I enjoyed so much about this book. Reed's writing is tight and frequently lyrical; her narrative structure is fantastic and a perfect choice for this story; and the story itself captures adolescence beautifully and also feels heavy and adult (as so much of adolescence wants to feel, yearns to feel).

There are definitely widely drawn characters here that feel too big, too evil; but I was okay with them in the bigger picture. They're exaggerated, but based in truth. And that's really depressing.

This is a feel-bad and feel-good read and I'd recommend it to any young person, girl or boy (maybe especially the boys).