3.5 star rating. Worth the read. This book provides another narrative with good writing from Taylor, just as expected. Taylor is a phenomenal author and has a mastery over words her ability to provide picturesque description is beyond the average and she creates a narrative that just sucks the reader in. Her stories always feel real. Devastatingly real. However, I ultimately had two primary issues with the book that prevented a 5-star rating.

Issue #1: The storyline was almost too full. I know, that's an odd thing to say. A good, robust story is a nice thing to have. But...pieces that seemed to have such large stories were meted out to just a few pages and I really found myself wanting so much more. It was as if Taylor had so much to say and yet it was edited out to keep things streamlined or provide the opportunity for connected works at a later date. (Let it be known that I would not be opposed to reading such works should they develop. Taylor's writing is really great.)

Issue #2:

Spoiler

Though I think it was a good attempt to address a very modern situation, the focus on Alex's gender queer nature is both too much and too little. Again, it's as if the subject wants to be told and kept secret at the same time. This is frustrating and almost works against the book by becoming more of a distraction than a way to understand Alex.

A full review of this novel will be available in November 2017 on my blog: http://erraticprojectjunkie.blogspot.com

**Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher as part of the Blogging for Books program. All opinions are my own.