This book was really ambitious and I applaud the author for trying to grapple with difficult subjects. For me, it missed the mark. 

It has a strong start with a mysterious build up, but the middle feels aimless- Wendy keeps saying that she is determined to find her brothers, but when Peter gets distracted  every 5 minutes and wants to do something else, Wendy barely argues, which feels very odd. I understand that the goal was to have bonding scenes between them to build romantic tension, but they felt like they were just plugged in without clear in-story reasons. 

The writing style is also not my favorite- there is a lot of exposition and a certain lack of subtlety. I think the twist at the end it really interesting; I wonder if there had been some unexplained hints sprinkled earlier if it would have hit harder- like, I love a scene that leaves you going “what is going on???” that later makes sense when the twist is revealed, making you have to go back! This book wants to make sure you know what is going on a little too often for my taste. There is some mystery, I just think it would have been better if the mystery had been amped up. 

The villain is pretty bland, as is the romance.  I do like Wendy and her grappling with anxiety and grief. However, I think that where her emotions were most important (the climax/resolution) there was not enough focus on them. Wendy tells the reader what she thinks, but it does not feel backed up with emotion.

Overall, I think there are a lot of good ideas in this book and maybe a YA audience would appreciate it more than this old lady.