This book feels like opening a time capsule into the 2010 Dystopian era - as in, it hasn't aged all that well. Juliette is your typical Mary Sue, everyone is in love with her, she's beautiful but she doesn't even know it, she's so powerful, etc. You've read this book before.

Juliette spends most of this book dressed in either that one dirty insane asylum outfit or evening gowns and heels. The wardrobe was confusing.

Worldbuilding was thinnnn. 'Humans were careless and selfish and polluted the earth, a new regime took over to save humanity from itself but ope they're actually evil.' Also: some people are X-Men. We'll explain later.

I wanted to see what the hype was about since the thirsty ladies of booktok are obsessed with Aaron Warner. Color me surprised to discover he's um - a literal sociopath and her jailer in this book. But, like, a hot jailer. Turns out there are 6 books and 5 novellas and his character 'gets better.' So off I go, I guess, to read more decidedly mid YA distopian fiction in the hopes I discover what the fuss is about.

Some people really don't like Mafi's purple prose and stylistic choices (particularly the strikethroughs). I felt pretty meh. They definitely didn't do it for me, but if I had read this as a tween it probably would have blown my mind.