I received an ARC of this book with thanks to Hachette Australia via NetGalley.

I have mixed feelings about this book. Its premise is great, and the important issues it addresses (racial profiling, consent, paedophilia and environmental protection) are important for us to discuss as a society. I found the beginning of the book to be slow which I didn’t find discouraging as the writing flowed nicely and it certainly has a nice eloquence. Yet it took a while for the story to take direction and shape. It wasn’t until the final quarter of the book that the narrative really took off, which meant that the ending felt very much rushed and underwhelming.

I didn’t get the closure from certain characters I was hoping for (mainly Brad and Julia). The fallout and the lasting impact of their actions, whilst explained, seem quickly glazed over and aren’t discussed in depth to offer a satisfactory conclusion and closure as a reader. The depth of a handful of characters, specifically Valerie, Julia and Brad is strong, however one of the core characters of the story, Juniper was neglected throughout several sections of the narrative and in others the depth of her characterisation was exceptional. It was confusing and in those overlooked sections incredibly irritating. I wasn’t surprised by the ending and had guessed the outcome roughly halfway through reading.

There are quite a few facets packed into this narrative and if we were given a book comprising of 500+ pages it may have been slightly more successful in addressing each facet in its entirety, as well as providing us with a conclusion that didn’t feel hurried. However, at 350 pages it seems a few of the storylines lost their trajectory, whilst others seemed completely discarded as Fowler rushed to tie them all together, giving me an ending that felt incomplete and slightly open-ended.