Messy in coming of age way
I would place this book as an older YA or NA book with queer themes. I adored getting to know Aria as a flawed figure with both family baggage and not knowing who she is. I personally think she presents as a bisexual ace character but the book doesn’t go into those nuances. Instead it delves deeply into how various relationships made her feel. Joan being the most deeply represented. The romance aspect is flawed at its core but is also very true to life so I am okay with the flaws. I love the recent historical aspect of it and how the novel dives into art and creativity is truly both beautiful and on point. I live watching how Aria changes in how she reacts to Steph. As a character Steph isn’t as well developed as I would wish but yet she is surprisingly mature. I wish Lisa was written in a more 3 dimensional manner as I feel her side was represented in stereotypes.