i am feeling a bit conflicted about this book. i decided to get into it blindly, only because of its remarkable title and its low number of pages. i just needed something to avoid getting into a reading slump... but that's exactly what i got into with this book. i thought i would end it in about 2 or 3 days but it ended up taking me 7 days to finish it???

anyways, i have to say this is a really nice, touching story and i can see why it has such a high rating. it is really beautifully written and the plot is so captivating. if you are a poc or a second-generation immigrant (or, actually, both. why not?) i think you can easily relate to the main character. and even if you're not part of these demographics the story will hit you anyway, not only because of the harsh topics but because of the second person narration. if you're just like me and you're not really used to that kind of narratives, it's okay, i promise you can get used to it after a while.

however, despite the strong themes on the book, i can not lie to myself and everyone else and give this any higher rating. as i said earlier, this was supposed to not get me into a reading slump but i ended up not reading anything for days because the book was just way too slow-paced for my liking. while it is true that the second and third part of the book get kinda better, i basically had to force myself to finish this.

so yeah, i am not denying this is story is worth it (it actually is and you should probably give it a chance!) but i just couldn't fully enjoy it as i would have liked to. at least for now.