CW: OCD, anxiety, panic attacks, self-harm, car accident, death of a parent, disappearance of a parent

I think I’m in the minority here. John Green has always been a hit or miss author, and ever since TFIOS, his books have been a miss for me. I was on the fence about reading this one, but the mixed reviews had me curious and here we are.

I’ll start off by saying that this has in-depth, ownvoices OCD rep. I personally don’t have OCD in any form, but many OV reviewers have said the rep was good. As this isn’t my lane, I’ll leave it at that.

I liked Aza. Daisy was a horrible friend and was redeemed way too easily. Davis didn’t really have a personality. I liked that Aza’s mom was present, but I think she was too overbearing and put unfair pressure on Aza at times.

I don’t mind slower pacing, particularly in contemporaries; in this case, mental health took center stage. However, the synopsis implied mystery and there was basically no mystery after chapter ten. It was rather misleading, and I was bored for easily two-thirds of the story.

What else?

• Pretentious writing/overly purple prose.
• Nothing really happened between Davis giving the money and the car accident.
• Daisy should leave. No one needs a friend that says they’re an annoying, self-centered burden, even if they were good friends prior to the fight.
• What even was the point of the romance?? I’m not sure.
• I did like the astronomy parts. I think astronomy is interesting.
• The ending was rather flat, although I suppose it did tie up most loose ends.

If John Green publishes something else, I think I’ll steer clear. This proves that his writing and storytelling isn’t for me.