I don't really know what to think about this book...

I loved the asexuality rep. It's something that's so rare to see in books and to see it defined and explained and accepted was wonderful. I also liked how Alice is constantly on this journey of trying to understand herself and being confused and unsure. It felt so realistic, and while I couldn't relate to everything Alice felt, I did relate to a lot of it.

I loved her relationship with Takumi. They have such a playful, fun, and intimate friendship. Takumi is a pure soul. He's honestly the best and I doubt anyone like that exists in our world. His reactions to Alice telling him she's asexual and later them discussing their relationship felt so great. I love when characters communicate and discuss things no matter how hard/uncomfortable it is to talk about. Also he is so good with children omg, why don't we see more male characters playing with kids. Cause that warms my cold heart.

I did at one point put this book down because it became a bit too much for me. Alice's relationship with her family. Her mother and sister were borderline abusive. Some of the things her sister would say to her just made me so angry. And her mother's violation of Alice's privacy and the threats were just frustrating to read about. The scene when her mom practically disowns her...while I knew it was coming, it still shocked me. I had to put the book down when that happened. And while we do end with things seeming to be better, it isn't really resolved. Alice is lucky to have such great support, especially from her dad and her friends, cause otherwise that's a lot to go through on your own.

The one thing that bothered me more than Alice's relationship with her family, was Feenie. I really hated her. Feenie is not the kind of person I would feel safe around. She's violent and emotionally abusive and manipulative. And I did not like how this was "resolved" at the end. I was actually hoping Alice would learn something from Takumi's break up with his ex and cut Feenie out of her life. Feenie and Ryan literally left Alice all alone at a house party just to hook up, and for them to get mad and give her the silent treatment and say that she's at fault for leaving with Takumi was messed up. And Ryan wasn't much better? He seems to live his life by Feenie's mood swings and I can't see this working out forever. On top of that, when she starts to spend time with Takumi–who is actually nice and listens to Alice and makes her feel happy–they blame it on Alice again for not spending time with them, when they're the ones treating her so terribly she doesn't feel like coming home.

I didn't like how the whole Feenie and Alice situation was resolved. Feenie never apologized for her behaviour, and the fact that it took so much for Alice to stand up for herself, and then it was sort of brushed off, made me really angry. Alice deserves better than Feenie. Honestly, I wish we saw more of that barista girl instead. She seemed waaay better.

Overall 3 stars.