I really liked this one, though I can see why a lot of people wouldn't. It's a love story between two complex, intelligent, and troubled people, characters who are flawed but seem very real. I find it interesting the social positions of both of these characters, and how they shift over time. How they affect each other's lives. Although for much of their relationship they aren't even officially dating...it's a deep relationship if not an especially healthy one. Marianne is so damaged from childhood abuse, Connell is depressed because he feels out of place at an upper class school with his lower class background. Both are isolated from others because of their high intelligence. Both would consider themselves not normal...but I think Rooney's point is that they are normal. The fact is that so many people in the world today are depressed, anxious, isolated, and living lives that might look good to others but feel awful. I'm thinking about the book Lost Connections here. In any case I think the author is a really insightful chronicler of social life.