I DNFd this book years ago and I still think about it sometimes because I couldn't understand why the main character was doing the things she was doing...and some of it I am not even sure is physically possible. I could not sympathise with her at all.

The way this book is narrated feels like stream of consciousness, like Sethie is narrating inside of her head what she sees and thinks. The third person, present tense may also contribute to this. The effect is neat, but it's hard to read for more than a page or two. I couldn't concentrate on what was happening, only how Sethie was narrating the story.

DNFed

Read courtesy of Netgalley
This was almost a DNF. I usually try not to read too much into what the premise of a book is, so I can go in with fresh eyes. I was totally misled by the third-person narrative; it made me think I was reading about a mentally-handicapped person, when the character was an over-achieving, straight A student. The short, almost staccato sentences and beginning so many sentences with Sethie's name, sounded like were had to be told as clearly and slowly what Sethie was doing in the same way she was doing it. This obviously wasn't the author's intention.
I also wasn't a fan of the oblivious, missing parents scenario too often used in YA lit. To me it feels like a cop-out device so the teens can do what they want.
I feel badly not liking a story to which the author herself feels so personally connected. But not so badly that I'd recommend it.