TJ Klune writes very well, no doubt about it, the two stars are for the prose alone.
However, this book could’ve benefited from some editing as it drags on, and on, and on. I could not finish this, as around the 50%, it somehow managed to slow down even more. If you like extremely angsty, introspective books in which most of the action happen within the characters’ minds, this is perfect for you.
Besides this, there were a few elements that bothered me and which I could not quite get past, no matter how hard I tried.
I really wanted to like this book, because it obviously struck a chord with a lot of people, but there were too many things that wigged me out.
MILD SPOILERS AHEAD!
1) Cartoonish racial stereotypes of the only latinx person mentioned (by the 60% mark).
He’s sexually aggressive and calls people ‘papi’, that’s all we get to know.
2) A lot of no-consent adult-on-minor touching.
Handwaved as being “in their [non-human] nature”, even if they’re intelligent beings who’ve adapted to modern human society in most other ways.
There is also another adult character, a regular human, with severe lack of boundaries towards a teenager.
3) Co-dependency and lack of agency and consent framed as romantic.
I suppose this comes with the “soul-mate” and “love at first sight”-territory, but I didn’t find it cute in 80s romance either.
4) Ridiculous age-gap in the main romantic relationship.
The main character meet when they’re 10 and 16, respectively. The 10-year-old is framed as the aggressor, but this doesn’t make it OK.
5) So, so, so much guilt-tripping and emotional abuse from one of the parts in the main romantic relationship.