I really wanted to love this book. I did. I know this author has had other amazing books, but this one just really missed the mark for me. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for a book like this? It's a bit heavy and not particularly happy. It switches between the past and present to tell the story, and the present is just kind of weird. It's clearly somewhat of a "magical" present. But I just couldn't get over how normal the rest of the book was "the past" parts, compared to the present. The present parts were also extremely philosophical at times. Almost too much. I just don't love it when a book is like that especially when it doesn't seem to jive with the rest of the story. It felt very forced for the most part. One character seemed to existed solely to be this "philosopher" figure and it was just strange. I definitely won't be reading again, and I definitely am not recommending to friends.