Thank you to Goodreads and Atria Books for an advanced copy of this book!

This is the first book by Akwaeke Emezi that I have read, and I also had forgotten literally everything about the synopsis by the time it got to me, so I truly had no idea what to expect. And unfortunately I think that was to the book's detriment for me because I went in unprepared for the type of story this is.

What I liked: The character of Alim is just fantastic; I really can't express how much I adore him. The writing style was perfect at conveying emotion and creating a rich setting (I will definitely be checking out more of this author's work!). Great queer rep! My heart grows more and more with all the bisexual representation I'm seeing these days that I so desperately needed when I was younger. 🥺

What didn't work for me: The dialogue occasionally gave me "How do you do, fellow kids?" vibes, but I'm a 34 yo white woman so take that with a giant grain of salt. 😅 The main character of Feyi was a bit frustrating (I think the character was well written, just made the book a bit tedious at times). My biggest complaint about the story is that it had more drama than I felt it needed, to the point that it sometimes felt a bit like a soap opera. I think the characters and relationships could have stood on their own without quite as much melodrama.

I'm not sure who I would specifically recommend this to, but I think this would make a great movie. 🤔