I’m surprised I don’t see more people talking about how much the book dipped into feeling like a white guy wanting so badly to flex his knowledge of eastern culture. We get it, dude.

All in all, the book was all right. The story within a story was more interesting than the dramatic present. But the book doesn’t really teach you what it’s going to be until halfway through, and I’ll be honest—by then I was looking at how many pages were left, hoping it would somehow turn around with not much time left.

Not a bad book by any means, though. Thoughtful and kind. Great art. Great visual character storytelling. Just a little eye-rolly at moments. Dips into that weird trope of “woman having kid means life is happy now” thing. And again, I didn’t buy that I was reading the thoughts of a multiracial woman—I kept hearing a white guy.

BUT. It was okay.