The topics in this book were tough - self-harm, abuse, homelessness, mental illness, addiction, suicide and depression to name some of the more prominent ones. I appreciate that Glasgow was honest, raw and open in her depiction of these issues and put it all out there. She didn't shy away from the bleak and ugly side of things at all. Charlie went through a lot and while I felt for her I must be honest and say I was also very frustrated by her choices. That might have been intentional on Glasgow's part but I personally felt disconnected with the second part of the book because of it even though I initially connected to the first part.

I also had a hard time with the overall lack of secondary character development. We met so many characters throughout the book as they swept in and out of Charlie's life, and many of them were quite interesting. I would have loved to know more about them but sadly we don't get that. Again, that might have been intentional to show how fleeting or surface level these relationships were to Charlie. Personally, it left me emotionally wanting.

Finally, the book was s-l-o-w (entirely too slow for me personally) but I think that was the author's point. It was definitely focused on Charlie, her inner turmoil and her everyday struggles and it read that way. Unfortunately, that made some parts feel tedious and boring since I wasn't fully connected with Charlie.

Overall, the book was good just not great for me. It was an emotionally heavy book yet Glasgow managed to infuse hope into it even though it was centered on so many dark, heavy and taboo topics.