Shiyana Alexandra > Recent Status Updates

I really enjoyed this book in the beginning. Precocious young MC with a love of chemistry, particularly poisons, sounds great! But the subtle misogyny seemed era appropriate and though disappointing I could tolerate it (I mean, we all have been our whole lives, right?). However the casual racism was really jarring and took me out of the story. I now care less about the whole thing.

Honesty time: I hate this book. I hate the writing. I love my kid, so I keep trying to push through but I think this book is worse than the first one. The pacing is weird, there are awkward, small jumps in the story. the dialogue is stilted and cliché. The characters lack depth and are hollow troupes at best. The world building is minimal. The plot barely makes sense. It's a shame, as the concept it interesting.

Thoughts so far: (only started reading this because of a power outage)
1. this is just a remix of Buddhism.
2. Oh, this IS a remix of Buddhism.
3. I can tell the language was compelling 6 years ago, but now seems a bit passe. Not loving the writing style.
4. This makes sense but maybe not great for folks inhabiting multiple intersections of oppression, or who are neurodivergent.
5. I am not the target audience.