3.5 stars.

Not bad at all, considering the genre and target audience aren't inherently appealing to me. Strong female lead and decent plot, with valid "take away" themes.

I really liked this book at its core, the themes of connection and manipulation and cultural conflicts and the motif of the inside-out house. (Also, linguistically, the six(!) Porphyrian genders are fascinating; from a social perspective, there’s something so satisfying about a culture that takes “How may I pronoun you?” as a simple matter-of-fact query.) The plot developments made sense and kept me interested — I do love roadtrip/travel stories, after all, and scavenger hunts of sorts. Even the ending was satisfying, including the resolution to the love triangle (which played only a minor role throughout the book and was wrapped up neatly and wonderfully).

Then again, I finished up my reading in the emotional wake of the season finale of a TV series that always manages to hit home (The 100, season 5, Damocles parts 1 & 2) so that’s probably affecting how I feel. Nevertheless, I did genuinely like this book in and of itself throughout its progression, so I don’t really mind too much if I’m feeling some overflow fondness.

Buddy read with Jayati & Haley! ❤

That is the problem with stories, child. The truth in them cannot be weighed.

I love the premise and in theory all the aspects (dragons, magic, powerful women, court scenes, religious and political conflict) are terrific. But with the constant POV switching I had trouble getting invested in any of the characters; there were just so many place and character names that I couldn't keep track of them all.

I had no idea who, if anyone, I was rooting for, and without that emotional engagement — and since I also had some difficulty with the writing style — it was kind of a slog to make to to the end. And by the time I got there, I realized that some developments really disappointed me, such as multiple instances of the

Spoiler

fury-and-vengeance-of-a-woman-scorned

trope, and the general progression of the Big Bad Battle.

Overall, I can see why others might enjoy this book so much, but it just wasn't for me.

content warnings:

Spoiler

[mentioned] alcoholic abusive parent, parent death, on-page murder, secondary & major character death(s), suicidal ideation, blood magic (cutting), incest-adjacent relationship (adoptive mother & son), mutilation (loss of a limb)

rep:

Spoiler

M/M relationship (one partner is deceased but referenced throughout), MLM MC, F/F relationship, WLW MCs, MC with depression

3.5 stars

So, bearing in mind that I'm a Chinese-American but not MG reader, I quite liked this and I think my younger self would've liked it even more. The plot is a little formulaic, several of the reveals are fairly tropey, and the in-text translations felt clunky — but in the MG context, all of these could also be considered strengths.

It's rich in Chinese mythology, on a level that I think most young readers will be able to understand and appreciate. (And the glossary at the back will probably come in handy for many!) I really liked that it emphasized family and community values over romance; as an older sister myself, I absolutely adored Faryn and Alex's relationship. The plot itself is fun, ending on a twist that actually caught me surprise, leaving me curious to see what will happen next.

content warnings:

Spoiler

precanon parent death, colorism, bullying, on-page major character death(s)

rep:

Spoiler

Chinese-Egyptian-Greek-Turkish-American MC, Chinese-American and Chinese cast, nonbinary minor character

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CONVERSION: 10.5 / 15 = 3.5 stars

Prose: 6 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 8 / 10
Emotional Impact: 7 / 10
Development / Flow: 6 / 10
Setting: 8 / 10

Diversity & Social Themes: 4 / 5
Intellectual Engagement: N/A
Originality / Trope Execution: 3 / 5
Rereadability: 3 / 5
Memorability: 4 / 5

I remember checking this one out of the school library over and over, I liked it that much.

"It's not that Britt-Marie chose not to have any expectations, she just woke up one morning and realized they were past their sell-by date."

RTC.

content warnings:

Spoiler

secondary character death, precanon parent death, discussion of (deceased) alcoholic abusive parent, discussion of past infidelity, ableist slurs

rep:

Spoiler

wheelchair-using secondary character, visually-impaired secondary character, bi/pan minor character, minor M/M relationship

-----------
CONVERSION: 11.3 / 15 = 4 stars

Prose: 9 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 7 / 10
Emotional Impact: 9 / 10
Development / Flow: 8 / 10
Setting: 7 / 10

Diversity & Social Themes: 3 / 5
Intellectual Engagement: 4 / 5
Originality / Trope Execution: N/A
Rereadability: N/A
Memorability: 3 / 5

content warnings:

Spoiler

major char death (natural causes), loss of loved ones (parents, spouse, unborn child), cancer, Alzheimer's, grief, suicidal ideation, on-page suicide attempts (interrupted), homophobic parent, homophobic language, ableist language, xenophobia, fatphobia, sexism

rep:

Spoiler

Iranian major char [Parvaneh], gay secondary char [Mirsad], MLM secondary char [Jimmy], M/M minor relationship

★ 3.5 stars ★

The first time I tried to read this, I had to DNF @ 36% because I was not in a stable enough mental state to deal with

Spoiler

Ove's multiple suicide attempts

— reviews only talk about how charming and heartwarming the book is, so I want to note first and foremost.

Even now that I'm doing much better, I'm honestly still uncomfortable with it being treated almost a running joke: that

Spoiler

Ove is so competent and no-nonsense yet keeps failing to kill himself, primarily because he can't refrain from helping out his neighbors, albeit with outward reluctance and much grumbling

. I've also never been a big fan of stereotypical autism traits — stickler for the rules, loves math much more than abstract thinking, socially beyond-awkward but actually kindhearted — portrayed as charmingly quirky, nor do I generally appreciate this character uses sexist/homophobic/ableist language but it's okay because they are from a "different generation" and "hate everyone equally," they aren't actually prejudiced. The backstory chapters only evoked minimal sympathy in explaining why Ove is the way he is, how he's been hurt time and again by bureaucracy and other people and the depth of his own grief; all very sad, of course, but not excuses to justify the aforementioned issues.

AND YET. As I already knew from Backman's other works, there comes a point when the story suddenly reaches the next level. Prior scenes take on new significance. Characters show you how much they've grown. And at the end of it all, you can't help but laugh and cry and wonder at the marvel of humankind.

-----------
CONVERSION: 10.2 / 15 = 3.5 stars

Prose: 7 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 8 / 10
Emotional Impact: 8 / 10
Development / Flow: 7 / 10
Setting: 6 / 10

Diversity & Social Themes: 3 / 5
Originality / Trope Execution: 2 / 5
Memorability: 4 / 5