Read All The Books Aaaaaah! discussion

So at first, for the first like 30 pages, ngl, i was dissing this book. The author kept describing things as colors that made no sense to me. BUT once you get into it, the backstory being told about the mother who killed herself is very very intriguing and I wanna know how she was feeling and why her depression got so bad. The MC daughter doesn't understand it but we're seeing glimpses of the mental health issues her mom struggled with over the years and I can't help but relate. It's magical realism so some shit happens that you think "is the girl suffering from her own mental issues or is this really happening?" ALSO getting to travel to Taipei and being immersed in the chinese culture is super interesting. but like also BRUH imagine flying to a foreign country that you only speak a few words of the language with your dad and then when you get there he's like "okay, peace out. call me when you done here. bye." i'd implode.

It's interesting seeing kids learn shit that you had to wait till your 20's to learn. One of my biggest peeves in the world is how we've been conditioned to believe that romantic LOVE = HAPPINESS. The truth is, the two are not mutually exclusive. You can be extremely happy single or extremely unhappy in a relationship, and every other shade imaginable in between.

"Do you think people can be in love but also unhappy?"
"Yes," said Axel, the most solid answer he'd given in a long time. "Definitely."

that hit hard.