I give the book this rating because it left me feeling very frustrated and sad. Having said that, Sally Rooney has the talent to write absolutely despicable characters, but she does it in such a raw way that you find yourself wanting to know more about them. I usually stop reading books when I'm not enjoying the story or the characters, but for some reason I couldn't give up on this one - so Rooney had to have done something right. The ending was disappointing, though, and it felt like the characters didn't learn a thing in the end.