I really wanted to like this book - it’s Canadian, and was even a Canada Reads finalist. In the past I’ve been able to trust the results of the Canada Reads judges, but this time it didn’t work out.

In general, the storyline was good - it had the potential to be an enjoyable dystopian mystery. But it really could have used some further editing. The writing is choppy and disjointed, with gaping plot holes and odd/sudden jumps to the next scene. The main character, Hwa, is trying to uncover a mystery, but she makes absolutely no progress. So the villain comes out of nowhere, with no buildup. It was a bit jarring to read, and I actually went back and reread a chapter to see if I had missed something. (I didn’t)

Oh well, you can’t win them all.