Until about halfway through, I definitely disliked this book. But the last couple of chapters, particularly the wrap up at the end, redeemed it for me. There is no denying that Ryan Stradal is a very clever author; I enjoyed the short story structure of the book, and the way you had to look for the connections between the characters. The lack of happy easy endings was realistic, but I also found that frustrating - so many of the chapters left me thinking, "Yes, but what HAPPENED?" There was also rather too much of the seedy side of real life in this book for my taste, and several positively unlikeable characters. Interesting, but not really my cup of tea.