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maggiesummerkate 's review for:

3.75
challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

oh to say i enjoyed this book would be an understatement. to be honest, i LOVED this book. but if that's the case, you may be wondering, did i give it 3.75 stars instead of something higher? well, do i have the discussion for you!

i have to dock a quarter of a star from my rating of this book because there were times i couldn't stand cora's ocd tendencies. like trust me girl, i'm hypervigilant and determined to not get sick, but i just. i was like "girl i promise you one dirty doorknob is not gonna give you covid." but, again, i know that SHE doesn't know that. *I* do because i've already lived through these times.

i also had a hard time getting through the first half of the book. i wanted to get through it faster, but it was SO. SLOW. if you want to write a horror/thriller novel that's scary, you gotta get to the scary stuff faster. i was struggling to stay awake while reading since the pacing was so bad in the beginning. this is probably also why i didn't like cora at first.

HOWEVER, on the positive note, the way this book handles discrimination, racism, and anti-asian hate is beautiful. i think it really encapsulates that time in ways that cut so viscerally. it hits close to him, not that i was ever called any of these things, but just witnessing my family engage in such casual racism during this time was bad enough. and GOD, i feel for cora. she's trying her best, and that's enough.

if you find the plot of this book interesting, please read it. i think it'll change your life for the better. i think this book would only get better upon rereading it, and that is not something i can say for all books.