This is a difficult book to talk about for a variety of reasons. It will not suit everyone’s tastes. If you are picking this up after The Raven Cycle, you should throw all preconceived notions of what to expect from Maggie Stiefvater out the window.

That being said, I really enjoyed this book. However, I say that knowing that I can have kind of strange taste.

The worldbuilding was excellent. It is set in a desert town in Colorado in the 60s, and I felt that in my core. The innate magicality and mystery was very effective. It had the feeling of a fever dream, but much more relaxed. I’ve never done a psychedelic, but I imagine reading this is what a good trip would feel like.

I fell in love with Stiefvater’s writing as soon as I read her for the first time, and my love only grew with this book. She just has such a way with word choice that is so lyrical while still remaining simple.

That being said, this book is near plotless, which is something I enjoy, but is something that would turn off a lot of readers. I also couldn’t exactly grasp what the main takeaway from the story was supposed to be, if there was any. Once again, something I don’t mind, but to be cautious if you’re not a fan of ambiguity.

There is some controversy (mostly from before the book was published, from what I could see) about Stiefvater writing from the perspective of Latine characters. From my perspective, she handled their culture very respectfully, and you could tell she must have had done her research/had sensitivity readers. However, I am not Hispanic or Latino, so if you do have questions about the representation, I would encourage you to seek out Own Voices reviewers. What I can comment on is that the characters overall felt flat, and that I never grew attached to any of them. I think this is because of a combination of the short length, the large cast, and the fact that the focus was clearly meant to be on the mysticism of the setting.

I would recommend this for someone looking for an excellently formed magical atmosphere and doesn’t mind a slow, meandering pace.