I was tempted to give this book three stars instead of two because I was definitely drawn in at first. I was interested even though this really isn't the kind of book I would usually enjoy. But then it all went a bit wrong for me in that the characterisation of the two main characters was not only a bit flat, but also cliched too. Connell was incredibly frustrating, with his bout of depression being the realest and most honest thing about him. While Marianne was a mess of contradictions but they all seemed to err on the side of not-like-other-girls for me. None of the other characters warranted more than the merest skim of their characters and in the end it all fell a bit flat.

None of this story would exist if the main characters had even the tiniest ability to communicate with each other and as a reader I found that very frustrating. I finished it really quickly so the writing couldn't have been too terrible but it just really didn't excite me after the stuff at school. I did connect with Marianne in the school scenes but after that, it just left me a bit cold. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad as such, it was just not great.