It’s impossible not to feel for these characters, even if you can’t relate at all.  TJR has a remarkable ability to make you walk in the shoes of people who are nothing like you, and that’s really on display in this book, even more than Evelyn Hugo. Each character (except maybe Camilla but that makes sense in context) is a flawed, complex, and, most importantly, real-seeming person. By the end of the book it was hard to believe that the Six weren’t a real band and that these weren’t real interviews conducted with them. 

 

Side note: highly, highly recommend listening to the audiobook. It can be a little hard to keep up with what’s going on but it’s worth it to hear the story told like it’s recordings of real celebrities.

Such a witty yet emotional commentary on humans, morality, and much more. It was so fun to read and the dry humor is hilarious. 

I found this book to have a less avant-garde style than some of Akwaeke Emezi's other books, but still with their unique flair, which I always love. It also fit into my accidental reading trend of gravitating toward perspectives that I don't often hear, which definitely applies to mainstream American literature and queer Nigerians. For both of those reasons, I really enjoyed the story, despite it's clear tragedy. The Death of Vivek Oji deserves to become a classic. 

I’ll get around to it eventually, but right now I have library books to read.

Tori 🥺 also Charlie and Nick overcoming conflict??? We love to see it

It took me ~100 pages to get into, but once I did, I was entranced by the characters and the vivid descriptions. I think it’s different from Marissa Meyer’s other books as it is much more mystical and slower-paced, although there is still suspense which helps keep the reader’s attention. Also, just as a note, the length of time it took for me to read it is definitely more a reflection of my reading habits than the quality of the book lol.

Akwaeke Emezi writes prose like it’s poetry and poetry like it’s art, and art is not my specialty. The poems in this collection raised a lot of questions for me and, even with thoughtful consideration, I found a lot of them too complex to unpack, but maybe that was the point. You’re not supposed to dissect, you’re just meant to get the general form. 

This book consumed me for three hours straight. The characters just felt so real and close to my heart, even if they were a little bit too eloquent for teenagers (which what  most of John Green’s characters are like, since he puts his own thoughts into their mouths). I found it all really emotional, and a more accurate depiction of OCD than most popular media. Even if I didn’t relate to that aspect specifically, Aza’s relationship with her mother and her thoughts on how she’ll never be “fully healed” from her mental illness struck home for me. I will say I was a little surprised of John Green’s more critical view of Indianapolis, considering how much he seems to like to live there, but I guess a lot
of teenagers hate the places they live.