Where do I even start?

I will admit that while I was really anticipating this book because I loved both of Jane’s films (I literally have an I Saw the TV Glow tattoo), I was nervous how their skills would translate from the screen into a novel, and if I would enjoy it as much as their films. Luckily even my highest expectations were surpassed.

Reading this was like being drawn into a really engrossing tv show, staying up all night to binge the entire season because at the end of every episode (chapter) it kept you on the edge of your seat and needing to find out what happens next.

The characters in here were great, I loved how their voices came through and that the protagonists weren’t perfect and didn’t always make the best decisions but I couldn’t help wanting them to still end up alright. Even the antagonists had motivations that were understandable, and they still felt human rather than just evil for the sake of it.

The plot was insane in the best way and always kept driving forward. Although at times the whole lore and concepts behind everything could’ve gotten confusing, we got enough information to still keep the story moving forward and making sense. When the reveals would finally happen, everything clicked and I also felt like I could make sense of the themes and threads that were shared between the author’s films and their novel.

The only minor thing I wish was different here is that the ending felt more fully resolved, but maybe that’s intentional. I really hope they continue to write because they definitely are skilled as an author as well as a filmmaker.

This book took a bit to really take off, but once it did, it grabbed my attention and made me not want to put it down until the end.

As someone who’s read Hamlet before, as well as other retellings, I felt that I would know where the story was going alongside all of the important plot points. However, the author did a great job of subverting expectations in some areas, changing up the methods and means in which certain things happened, and expanding on the story and emotions behind each familiar moment in ways that made it feel fresh and engaging, and so the novel overall never became predictable.

I also thought that the voice here was extremely unique although at times, a bit too confusing, but as the story went on, it made sense why. The magic system and university setting were decently developed, but I did wish there was a bit more revealed about the magic world outside of school, since aside from a few vague lines, not much was shown of what the characters’ futures could look like.

I found all of the characters to be extremely well thought out and they seemed like real, flawed people. Getting the story from Horatio’s perspective too really required the reader to trust him, but he was admittedly an uncertain and unreliable narrator, which created a mounting sense of unease that added to the elements in the story. The other characters, even the more minor ones, were fully fleshed out and felt original. It was hard to know who to root for or who to trust, as everyone’s motivations flipped between righteousness and selfishness, their desires ever-shifting, which expanded nicely upon the themes from the source material.

I really liked the trans representation here — it was not just an identity of two of the characters, but a vital part of their development and characterization, and helped them in overcoming problems they faced in the story.

Overall, while there were a few minor things that I would have preferred to be different, this is a unique, well-thought out story that doesn’t shy away from complicated and frustrating characters, and I would gladly read more from this author.