I'd say 4.5 stars. I have really mixed feelings about this book. There are things I didn't like objectively and wish could have been different but it wasn't the fault of the author, it is the fault of the World At Large. The broken and hopeless things in this book are also the broken and hopeless things of this world. This book was... real. Very real. By the end I wondered if maybe it wasn't actually fiction and someone was just playing a bit of a trick on me.

But at the same time it wasn't Truth. And, being me, I wanted to Do Something to provide Truth and Hope and Love. But that's not how books work and it's not always how life works because I am broken too.

I couldn't recommend this book to everyone but I also feel, very deeply, like this is a book that needed to be written.

Basically, I'm giving it 4.5 stars because I connected with it emotionally in a way I don't connect with most books - even ones I love. It isn't a comforting book or a happy book or anything like that. But it is an intelligent book that is well written and engaging and... basically I can't say "It was amazing, I loved it" but somewhere down in my soul I feel like the earth smells the morning after a big rain. And though the book dealt with harsh topics it didn't leave me feeling like all was hopeless and broken forever.