I didn’t quite know what to expect going into this book, and I was more than pleasantly surprised by what I found. Contents aside, the flow of this book is absolutely incredible, and the weaving of prose elements of storytelling with the in-verse format made this book not only easy to read but also a beautiful read. The characterization is full without making the characters completely predictable. It centers queer Black kids completely, and certainly challenges a lot of thought and experience about the way that public school works within society. It’s absolutely worth the read and I would highly recommend it.

It’s hard to specifically talk about this book, it tells its story so well that it’s hard to specifically sum it up. This is a pointed indictment of the oppressive system of capitalism and the school system within the United States. While I don’t particularly like to read books that distinctively mention the pandemic, I think there are a lot of very important points about it and the pandemic that are made. Despite that, I think this book does a good job of balancing the reality of oppressive systems and literary elements, not making it seem like all the world’s problems stem from one person while still upholding some traditional antagonist elements within. Further, though Cerulean, a genderfluid queer teen, is the one that you want to root for, they’re a realistically flawed person, affected by their environment and also railing against it as we all do.

The ending largely took me by surprise, a conclusion that I think the book introduces the possibility of without really making note of it. I do wish we’d gotten to spend a little bit more time in it, some plot lost in the perspective of Cerulean. Ultimately though I think that this is the kind of book where you can be unsure with a slightly unclear ending, even if I wish that some of the other characters had gotten more of that exploration. It’s easy to read, but hard to put down, and undoubtedly one that I’ll continue thinking of for a while.

I think I’m just not a fan of the writing for this author. I love love love books written in verse, and this is the second book I’ve read for Candace that I can’t finish??

The concepts for the books are always something I would love to read, but when it comes to execution and just the overall pacing of the story, it’s unfortunate falls short for me.