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folkmare 's review for:

2.0
challenging dark tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: N/A

I thought this was just okay, but the more I think about it, the less I like it. I really hated the nihilistic "life is about loss" perspective and there was some weird stuff about women, to be honest. "baby teeth to virginity" is such a stupid line, and fundamentally untrue if you think about it for more than 5 seconds.

LaRocca is trying far, far too hard to be deep and insightful. Parts of this allegory work, but other parts feel very lazy. I don't know anything about his demographic background, but I'm not sure he's really bringing anything of value to the experience of a teenage girl. I DO think male authors can write girls very effectively, but I kept getting distracted by the uncomfortable references to her anatomy, period, and other random things that didn't seem to add to the narrative or character development.