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meredithgweiss 's review for:

5.0
emotional reflective tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I have no words honestly. As much as I dislike character driven books, I loved this one. Do I love both Sadie and Sam? No. And I don’t find them particularly likable, but they feel like real people with real flaws making real mistakes. And honestly, I think that’s beautiful. Sadie and Sam’s relationship is incredibly complex and there were times I wished the miscommunication trope wasn’t used but they’re eventually able to work through their issues because you see them grow up throughout the book. 

I normally don’t like character driven narratives because they feel disjointed to me and it doesn’t feel like there is a real plot, but Zevin does a lovely job of showing character growth through windows into her character's lives while also creating a nice build toward climax and a satisfying denouement. 

Also as someone who loves playing games, this book was so exciting to me and I’ve never read anything like it! I understand why people love this book so much.