3.5 stars

This will go down as probably one of the most frustrating reading experiences of this year. I loved the richness of the writing, the setting, the representation. I love explorations of grief. I loved Axel. This is the sad, flowery book of my dreams, basically, but I could not get over how much it needed to be tightened. It was absolutely overly long. We go through the same scenarios over and over, the main character asking herself questions about her own grief the reader could've gotten to by themselves. Had this been 100 (maybe even 150) pages shorter, I think it would've been perfect.

And that's saying a lot since one of the main plot things is no one has ever used their words and told Leigh a single thing about her life, ever.