I read it as part of a read-along, and sharing our thoughts and theories was extremely fun! 

Adina’s position at her upper-class high school, from the suburbs, Black and on a scholarship, allows the author to tackle not fitting in, racism, class, pitting women against each other, and tradition. Adina is unprepared and trusts easily, but I couldn’t help but root for her, which was worth it because seeing her use her skills to her advantage was nice. I loved the side characters. They had compelling backstories, and it was interesting to see how it informed their behaviour during the Finish. 

The author relied a lot on telling instead of showing. Though the stakes were high, I didn’t feel the tension as much as I would’ve liked. I also felt a bit disconnected from Adina because we don’t know her motivation to join Yale, her goals, or her childhood. We get a better sense of why the other contestants joined the Finish, so the characters I found the most interesting were side characters. The epilogue took place too soon after the Finish, I would’ve preferred if it was set after a longer period so we could see more of the Finish’s impact on the characters’ lives.