Mikayla
I don't know how to rate this book. It took a minute to get used to the writing style but once I did I had no problems. The lack of quotations and the way the timeline was set up made the book feel almost dreamlike. By 3/4 in it felt like more of a nightmare; I was so immersed in the story that it felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest from the anxiety of these characters. While I think Sally Rooney did an impeccable job with this book I was just unprepared for the fact that this is a heavy book and you will not finish it feeling lighthearted and happy.
As a HUGE fan of the Starless Sea I loved this book so so much. I can see how some people don't jive with it but I loved the lyrical prose and the wandering journey. I got emotional many times—out of sadness and out of joy. My only complaint is about the antagonists motives. They seemed really weak for how determined he was to close the doors but it didn't really dampen my feelings for the book because it was more about the feelings and the imagery for me over the actual plots itself. If you love found families and descriptive imagery this book could totally work for you.
Let me start by saying I don't think I would have enjoyed this book if I had physically read it. But the audiobook was phenomenal. It was eerie, atmospheric, and had a slowly mounting sense of dread. The climax was a little blunted by the protagonists apathy but I was quietly horrified. All in all the book landed for me.
“Shartstain” is where I DNF'd
This woman purposely leaves her 2 year old in a dirty diaper and then hands him off to dad.. dad also leaves him in a dirty diaper until she comes back to get him. She also put duct tape on her daughter's bleeding head wound and SENDS HER TO SCHOOL. I hated every character in this book.