This is one of those awkward situations where I am struggling to understand the hype. Tozer is a much beloved Aussie author. I’ve been meaning to read The Intern for seemingly ever but well, I am a tad disappointed (to put it mildly). Remind Me How This Ends’s main problem was that it was boring as unbuttered toast. The characters lacked personality. The plot was stale. The writing was… just odd. It just missed so many marks and I’m crushed.

The premise of this story was really what drew me in initially, on top of all the recs from the OzYA community. There are so many books out there following characters who have their shit together and their life plan all sorted. I was keen for a different story, something more relatable that explored that awful ‘what do I do with my life now that high school is over and I realise I have no real skills or ambitions’ phase. Instead? We followed two characters who had absolutely no personality. I understand that a big part of their character arcs was the fact that they lacked ambition and were uncertain about most things in their lives but… it also made them vague and uncertain as characters. They had no real passions or interests, whatsoever. They were defined by their aimlessness and even that lacked the nuance it needed to be such a central part of the story. Milo and Layla's dullness left me feeling distanced from the story. I was not invested. I didn’t even feel like I knew the characters well enough to care.

The secondary characters were a mixed bag. Milo’s father was an actual douchebag and his brother was not much better. I could not stand either of them or the way they treated Milo. I did think that Layla’s boyfriend was well-written, however. He was not someone who I could personally relate with - or even feel empathetic at his life choices - but he was such a believable, realistic voice in a sea of blandness that he stood out. I also would have liked to see a lot more of Layla and her family, to help flesh out her characterisation.

Their romance also did nothing for me. I always struggle with love triangles and cheating. While that was note quite the case here, it was enough to dampen my spirits. It didn’t help that I struggle with them both as individuals and could not see them together. The fact that the plot revolved so much around the romantic shenanigans and, strangely, gelato did not help. It was dull. I was bored. I needed more, particularly from the ending. I was so disappointed that

when Milo finally made his decision - and went out to pursue it - it was not even something that made him happy. He did not seem all that convinced he was doing something he really wanted to be doing… which was the whole point. It felt a little anticlimactic to leave on such a sour note. I wanted more for Milo

.

Tozer's writing style was also very Aussie... to the point that it did not feel realistic. Slang was used constantly in an over-the-top manner, and it made me feel a bit uncomfortable (even as an Aussie myself). It did not feel natural or organic, at all.

Overall? I cannot say I am happy my first Tozer story was such a flop. I wanted more nuanced characters and discussions about the stress of that terrifying post-high school phase of aimlessness. I needed less drama in the romance and more… spunk, I guess. Just more. I think I will try out The Intern still but I will keep my expectations slightly lowered.