I’m stuck between a 3.75 and a 4. 

This book had all the subtlety of a brass band. I often found myself wishing Callender could convey the prescient topics they discussed— intersectionality and trauma and the like— without having characters directly state “I feel this way because I have abandonment issues from my parents.” I know they mocked the idea of telling teenagers they aren’t that deep, but seriously— I think teenagers don’t often have that kind of clarity, and also few people are going to spell out their trauma so neatly. 

I enjoyed the discussions of Lark’s Twitter and their conflicts with Micah and Patch, even though I found the discourse so painfully accurate that I considered DNFing to escape the full-body cringe (which, I suppose, is a roundabout compliment to Callender’s writing). I loved Sable— she’s probably my favorite character, although I also adored Lark. There were multiple gem moments, and I highlighted a lot. 

Basically, this book is direct to a point where it feels inaccurate, but it also has enough charming heart that I dealt with its less charming aspects.