I can see why people enjoy this book — it’s about friendship and about life in a way that one can project a relatability onto. Unfortunately it entirely lacks substance, within every relationship we follow. Sam and Sadie’s friendship is the hinge of the novel and yet they spend at least 50% of it barely speaking, for reasons that seem to try to be complex but are inexplicable for the mere fact we have only been told that Sadie is annoyed about one thing, Sam is annoyed about another, neither of which the reader can put into any context because, after 480 pages, you hardly know the characters at all. Regardless of the very weak character and relationship work, some of the plot points are just ridiculous, especially with Sam’s mother. It just felt like every major development offered more reason not to take this book seriously. The sentiments of complex friendships are important but, being told in such a deeply simple way, stand to be ineffectual.