This one was slow and very sad at times. I don’t know why I didn’t expect

rape or at least the threat of it

to play such a large role in this story. That’s my fault. I wanted to enjoy this more but it heavily focuses on religious trauma. I can absolutely respect that many people will relate to this story. I unfortunately felt like it spent a lot of time focusing on a bastardized version of Christianity that is extremely prevalent in this country. So, I was generally ready for the story to end and it just wasn’t for me. 

I was also concerned we were getting the Magical Negro trope with Cleo, but as the story progressed I felt less certain of that. Then when

the dog died

I was over it lol. I think I was looking for a lighter read with this one and it just wasn’t.