This book was good. The plot was a bit slow but the actual story and themes were really interesting. The ways that the characters mixed together and complimented each other was well done. I don’t read many books where i dislike the main character so that drew me in a bit as well. I think that the themes of this book are well established (leaving/running, (& isolation?), class divides, experiences with Covid). 

There were some sections that I felt dragged on and I felt like the end zipped up a bit too quick. 

I think a couple of highlights of porters writing is the scene where Darla wakes up in the woods. She really makes the panic / confusion of that situation clear. Hoping to be found while worrying about who would find you.  Maureen’s reflection on 9/11 made me tear up on the bus. And Ruby arriving in Japan and her experiences there was another really strong point to me. It was a really interesting setting to dive into her character and her story with Katsumi.

In the edition I read there were some issues with dates and the timeline within the story that bugged me a bit. Hopefully they were caught in later editions!