The excruciatingly detailed build-up of these characters and their descents into mental illness felt careful and correct. But the turn toward healing did not work for me, as it was a deus ex machina. It was also, imo, an unhealthy and toxic framing for the teen. I loathed the "book" sections. They felt condescending and irritated tf out of me. I wanted this book to be about 200 pages less. It was hard to read that much pain and trauma for so long without any respite. My favorite part was the window (I cried) and the Coping Cards (but I was mad she sort of stopped talking about them as a healing mechanism later on when he needed them most).

(My reading notes full of spoilers and quotes are here: persephoneknits.dreamwidth.org/10493.html)