pickledpotato1021 's review for:

When Haru Was Here by Dustin Thao

5.0

challenging emotional inspiring 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: Yes

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Dustin Thao truly knows how to rip out someone’s heart. In both his books, You’ve Reached Sam and When Haru Was Here, he explores grief in an ugly, untraditional, non-mainstream way. Grief hits us all differently. Grief is an experience that’s so personal and individual it’s almost a crime we use a single word for it. His books truly explore the complexities of grief and how we all handle it so differently and personally. 
I thought I had the plot twist figured out, I thought I knew what the characters symbolized and what their endings would be and I was so wrong and left utterly devastated.