The writing style and the way the book is structured isn't going to be for everyone. At first it comes across as a little clunky and disjointed, especially with the dual timeline and short chapters. However, getting this story in pieces like that, and having everything slowly revealed to us was masterfully done. The way it all wrapped up in the end, with the story so woven together was beautiful. The author truly showed a mastery at pacing, especially toward the end of the book. The pacing matched the story and kept everything moving along. I really didn't want to put the book down.
However, I think a lot of people won't connect with the style, which is a shame. I think the style worked well with this type of story. Changing it would have made it too heavy for what the book was trying to do. It could have gone that direction and still been a good book. There was actually a lot of different directions this book could have taken. I do think the artistry allows different parts of the book to speak to different people. The story might be seen as too dark for some, I think it could use a trigger warning for suicide, loneliness, depression. I personally didn't think it leaned into those topics too much, but I can see some people struggling with it. Also, the ending was subtle, which I did really like, but it isn't as positive and meaningful as it could be. I think that is something that might be needed in this case, but I understand why it wasn't done like that. I'm actually not sure which I would prefer.
The story itself was really good. There were layers to it, I actually want to reread it now knowing the whole story because different things are going to stand out. The symbolism you can find in little things throughout the story was great. It played into the foreshadowing. I don't think I can explain how expertly done this was.
I wanted to give this 5 stars, but I went with 4 because some things could have been done a bit better. I would have loved to lean in to the ideas and themes behind this book. A little bit more development to really bring the point home could have happened toward the end. I would have loved to experience more of the relationships. I honestly could have read more. This could have been double the amount of pages and I still would have read it and enjoyed it.
I read an ARC of this book for free, and voluntarily left this honest review.
However, I think a lot of people won't connect with the style, which is a shame. I think the style worked well with this type of story. Changing it would have made it too heavy for what the book was trying to do. It could have gone that direction and still been a good book. There was actually a lot of different directions this book could have taken. I do think the artistry allows different parts of the book to speak to different people. The story might be seen as too dark for some, I think it could use a trigger warning for suicide, loneliness, depression. I personally didn't think it leaned into those topics too much, but I can see some people struggling with it. Also, the ending was subtle, which I did really like, but it isn't as positive and meaningful as it could be. I think that is something that might be needed in this case, but I understand why it wasn't done like that. I'm actually not sure which I would prefer.
The story itself was really good. There were layers to it, I actually want to reread it now knowing the whole story because different things are going to stand out. The symbolism you can find in little things throughout the story was great. It played into the foreshadowing. I don't think I can explain how expertly done this was.
I wanted to give this 5 stars, but I went with 4 because some things could have been done a bit better. I would have loved to lean in to the ideas and themes behind this book. A little bit more development to really bring the point home could have happened toward the end. I would have loved to experience more of the relationships. I honestly could have read more. This could have been double the amount of pages and I still would have read it and enjoyed it.
I read an ARC of this book for free, and voluntarily left this honest review.