I absolutely despised the prose in this book. I can't explain it. It felt so over the top to me. It seemed like there were colons and em dashes thrown about without much thought. I swear, I counted one at least every other page. It was insufferable.

The prose in a book can make or break it for me, and in this case it broke it.

I found the mystery to be underwhelming as well, and after discovering what the resolution was, I'm glad I quit.

Editing hasn't been something I've been in the mood for recently. Maybe when I feel more excited about it I'll pick it up again.

Ok so as someone who's not planning on going into any science-y fields, this book isn't really applicable to me. I mostly picked it up out of curiosity. But I'm sure people who are planning on pursuing science would find this helpful, so give it a try

I was a bit confused at times, and felt like I missed a lot of the symbolism. Towards the end it began feeling somewhat repetitive. But I like McCarthy's writing style, and overall I enjoyed it and would read more of his works.

A very cozy and relaxing read. The primary conflicts are tense enough that you want them to suceed, but the stakes are fairly low which makes this a very good book to read if you're looking for something casual. There are some fantasy elements, but it's an extremely soft magic system and the fantasy is light.  Alrhough I enjoyed this book more than not, my feelings towards it are a bit mixed.

I found the writing style didn't resonate with me much. I didn't like the way the dialogue or character interactions were written, which pulled me out of the story. But, I tend to be picky when it comes to writing style, so take this criticism with a grain of salt. And obviously if you're not somebody who notices or cares much for prose, this criticism probably won't be relevant for you.

While the lead characters were interesting enough to follow, the side characters felt bland and flat. I understand you can't make every single character round and dynamic, but most of the townspeople were entirely indistinguishable from each other. The main characters (Trav, Grace, and Sarah) didn't suffer quite as much from this. Of the three perspectives we read, Grace is the most nuanced and developed, with Trav coming in close second. I didn't feel Sarah was as interesting as Sarah and Trav, but I would put her above the side characters at least.

In general, my overall opinion of it was that it was OK. I would reread it, or read its sequel, but I don't regret reading. It has a specific purpose: to tell a story about grief and feeling lost, and about finding a family you learn the lean on. And it does that well. So take this review as you will. 3.25 stars seems a bit harsh, but that mostly reflects my own personal enjoyment of the story. If you think you may like, you probably will.