2.5/5☆~
CW: death, murder, blood, violence, casual ableism, mental illness, inappropriate student/teacher relationship (college, not a minor), adultery, sexual content, sexism


here's the breakdown of my personal experience:

beginning half: meh
the middle: ok, im in!
the end:.........ughhhhhhhh no

i will give the book points for being a relatively quick read, but the first half was not memorable for me. i felt that barely anything had happened, then suddenly we got a half-way twist. immediately following the twist, i was a bit more invested watching the MC make certain decisions. once we got closer to the end, however, it all fell apart for me. it felt completely implausible & the author essentially ended with a villain monologue explaining things but that explanation was an absolute nonsense cop-out. in my opinion, of course.

others may enjoy it more than i did, but i really am not too big a fan of how Dean approached female characters here or the idea of incels, youtubers, or even men. probably just me, but parts read like someone trying too hard to be all "see, ladies? i get it! thats why im a feminist!" but what do i know. im just a perpetually online afab enby who watches way too much youtube.

like, im sorry, but 'molly' actually being katie the whole book while we are actively in her head/thoughts the whole time was absolutely ridiculous. putting in the end your explaining that "when i was young, i learn you have to fully become the person youre pretending to be, even to think like them at all times" is bullshit and i hate it. there's a difference between an unreliable narrator and you just straight up lying to your audience the entire book.

don't get me started on her traveling in dog crates with sound boxes that make dog sounds to travel secretly. that was just hilarious. what even!