3.5 stars, rounded up for goodreads.

TW: public outing

rep: lesbian/bi rep, bengali characters, biracial black-brazilian and irish character, korean character

this was such a cute book, i loved nishat's voice so much. i'm not desi so i can't speak to cultural accuracy but nishat's culture and poc experience at her white irish catholic school was woven through the whole book and it was so lovely. i was expecting nishat to bond with flávia's over a shared poc experience (black-brazilian and irish) but there was less than i would've liked; flávia even excuses cultural appropriation at one point, though she does come around. i appreciated the nuance of everyone's characters, and this story dealt more with microaggressions than outright hate crimes. i would've given it a solid 4 stars but i was less than convinced by the romance. it was cute and fluffy but a lot more shallow than the rest of the book, which contained important discussions of race and culture and shame. flávia and nishat's relationship felt too surface level but if you're looking for an easy wlw coming of age, this is for you!