I wanted very much to like this book, but feel like it needs some serious editing. I loved the premise, and the book started out with a distinct “Down a Dark Hall” feel and I was initially immersed. Slowly though, it starts to break down.
As the characters develop it is hard to tell if the campy approach to social justice issues is actually camp. Is it vaguely comedic interpretation of teens discovering the world, or is it a mockery of the movement? The characters themselves are somewhat one dimensional, until they need to be a bad guy for the protagonist's derision. The plot is sometimes genuinely confusing, as opposed to disorienting for the sake of the narrative. The ending in particular feels truncated and like many details are somehow hand waved away. Regardless of how you interpret Lee’s perception of the events, even assuming she is a classic teen unreliable narrator, it doesn't feel wrapped up properly.
I can't get into too many more examples of where this book misses the mark without spoilers, but it falls short of the campy, yet socially aware, story it could be. This gets so close to exploring the fall out of sexual assault, coming of age as a queer teen, finding a life outside your highschool experience, and living with metal health issues all wrapped up in a clever supernatural metaphor. I still enjoyed it as an easy read with some strong parts, but I wouldn't recommend this one without serious edits. It reads as an un-beta’d, vaguely autobiographical, fanfic (which is 100% my jam) but as a novel, feels somehow incomplete.
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