Cel

I just finished reading the book last night and now that I slept on it I will attempt to write a short review about it.

The book is... well, it‘s fine. It does many things right and I appreciate it because of that but at the end of the day I wasn‘t really impressed either.

What I liked:

- the diversity; this book has a very diverse cast and none of it feels forced or like the author is trying to get “cookie points” for including poc or queer characters. I like that kind of “casual diversity” where it is still important but also comes across as natural

- the way that sexuality and mental health are being handled; I saw myself in the two main characters and some of their issues were very relatable for me personally

- the ode to pop culture and fandoms that this book is, essentially; even though it wasn't necessarily similar to my own fandom experiences, I still think that many fans will be able to identify with this aspect of the book

- the feminist tones; without spoiling anything, there is a lot of that in the book, the girls can handle their sht and they help each other out, sexist bullsht that other characters say gets called out immediately, etc.


Now, let‘s quickly get through the things that bothered me:

All in all, this book didn‘t manage to grab my attention for very long, I read the first 15 chapters and then reached the point of “Okay, can something happen or can I just be done with the book already.”

Don‘t get me wrong, there is plot, I think. It is first and foremost about romance, I guess. The problem is that both relationships weren‘t as interesting to me. One was already very established and had lots of pining, which gets tiring after a while and the other felt very rushed to me, so basically the exact opposite. Aside from that we have... I don‘t know, Coming of Age subplot maybe? And of course the whole convention stuff that‘s going on, which is very repetitive and still only described very vaguely sometimes? Characters say they want to do something and in the next scene it had already happened. The very constricted setting of only one weekend at SupaCon seems a bit unfortunate, looking back on it.

Also, the book kind of reads like a fanfiction, which isn‘t bad in itself of course, but I have read stories with a similar plot, that were properly paced and felt more dynamic and interesting, so I couldn‘t help but compare the book with those, subconsciously.

To sum it up, I would still recommend the book, because it is an easy, comfortable read and I think many of the topics that are mentioned in the book can be important for a variety of people. If I had read this book when I was maybe 14 I probably would have been all over it, just because it would have maybe helped me realize some things and helped me deal with them, which is already very important and its the reason why this book ended up with 3 stars from me.

3.5 stars

i am so torn on this book, i think it is a very good book overall, it handles its many themes in a good way in my opinion but one of the main topics didn't work out for me at all in the end. yup, you might have guessed it: it's the romance. trying to keep things as vague as possible but: i think we should accept the fact that YA novels don't always need to end with the main couple getting together.

i genuinely think that this novel in particular was about so many more things than just romance, that was never the end goal for me while i was reading it? i just wanted sana to be happy and maybe go through some character development and find a place in this new life - and she could have done that without having to get the girl at the end.
this is absolutely subjective but i just cannot understand why jamie would want sana back after sana cheated on her. it's not like they had been together for a long time at that point, like, i know it was complicated and compulsive heterosexuality probably but sana knew that it wasn't fair to jamie AND caleb and she regretted every single second of it and yet she still did it. i think i would have been able to accept jamie and sana getting back together at the end a bit more if sana had made the choice herself to be upfront about how she fucked up. i was really, really waiting for this moment where sana grows a bit and just says what she actually wants to say and that would have been the perfect moment. it made sana extremely unlikable to me in just a few scenes. i completely understand how hard it is to get smth to stop once it started and it feels like you have no control over it anymore but.. this was too much for me. the fact that sana was forced to confront this issue instead of getting over her anxieties about it herself just didn't vibe well with me. and it made me feel like sana didn't deserve to get the girl in the end, i'm sorry.

the ending felt a bit rushed like it often does in YA novels, i don't think we necessarily need an additional chapter that just quickly summarizes for the reader what happens to everyone and just ties everything up way too fast. either work it into the actual plot or just leave it open for imagination, make it feel like the characters will still have things to explore after the novel is over instead of rushing through as many things as you can. idk, that's just my personal preference in the end, i'm sure many people are glad when everything gets resolved, no matter how superficial or quick it is

but if i ignore my issues with the romance and the ending, then i really liked this book. the writing is great, the topics are being handled well for the most part and it is certainly interesting enough.
if you have the opportunity then i would still recommend reading it, especially if you are interested in a YA novel with a japanese-american protagonist.