★ 3.5 stars ★

content warnings:

Spoiler

on-page panic attack, classism, bullying, mention of underage drinking

rep:

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WLW Chinese-American major character [Iris], WLW secondary character [Paige], F/F B-romance, major character with epilepsy [Noah]

The non-romantic relationships are definitely the heart of this story (pun intended):

Spoiler

Claudia's friendships with Iris and with Zoe, Claudia's sibling relationships with her brother Alex and sister Julia, Claudia's relationship with her parents, Gideon and Noah's toxic-masculinity-defying best-friendship-since-birth, Gideon's warm inclusion of everyone in his orbit

. Each dynamic is distinctive, with its own ups and downs, and for the most part these arcs feel organic, not contrived for angst/drama or narrative structure.

But I wasn't a huge fan of the romantic setup. It was simultaneously overkill and underwhelming to have

Spoiler

three major romance arcs (Claudia/Gideon, Iris/Paige, Zoe/Alex), two of them very heteronormative and the third pretty underdeveloped; I also wasn't sure if there was any chance Claudia/Iris was endgame, since their relationship seemed to be the main one: I love platonic relationships as much as romantic ones, but YA books don't tend to really differentiate the buildup of each, despite not generally valuing them equally

. That said, I did appreciate that there's no overt homophobia; among the characters we meet, everyone just accepts non-heterosexuality.

While I liked a lot of the elements — strong sibling relationships, MMORPG gaming, boyband fandom, theater-kid culture, putting on a Shakespeare play, friendship-centered narrative, and more — the short chapters and relatively large main cast made it a bit difficult for me to really feel immersed in the narrative. The overall plot progression is also super tropey, which makes it predictable, but also a comfortable read if that's what you're into.

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CONVERSION: 9.2 / 15 = 3.5 stars

Prose: 6 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 7 / 10
Emotional Impact: 5 / 10
Development / Flow: 6 / 10
Setting: 7 / 10

Diversity & Social Themes: 3 / 5
Originality / Trope Execution: 3 / 5