This was a very odd book... I almost am not sure what I think of it? There wasn't a clear plot until the last third of the book, so I had difficulty continuing it because the characters were off-putting to me and not strong enough to lead the story alone. Raine is excessively quirky, a Jewish convert disinterestedly attending Catholic school, who romanticizes the Holocaust to the point of disrespect. She is both entitled and an activist who protests issues others tell her to just ignore. She was raised by an Indigenous woman her family employs, and romanticizes her culture too, while never making attempts to understand the imbalance of power between them. She repeatedly goes on stream of consciousness monologues, and is both anxious and aloof. If not for her entitlement I may have liked her more, but her ignorance and irresponsibility was painful to read at times.

Al is even less developed as a character, he is moody and anxious about his marriage, though he makes few attempts to improve it. He starts the book interested in Raine while simultaneously annoyed with her, yet he eventually develops a sort of infatuation with her that he struggles to explain to others or himself. At times, this dynamic between them was uneasy, though Al does not seem to have romantic or predatory feelings towards Raine. He grows to respect and want to protect her, which quickly becomes necessary. 

Though I was disinterested in most of the book, I really appreciated the final lines, "she was a confused kid with some cockeyed ideas. She said a lot of crazy, jangling things, but she made him feel serene. Society was suspicious of him- yet all suspicion withered in the strength of his feelings, as all false things must. The world was full of falsities. But Raine was a true thing". This passage summed up the book beautifully, and finally made clear what Hurley was trying to represent with her characters. I'm not sure I would recommend this book to others. If you like quirky characters and inter-generational friendships it might be something you enjoy. However, it handled ethnocultural issues strangely and often felt winding, without a point, until the final pages.