At first, I thought I would rate this book three stars, not gonna lie. I thought this book was overhyped and overrated (which is true to a certain extent). But what sealed the deal for me as a book that I love is the AI. Yes, AIDAN. We stan one (1) morally ambiguous artificial intelligence. I thought it (he?) was the most intriguing character in the book, and the ironic thing is, the most wisdom and the best quotes stemmed from it (him?). I can't wait to find out more about AIDAN in Gemina, and I ship him (it?) with Kady, even if they aren't the same species. Even if AIDAN doesn't have a human or humanoid body. This is what shipping is for!

I'm going to label this magical realism for the sake of the end of the story, though some may consider it fantasy. What a twisty, creepy, beautiful book. Everyone should read this!

I wasn't sure how to rate this book at first. It certainly isn't at all what it looks like on the cover, for one thing. Neither Gloria, Lorraine, or Clara are "vixens."

Good things:
- This book explored a little bit of race relations and interracial relationships
- The 1920s, flappers, etc.
- If you like drama
- Spoiled girl acknowledges her privilege
- Ended with an action-packed bit of drama
- Very well done multiple persepectives

Bad things:
- Did not talk about race enough
- Lots of girl-on-girl cattiness, which I never like
- Marketed as a romance (which this definitely has) but more so a "finding yourself" and "follow-your-passion vs. life-laid-out-for-you" book
- Potentially problematic in some aspects (I'll leave that up for you to decide)
- Characters can be unlikeable
-Instalove (not insta-relationship though, which people often confuse)

So... around the halfway point is when I started to like it and when I started to realize that maybe I did want to root for the characters! And maybe I did care! But it took me awhile.

Predictable, as Sarah Dessen books tend to be, however, this one seems deeper than her previous flicks. Along with the typical finding-yourself narrative, The Rest of the Story discusses classism and anxiety and doesn't focus too much on romance, which is something I was very glad for. Definitely one of the best Sarah Dessen books I've read!

I---I-I, wow. This book was so damn good. I am FLOORED. FLOORED, I TELL YOU. This, just, wow, I can't speak, I know only one activity, and that is to stan Evelyn Hugo, my morally grey, painfully human, breathtakingly gorgeous, wildly complicated, bisexual queen.