the first half was painful to get through but once it picked up a little over half way through, it was good. 

natalie’s conflict with her culture and identity was really interesting, however, almost all of natalie’s growth happens off the page in the last 20 pages of the book which was disappointing. 

i also think the blurb of this book also marketed it more of a romance between natalie and george when it’s only a sub plot.

overall, despite the interesting themes, i think this would’ve been better had the characters been aged up a little. i just wasn't invested enough in any of them and all except natalie felt a little underdeveloped for me.