I'm madly in love with this book already.
From the first moment in Malinda Lo's world, I noticed that the writing was quiet, careful, almost tentative---and I felt the immediate pull to slow down and focus on the precise details that this book offers, from the turning of a leaf to a carefully-placed painting to the soft and warm, familiar texture of a dog's ears.
The opening section, set in 2008, absolutely floored me in how palpably rich the relationship between Aria and her grandmother (Joan) is, and I admired the emphasis Aria placed on choosing to call her grandmother "Joan" so she wasn't minimized to one of the roles in her life---as a mother, I feel this and appreciate it deeply, and it only served for me to love their relationship more.
That admiration led me into 2013, wondering what on earth could have happened with Aria (stupid teenage stuff, perhaps?) that led her to "have to" visit her grandmother---and her resistance to going. Based on 2008, if I were her, I'd never want to leave California! But I could sense that love was still there in that family, even if it was more complicated than before, and I was eager to keep reading.
This is one of those books that I will have to immediately buy once it's available because I have to continue reading this story. I need to know how it ends. And already somehow, I can tell that the ending won't be "enough," because I'll continue to want to spend time with these characters. The mark of a wonderful writer, for sure.
The opening section, set in 2008, absolutely floored me in how palpably rich the relationship between Aria and her grandmother (Joan) is, and I admired the emphasis Aria placed on choosing to call her grandmother "Joan" so she wasn't minimized to one of the roles in her life---as a mother, I feel this and appreciate it deeply, and it only served for me to love their relationship more.
That admiration led me into 2013, wondering what on earth could have happened with Aria (stupid teenage stuff, perhaps?) that led her to "have to" visit her grandmother---and her resistance to going. Based on 2008, if I were her, I'd never want to leave California! But I could sense that love was still there in that family, even if it was more complicated than before, and I was eager to keep reading.
This is one of those books that I will have to immediately buy once it's available because I have to continue reading this story. I need to know how it ends. And already somehow, I can tell that the ending won't be "enough," because I'll continue to want to spend time with these characters. The mark of a wonderful writer, for sure.