coronata's reviews
273 reviews

Interesting idea, but politically confused, and for a story that's so political that's a pretty major flaw. I did like the ending though, that was a fun little twist!

DNF at 27%
Was trying to read this for a book club, couldn't get through it. I'll try again closer to the day of the actual book club meeting, but it's just way too boring, predictable, and cheesy for me 😮‍💨

The first half of this book is absolutely phenomenal. It cuts to the heart of the post-9/11 American psyche, but what I find so extraordinary about it is that, while it is very clearly dated, it is still emotionally resonant with the current moment as well. This is especially true of its discussions of death and loneliness. (The first half convinced me to take a social media break for at least a month, without mentioning social media!)
Once the book begins to explicitly discuss 9/11, it weakens because it reads as very dated. After all, it's been more than 20 years since 9/11. It feels very similar to how, for example, the movie The Bubble (2022) feels very weird to watch now that the COVID-19 pandemic is "over."