I love books about literary magazines, weird drugs, and dark academia, but this one did not do it for me.

3.5

“Who could grasp the present without understanding the past?” What an incredible concept for a book! Imagine taking a drug as a young person to see your future or as an older person to revisit your past. It sounds so intriguing—then add a mystery involving the death of a long-lost friend, and using this drug to uncover the truth? The potential is immense. Unfortunately, it felt like a misuse of really great material.

The main problem is the lack of connection between the characters. At no point does the story establish enough depth for me to care about where it was heading. I kept reading, hanging on to discover how this girl died, but by the time we reach the reveal, it’s underwhelming. The conclusion isn’t shocking or particularly revealing, and the explanation is poorly executed.

It feels like the book wants to be both philosophical and an exploration of time—how it shapes us, how the past and present interact, and how time might not follow a linear path but instead exist in a cyclical or layered form. And while there are moments where it does this decently, the main premise of solving the murder gets lost. You don’t get a clear understanding of how this group of friends came together or why they’re reconnecting now. The stakes never feel high, and the urgency to solve the mystery just isn’t there.

What really could have elevated the story is a deeper exploration of the drug itself and the characters’ addiction to it. These kids are taking the drug to see their futures, but it’s so extreme that they’re caught in this disorienting loop, constantly questioning whether they’re in the past or the present. The whole time I was reading, I couldn’t help but think, “This is just a group of addicts.” If the author had leaned into this aspect—showing the effects of the drug, the compulsion to use it, and how it influences their decisions—the story could have been far more compelling.

As it stands, nothing about this book came together in a way that I found enjoyable. It’s wild to me that such a cool idea ended up being this boring. I really only gave it 2 stars because I loved the foundation, but sadly, nothing strong was built on top of it.