If You Still Recognize Me

ngl, this really didn't grab me at first. a lot of the first half of the book felt fairly superficial to me, a little too “yeah, i'm reading a YA novel.” it wasn't until the second half that things started to pick up and various cultural references started to feel a lot more nuanced and real/experienced, rather than what felt like throwaway details (the kind a white author might sprinkle in here and there for minimal-effort diversity points—not that that was the case here, but it felt reminiscent of it).

overall: a fun story to follow! but would i keep a copy on my shelf? probably not. i wanted joan to have a lot more personality, more punch to contrast with elsie's naivete and tunnel vision. ada and ritika felt a lot more fully formed. i can think of about two places where i liked that joan was giving elsie noticeable pushback; one was on page 138, “you definitely said time on your own.” / “maybe i did, but i know what i meant.”