I went into this without any knowledge whatsoever what it was about. The first surprise (pleasant) was that the protag is nonbinary; the second (confused) was that this is apparently a YA novel. I do see it now that I've finished; the themes fit, but the narration gives this great crossover appeal. It read like any number of adult novels currently in the market. Take that as compliment of this book or indictment of the market.

This book was alternately 3.5 and 5 stars. I loved it and it was absurd. In places it was boring. It reminded me of The Magnus Archives in points; I mainly mean this as a compliment, but the coded eldritch component could just as easily not have landed. The voice sold it above all - another entry into the "any book can be good with a strong enough voice" category. I found Mars' constant cutting through difficult situations with humour camp and fun, though it may not work for all readers. The audiobook was especially strong, and its dynamic production added a lot to this experience, including a likely half-star's worth of rating.

Some spoilery thoughts:

The plot turned out to be an absurdist parody of a patriocapitalism allgeory, and if you can't get into the camp of it all, it might strike you as bad and in places even offensive. Its most interesting thought experiment is common to every phase of the book, though its manifestation changes considerably: what do we make of a visibly queer, nonbinary person trying to move through society? Mars makes compromises trying to move a little more subtly but can't hold it for long. They repeat that they accept any pronouns knowing that they will be gendered mainly as "he," which nearly everyone in fact does. This was an interesting commentary to me, far from offensive but rather realistic about what it means to accept the pronouns you were assigned at birth. They cut their hair to fit into boy's cabins, something they do as a sacrifice that makes no plot sense give how quickly they identify themselves as nonbinary in both appearance and language, but that made perfect thematic sense. The way Mars moves through their parents' world, their sister's vision, the camp, their relationship with the honeys and with Wyatt, and finally in the world the book concludes in, is a constant negotiation of what it means to be gay, what it means to be feminine, what it means to have a body most interpret as masculine, what it means to be tall and strong and camp and graceful - what it means to exist between worlds. As Mars puts it, to be not on this shore or the other but in the expanse of what exists between.

This book works because it never forgets what it means to be adrift on this river, going to and fro between the shores as one pleases. It's not a mistake that water is such a theme in this book given this allegory.

This plot and its commentary only work with a nonbinary protagonist. It was my pleasure to get to read this story - that it was published and so beautifully produced in audio, and found a way into my possession.

I am talking myself into buying a copy, I see. It wasn't a perfect book and I had criticisms - there are some buck wild lines in the back 30% - but I am passionate about how ridiculous it was and wasn't. On a reread, I think it has potential to be 5 stars, which I haven't ever felt about a YA book published in the 21st century before. For its sins, I had a great time and, moreover, am so grateful to have gotten to read such a silly book well done. I love literature. Will pick up this author again, hopefully soon.