I received an advance review copy from the author; all opinions are my own and honest.

>> Buddy read with Soph!

DNF @ 20%

I was willing to give the jarring prose and all the machismo posturing a chance, but then I got into a violent and gory fight scene that I just couldn't stomach. (Not a condemnation of the writing, just a note that it's not for me.)

content warnings:

Spoiler

domestic abuse, racism, mention of torture, precanon parent deaths, memory manipulation, infidelity, mentioned infant death, necromancy, implied sexual content

rep:

Spoiler

WLW MC [Miranda], WLW Morocccan LI [Dorothea/Duriya], F/F main relationship, Algerian minor/mentioned character [Caliban]

For how much potential lies in the premise, I just found this rather flat. Miranda is a pretty bland protagonist — despite constantly labeling herself a "monster," her only personality trait seems to be worrying about how others perceive and/or have influenced her — who relies on others to save her. I wasn't interested in her pining or hand-wringing throughout the novella.

Every few paragraphs something about the prose would jolt me right out of the story: the sudden use of an olde English term in a sentence with modern syntax, or a cheesy monologue, or a weirdly modified quote from the original Shakespeare. Just didn't work for me. The structure and pacing of the novella also felt off, with the

Spoiler

chapters-long flashback/dream sequence

and having most of the action crammed into the epilogue and preceding chapter.

There is some social commentary, particularly about racism and colonialism, from Dorothea/Duriya; it's not particularly groundbreaking or insightful, but it is present ... though it also felt isolated from everything else about the narrative, an afterthought.

-----------
CONVERSION: 5.73 / 15 = 2 stars

Prose: 3 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 3 / 10
Emotional Impact: 2 / 10
Development / Flow: 4 / 10
Setting: 5 / 10

Diversity & Social Themes: 4 / 5
Originality / Trope Execution: 2 / 5
Memorability: 1 / 5

content warnings:

Spoiler

physical & psychological torture, public humiliation, branding, past major character deaths (relived), mention of infant death, ableist language, past child abuse, mind manipulation, self-harm (picking at cuticles), suicide by pills

rep:

Spoiler

bi/pan major character/LI [Maven], WLW major character [Evangeline], WLW minor character [Elara], established F/F relationship, PoC-coded secondary & minor characters

★ 3.5 stars ★

Honestly, it's a bit hard to pull together my impressions of a book I read over a literal month, and it doesn't help that this series is pretty tropey. Overall, it was an enjoyable enough read, though I wasn't sold on the necessity of multiple POV.

After Glass Sword I was hoping for more action and plot advancement, which we kind of get here? But I'm a little apprehensive about how many threads there are to tie up in the last book, since some interesting new machinations are introduced (such as

Spoiler

the Game of Thrones-type conflict for the crown, the possibility of "fixing"/"saving" Maven

).

For reasons I don't want to examine too closely, I have an affinity for the "dark" characters (except the Darkling, he can choke) so while I'm not necessarily rooting for Maven to win, I can't help being fascinated by his psyche and actions. On the other hand, I've been disproportionately attached to Kilorn since a character quiz matched me up with him, so I was a bit disappointed that he doesn't feature nearly as prominently as he previously had. To be honest, I find Cal a bit bland in comparison. I like Mare enough to want her to be happy, but ... oh boy, that ending.

>> Series buddy read with Amanda!

3.5 stars.

This is an incredibly introspective book, so I'm betting most people will either love or hate greatly dislike it. (Or, as in my case, experience a mix of both.) The themes are important: emotions peak with hormones during adolescence, making an already difficult experience even worse; I love the questioning/aroace rep, though

Spoiler

it doesn't seem like any kind of resolution is reached — I would've been perfectly happy with just a few lines where Rumi accepts that she doesn't have to have it figured out, but if it happens, I missed it

.

