For someone who doesn’t really like YA, I sure seem to be reading a lot of YA lately. I blame my friends. In particular, this small group of remarkable people, kind & smart & patient, each one apparently feeling obligated to make me a better more open-minded person by foisting books on me that I would otherwise turn my snobby nose up at.

This one, like [b:that other book I just finished|58388343|Some Desperate Glory|Emily Tesh|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1668621616l/58388343.SY75.jpg|91580340], was almost unbearably painful at the start. This one, too, paid off after initial effort. Here the setup was cartoonish; the protagonist a humorless, soulless, unlikable bureaucrat; and the dialog made my teeth hurt from gritting them. But I kept going, because see above. And then somewhere near page 50 my brain just did a flip of sorts and I started getting it... and, soon, really enjoying it. This is escapist fantasy, a chance to snuggle safely with warm lovely marginalized people -- which is why we read [a:Becky Chambers|17650479|Becky Chambers|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], after all, though that’s a parallel that only just came to me; I didn’t make the connection while reading.

The story arc is predictable, but only broadly speaking: you know Plot Trope X is coming, but when it does it’s not quite how you thought it would be. Maybe the best way I can describe the book is “charming”: it charmed me.

Thank you, friends.