Holy hell was this a wild ride. I have to say, this book took some turns that I couldn’t have predicted on the best of days. A couple things to get out of the way: I loved how complex all of the characters were, especially our two leading ladies Luz and Eubelis. There were times where I wanted to rip my hair out because of their decisions, but then they’d say or do something that would send me into an emotional spiral. While the catalyst for the story is based in gentrification of their home in Nothar Park (essentially Little DR in New York), the story really emphasizes the importance of choices and the autonomy to make them and sit with them, especially for women.

Also, this is a Hudson hate page. I didn’t trust him as soon as he showed up, and his friends suck just as much. They emulate couple of things: 1) just because someone looks like you, doesn’t mean they’re for you; 2) for some people, money rules all; and 3) Domestic voluntourism exists because imagine painting a mural when no one asked you, in a place that doesn’t belong to you, and then getting mad when it’s defaced for all the wrong reasons.

This book touches on so much more including the relationship between husband and wife, mother and daughter, and how culture and generational trauma impacts all of that. In the first 10% of the book, I truly wanted to just hold Eubelis and allow her to just feel everything that she thought she couldn’t and as the book progressed and you say her psychological deterioration, the want to hold her and shake sense into her intensified. It was honestly so interesting to have a character be so illogical and so absolutely logical at the same time and her complexity was amazing.