amazing, I really felt with the characters and at one point almost cried.
- I like the way grief was dealt with especially as close as she was to her mother it was handled I feel realistically and carefully.
For some critics:
- the very flowery prose in between very casual prose was very jarring and bordered on overly sentimental. It felt very hard to read a casual sentence and then some deep philosophical thought with prose like a poet right next to each other, as I felt that it made the prose stand out in a negative way instead of choosing a lane.
- This is 100% a me thing but I hate pop culture references and there were just a few too many for me in this, it was very dated to the 2000s/2010s so some parts just made me cringe
- I felt the pacing was a little weird as well like the climax and faking a ton happened in less than 100 pages, and I felt the adults at this point were not being adults, her auntie letting her go fly by herself to Cali to a man she knows will hurt her? Where is the adult-ness.
Overall this book was definitely good, and I think especially if you enjoy YA coming of age novels you will enjoy this as well.
I think some parts of this book were very very good while others I did not enjoy so 3.5 seems like a good middle ground.
Let’s start with the good:
- I felt all the characters were 3D and very realistic. Even be side characters felt very flushed out and real which made me really care about everyone involved in this story.
- the dialogue was very realistic for the age group like I talked exactly like this from ages 15-17 and that made the whole story feel more immersive.
- the emotionality was just amazing, I really felt with the characters and at one point almost cried.
- I like the way grief was dealt with especially as close as she was to her mother it was handled I feel realistically and carefully.
For some critics:
- the very flowery prose in between very casual prose was very jarring and bordered on overly sentimental. It felt very hard to read a casual sentence and then some deep philosophical thought with prose like a poet right next to each other, as I felt that it made the prose stand out in a negative way instead of choosing a lane.
- This is 100% a me thing but I hate pop culture references and there were just a few too many for me in this, it was very dated to the 2000s/2010s so some parts just made me cringe
- I felt the pacing was a little weird as well like the climax and faking a ton happened in less than 100 pages, and I felt the adults at this point were not being adults, her auntie letting her go fly by herself to Cali to a man she knows will hurt her? Where is the adult-ness.
Overall this book was definitely good, and I think especially if you enjoy YA coming of age novels you will enjoy this as well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Abandonment, Sexual assault, Classism, Dysphoria, and Grief
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