Grief and guilt are messy and complex; based on my very limited personal experience this does seem like a believable and reasonably relatable portrayal. However, I would've preferred to see more depth in the characters, rather than the cycle of self-loathing and lashing out that seems to make up the bulk of the plot. (Of course there's no "wrong" way to grieve and I have empathy for her loss, I do, but this made it difficult to connect with her, or any of the other characters.)

content warnings:

Spoiler

on-page car crash, loss of loved ones (younger sister), grief & survivor’s guilt, almost-drowning

rep:

Spoiler

single parent, code-switching, Japanese/Hawaiian/white & questioning/a-spec (aro/ace) MC, Japanese/Korean secondary character (love interest), Filipino/Samoan secondary character, Japanese/black secondary character, minor F/F relationship

content warnings:

Spoiler

precanon parent deaths, depressive episodes, discussions of suicidal ideation, self-harm (picking at fingers, punching wall), chronic illness, underage drinking, consensual drunk/tipsy sex, being outed, homophobic slurs, biphobia, bi erasure, ableism & ableist language, racism & microaggressions, mention of past unwanted teen pregnancy, mention of past abortion, sexual harassment

rep:

Spoiler

bi/questioning Black Jewish MC [Suzette], Jewish major character with bipolar disorder [Lionel], biracial Black-Korean-American LI with Meniere's disease - hearing loss [Emil], pansexual Latina LI [Rafaela], lesbian best friend [Dee], Black secondary character [Nadine, Suzette's mom], Jewish secondary character [Saul, Lionel's dad], past major F/F relationship, secondary F/F relationship, diverse minor characters

★ 2.5 stars ★

Generally I'm in favor of diverse YA; this is one of the ones where the diversity is a focus (figuring out sexuality, dealing with racism) which has its place but tends to be a harder sell for me. Of course, this will likely resonate with some readers, which is great — just not for me.

I can't personally speak to the Black or Jewish or specifically bipolar rep, but I was not a big fan of the way bisexuality/pansexuality and mental illness were portrayed. With the usual disclaimer that everyone's experience is different but valid, I felt that this narrative played into far too many uncomfortable stereotypes:

Spoiler

the love triangle(s) involving both the bi and the pan girls (and the bi character's brother), the bi character borderline emotionally-cheating through lying by omission to both the male and female love interests, Suzette appointing herself her older brother's keeper because she doesn't trust Lionel to make his own decisions re: treatment, Lionel being shown as a danger to himself who abruptly and recklessly goes off his meds and essentially becomes a different person, Lionel generally being shown as an emotional burden to his family, Lionel saying that "being around" Rafaela is better/more effective than being on meds, classic racist & queerphobic microaggressions from basically all the characters, and honestly more that I just don't want to keep listing

.

The end result: a lot of people get hurt while selfish decisions are made. Sure, making mistakes and focusing on yourself are part of the Teen Experience, but I didn't feel like the main cast really learned from their experiences or acknowledged (let alone made amends) for a lot of the things they do. (Except

Spoiler

Suzette's determination to make things right with Iris

, but that's just one relationship of many.) Which is hypocritical since antagonists are held very accountable for their words/actions.

Basically there are two main storylines — Suzette's sexuality and Lionel's mental illness — and I didn't find either particularly compelling. Part of it is the aforementioned arguably-harmful tropes; part of it is that a lot of the plot feels more reactive than active, almost like the characters are constantly playing catch-up with their own lives if that makes sense? There's more internal conflict (that doesn't really lead anywhere) than tangible plot.

-----------
CONVERSION: 6.67 / 15 = 2.5 stars

Prose: 5 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 4 / 10
Emotional Impact: 3 / 10
Development / Flow: 5 / 10
Setting: 8 / 10

Diversity & Social Themes: 2 / 5
Originality / Trope Execution: 1 / 5
Memorability: 2 / 5

content warnings:

Spoiler

fatphobia, homophobia (incl. slurs; challenged), bi erasure/biphobia, underage drinking, suicidal ideation, fantasies of self-harm, ableism, acephobic jokes, being catfished

rep:

Spoiler

gay MC with depression [will grayson], fat major character [Tiny], gay secondary & minor characters, M/M relationships

This is one of those books that was radically diverse when it came out (2010), but some parts of it ... really haven't aged well. The unchallenged fatphobia and bi erasure — one of the main characters literally says that

Spoiler

being attracted to girls = you can't be attracted to boys

—were painful to read; the MC with depression reads like a walking emo stereotype.

