yay!! I have finally read all the sally rooney's published books!!!! ngl, at the start, I wasn't a big fan of this. like I was just very indifferent and thought I would just rate it like 3 stars and move on. but by the end. I mean. a lot of people criticise sally rooney's writing because she just uses her characters as mouthpieces for her own thoughts but like???? I don't see a problem with that??? I like reading people having conversations and sharing opinions and changing each other's minds and disagreeing??? like this is clearly what she set out to do I don't know why people are upset about it. anyway, if you are one of those people who doesn't like her writing because of that, DEFINITELY do not read this book lmao. it's literally just the characters writing emails and having conversations about various topics. and I loved it. this book is truly just about how at the end of the day, humans just love each other. they love talking, they love hanging out, they love their friends, they love their partners, and sometimes, you don't need a reason to do something or waste time, you can just do it because you want to, joy is okay! peace is okay! beauty is okay! that's enough!!!!! I think I wouldn't have enjoyed this if I read this before my trip, this trip has definitely taught me that relaxation, fun and being stress-free is GOOD. I don't need to be doing things all the time, I can just enjoy life, I don't think I would have resonated with this book as much if I hadn't reached this point. however, wasn't a big fan of the ending/almost epilogue???? didn't need to bring up the pandemic especially cause it's mentioned so off hand at the very end, would have been better without it. plus the slow start but I think it's necessary for the book but also boring. anyway, 4.5 stars