Hm. A few months ago I read The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin about hardship, community, utopia and necessity freedom. This book has kinda similar themes, however: - it reads like a commentary on present events woven in a plot. Stuff appears just to teach the reader about the author's position. It yanks me out of the story. - the characters are kinda flat, psychologically speaking. Maybe I missed it, but where does Rush's intense love suddenly come from? Where is the exploration between his diverging romantic and ethical desires? -stylistic it's...journalisticly? I don't know, does that make sense? -there is so much leftist dog whistling, just for the sake of. It's like btw these kids are really marginalised, but look, there are actually just humans with all their complexities. -Suspense came mainly from the non-linear plot build.