Yes.. and

a million times, yes. i’m still very new & fresh to reading. i got this book because it was on sale and the blurb sounded interesting enough - despite it not being my typical genre.

this book is a work of art to me. it was so much more than i EVER expected coming into it. it’s one i want to shove in everyone’s faces and beg they give it a go.

the writing style had me captivated from the very start. the way Nat was able to express fear and anxiety and inner monologue with a touch of panic with words on paper (or screen) was something to behold. i’ve never felt so relatable to a character before. between the turmoil, the parental trauma, the looming anxiety, dealings with grief, being a parent to young children, myself.. it was all so very real. the descriptions of.. the nasty horrors? perfect and visceral. the way he chose to handle certain moments with his very deliberate punctuation (or lack thereof) or use of empty space on the page or the short chapters that needed no more?.. i dunno, man. it was all just.. perfect. what a wild ride that was. a few (but not all) of my fave quotes, for fun:

“..-that hardwired desperation to make her audience like her, even if it’s just an audience of one.” •• (it hasn’t happened yet, but once it happens, it will always be happening and will never not have happened) •• “Love is a shape-shifting monster… A werewolf with a bottomless stomach” •• “That’s where he ate pizza.” ••• “How do you protect? The answer: More bricks. More mortar… That following morning, she orders a bottle of champagne. By lunch, she’s ordered a bottle of vodka and a bottle of tequila. They’re not cheap, but who said good masonry was?”

Thank you, Nat