I think Nyla did an incredible job characterizing Felix as a sociopath, maybe taking some liberties when it comes to his falling in love with Lem, but compared to so many other fictional characters out there I'd always been surprised by the more accurate representation of aspd

Reading this again has me noticing so many details I missed the first time, and I adore the creepy layer so much. I like how he experiences several emotions instead of just being a sociopathic cardboard cutout, with characteristics of the disorder being present (lack of remorse, feelings of ownership, even small details like killing animals in his younger years, or fascination with things that often cause disgust). This time around I also noticed a perversness in his thoughts (not the sexual kind), which elevates his inner monologues. I don't connect that to the sociopathy, rather I think he's so much more complex than the diagnosis the author has assigned him

This is a silly read if you think about it, but I always appreciate the accuracy in concepts like these in books, and Felix is a perfect example

They will name drop general anxiety disorder but not the church of Jesus Christ of later day saints????????

Dare I say the intimate scene was... too mid??

This started off with a fun dynamic but I think we spiraled way too quickly and this character arc is starting too soon

I fell in love immediately with the stark difference between Natasha and Daniel. They both have such clear voices (and seperate writing styles which makes my heart beat a little faster every time he uses parentheses), and are so age appropriate written. 68 pages in and I already know so much about them, without them having to state information every other sentence (particularly their different attitudes towards their heritage can expand beautifully)

This is mainly a discussion about the formatting, but reading two very different writing styles is so exciting!! Like Daniel makes so many more metaphors and comparisons, he puts effort into being funny and quirky, and he's actually such a romantic. Natasha is much more down to earth and raw in her emotions, they're in two drastically different emotional states but I find her portrayals to be almost more truthful and ugly? I like that we don't shy away from some of the bitterness she has, and you can even see in her descriptions her personality, she's more self aware, shorter in her sentences and all

I think the history chapters could get a bit tiring or overdone later on, but some contexts are so beautifully added in. I loved the one about irie and the history of money, this appears to be a vry compassionate narrative