I unfortunately did not enjoy my time here. The synopsis sounded so promising and intriguing but the writing felt so surface level and juvenile. One of the first things they teach you about writing is not to use the bowtie ending; yet every chapter, and even the book, ended with one. The end of the book was the biggest offender. It's like when a comedian tells a joke and then explains it; don't do that!!!

The annoying amount of pointless virtue signaling was so tiring. I'm not talking about the core issues of racism, homophobia, transphobia, and Islamophobia. She'll bring up a different issue and then never talk about it again. Like, explain why you think national parks are culprits of white imperialism. Don't just say that and then never talk about it again. She also consistently complains of not having friends throught any given period of time, especially in NY. But then, also talks about her big amazing group of friends and family that she regularly visits? Is this another one of her self-sabotaging things? I don't get it man.

Also, as a queer person myself, I don't care that she's comparing her life as a queer person to the Quran. What I do care about is that sometimes it literally made no sense. I know it's centered around her life and experiences, but sometimes the analogies she was trying to make did not correlate at all.

I wanted to like this book. I really did. That's why I finished it. That, and because it was July's book club pick. (And the last few have been stinkers, I might add, so I felt like I couldn't DNF another one.)

Bottom line: womp womp