The blurb and concept of this book are likely to catch many readers' attentions, but the execution wasn't done as well as I'd hoped. Being able to read from either girl's perspective is a great, fun idea, and that you have to read both before getting to the truth of things works well enough, but it doesn't seem like you get the full story no matter how you read the book. Neither girl is very likeable, nor do either seem particularly trustworthy. While it's common for young childhood friends to drift apart as they grow older, there was so much emphasis on this "cosmically" formed toxic friendship that didn't make sense to me. Neither girl is happy with the other and instead of just being honest or slowly, naturally going their own ways, they decide to manipulate and destroy one another. Teens can be unruly and immature, though, so we have to give the author credit for that... because we certainly can't give credit for other inaccuracies. The scene of the accident, logistically, doesn't make sense and then we have two different accounts of little details from the scene (no skid marks to suddenly them existing, not raining then it was previously raining but now it is raining). You may think you're filling in the blanks, getting important details about that fateful drive from both girls, but that's just not what happened.
There are some important, well crafted scenes involving the parents of both Syl and Viola. Things that make it obvious as to why they may behave the way they do, how they perceive relationships. It was interesting to see each of their opinions on situations they were both involved in (a vacation or one of their many fights). These instances were more believable, done well. There was much more potential for Lila to be important to this story, which I thought she would be, but such wasn't the case. I think there were 2-3 errors in the text during my readthrough of this ARC for a book that previously came out in 2023 (my biggest takeaway is this new version must be largely condensed), but they were small enough to not be bothersome (the two I do remember: one was a spelling error and the other was a sentence talking about a mom but then using male pronouns).
Overall, I think that it's a good concept and offers an interesting, though small, character study. This version is a quick and easy read, with a few intriguing plot points to keep you turning the page. The ending, though, and repetitive nature of self-blame (questionable) is both lackluster and annoying.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC.