I went into this book kinda unsure. My friend said they loved it, so I wanted to try it out, and it was a bit to get into the story, but once I did, I enjoyed it.

I feel like my biggest struggle was reminding myself this wasn't Harry Potter. I didn't want to read HP, but queer. I wanted a unique story all on its own. As the story went on, the book proved to be more than just an HP retelling, but there were some other issues with it. I had a hard time grasping the magic system in this book. I enjoy the "power of words," but it just didn't feel like it fit or fully developed as an idea. It was the weakest part of this story.

I did end up enjoying the book as a whole though. I really liked Simon's story and watching him grow. It turned out to be a charming book though, and I'm looking forward to reading more.