So although the premise is cute, themes of friendship and self-discovery and learning to love yourself and others are lovely, and Green and Levithan are generally great storytellers, Will Grayson, Will Grayson really wasn't for me.

-----------
CONVERSION: 8.4 / 15 = 3 stars

Prose: 8 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 6 / 10
Emotional Impact: 6 / 10
Development / Flow: 5 / 10
Setting: 2 / 10

Diversity & Social Themes: 3 / 5
Memorability: 3 / 5

content warnings:

Spoiler

underage drinking, peer pressure, ableist language (incl. cr*zy), homophobia & slurs (f*g), internalized queerphobia, q*eer (used as neutral term), bi erasure & biphobia, underage sex, sex while drunk, implied sexual content, unwanted sex, being outed, microaggressions

rep:

Spoiler

Indian-American questioning MC [Nandan], Asian-American MLM LI [Dave], M/M central relationship, past F/(questioning) M relationship, gay major character [Henry], Indian-American major character/LI [Avani], Vietnamese-American bisexual minor character [Carrie], minor F/F relationship, diverse secondary & minor characters

★ 1.5 stars ★

First things first: I really wanted to enjoy this, because I can't think of another book centered on an MC questioning their sexual and romantic orientation where

Spoiler

they don't end up with a definite answer

, and it's something I would love to see more of (especially in YA/NA) because it's an underrepresented experience that many will be able to relate. Even Nandan's worry about

Spoiler

his own motive for coming out being attention/feeling special

is something I worried about before I came out in high school, but it's not something I've ever seen any other character even consider.

Unfortunately, the rep (including the questioning MC, queer secondary/minor characters, and Asian-American) was about the only thing I liked. The prose and plot are monotonous, the characters are objectively awful people who use their parents' money and each others' reputations to further their own social status (except

Spoiler

Dave

, a cinnamon roll who Deserves Better), there's consistent and pervasive bi and ace erasure, and all the facetious comments about microaggressions contribute to the idea that kids these days are either apathetic assholes or sensitive SJWs.

Generally I like Quiet and/or Contemporary fiction, where interpersonal relationships and personal identity are the focus rather than external conflicts. But this just felt like a series of hangouts and drama and transitions where characters catch each other up on what they've missed; there's continuity but no larger arc beyond

Spoiler

Nandan's "journey"

. Honestly, it's like a 300+ page self-pity party.

It's worth noting that other reviewers mention that they relate to the high school experience, but of course not all high school experiences are the same and I did not relate at all: my high school had cliques, but my friend group and the circles we overlapped with genuinely did not care about power and popularity. We were friends because we actually liked each other. (What a concept.) Possibly what annoys me the most is that Nandan constantly projects his social-climbing motives onto other people, assuming that everyone who matters thinks exactly the same way and proclaiming that everyone else is irrelevant.

Even as Nandan grapples with his identity, he uses "queer" as a synonym for "gay," essentially ignoring the existence of the other letters in LGBTQIAP+. One of the girls in the friend group is (out as) bisexual, and another suggests asexuality and demisexuality as possible labels, so we know that he knows these orientations exist. Yet Nandan doesn't even consider them, instead oscillating between "straight" and "gay" as if they are the only options. There's also a line about how the labels are just words so they don't matter or something — it's valid that Nandan feels this way, but I wish at least another character would've shown that these same labels can be reaffirming and encouraging for others, who find a sense of belonging and relief in having the vocabulary to explain their identity.

Also, every single teenager in this book texts in perfectly grammatical sentence case, starting with capital letters and ending with periods, with the occasional abbreviation (including "K," as though this isn't anathema to your average texter). Sure, it's more readable, but if you're gonna write it that way you may as well just paraphrase everything instead of formatting text exchanges.

-----------
CONVERSION: 4.15 / 15 = 1.5 stars

Prose: 4 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 2 / 10
Emotional Impact: 1 / 10
Development / Flow: 2 / 10
Setting: 3 / 10

Diversity & Social Themes: 3 / 5
Intellectual Engagement: 1 / 5
Originality / Trope Execution: 2 / 5
Rereadability: 1 / 5