Elis

The main issue I have with this book is superficiality. The characters are pretty flat and the intrigues of the plot are not explored in enough detail to really be eventful. I also find it uncomfortable how little weight is given to the seemingly major plot point of the characters' involvement in the slave trade, focusing exclusively on the feelings of people far removed from the reality of it and reducing the whole to a mere stumbling block for why two people can't be together.

Such a light and fluffy read for a self-help book. The illustrations are very cute and I liked the inclusion of Kim-Joy's own experiences alongside each chapter.

I expected this to be a challenging read and got hit with even more. I'll be thinking about this book for a long while.

It's rare in my experience to find a truly character-driven children's story such as this. This story is entirely about the children (and the adults in their world from the kids' point of view), not a grand adventure, even the mystery is entirely character-centered. I love that the kids' exhibit all the insensitive honesty and ill-timed sweetness of real children.

The stories of Anna and Marnie don't shy from the harshness that can be life for young kids but do so in a way that doesn't feel like sympathy farming, but rather as honest struggles that must be faced. The book is remarkably light considering the heaviness of what the girls go through.

I think the ethos of the book is well summed up in the line "Being loved, oddly enough, is one of the things that helps us to grow up".

I really enjoyed the first 2/3 of the story and then the last part felt disconnected and kind of lost me.