5 stars

I received a copy of this book through The Reading Room/Bookstr in exchange for an honest review.

I’ll start by saying I am suffering from a major book hangover right now. I woke up at 3:30 this morning to finish this book and I am so sad it’s over.

This is a great example of how amazing a book with a horrible main character can be. I hate books that are dragged down by an unlikeable narrator/main character, but Spears perfects the art of writing a fascinating book in which the reader hates who tells them the story.

Luke is the ideal unreliable narrator as he never really escapes his own perspective. He starts out pretty annoying and degrades quickly into a major jerk. But Spears writes the change so naturally and efficiently that it is still believable. She takes an already horrible character and makes him even worse. But that in no way brings the book down. On the contrary, it makes it better as Spears creates a creepy high school hierarchy and points out the weird social dynamics that characterize the world of teenagers (and later, the world of adults as well).

I love her effortless incorporation of bullying through action and inaction and the idea of truth being subjective. There are so many amazing things going on in this book.
Similar to John Green’s writing, Spears forces the reader to think about social dynamics, the human condition, and life itself. I absolutely love it.

I can’t get over how amazing this book way. Highly, highly recommend.