I wanted to love this book. Biro ace! Black MC! Japanese love interest! Representation matters. But I ended up dnf at 18%. The writing felt pretty childish. I'm biro ace myself and sure, I can be attracted to people. I mean, have you heard Tom Hiddleston read poetry?! But the obsession with rating people on a cuteness factor felt like middle school when boys would rate girls on a scale from 1-10. And the way the author wrote Alice she seemed vapid and like the author was trying so hard to make her appear quirky that that's all she was - a bundle of quirk.

Puaca has clearly done his research. This book is packed with information on a topic few explore - educational reform in postwar Germany. His writing is clear and easy to follow. All in all, an enlightening and well-conceived book.