I had very mixed feelings about this book. The exploration of the British legal system was interesting to see. In particular, I enjoyed the element of complex court cases requiring a lot of thought and consideration from the judge's perspective. The law is a complex thing to navigate, so hearing about some of the real historical precedents was fascinating. However, the characters themselves made me rather uncomfortable.

In general, I hated the behavior of the Fiona in terms of her treatment of Adam. She regrets not giving Adam purpose after severing his ties from his religion. She wishes that she would have been more personal at the end of the book, responding to Adam's letters and possibly even his request to live with her. This sort of message feels so offputting to me. She is a judge who made a decision regarding Adam's situation, not someone who is obligated to personally guide and mentor him. Her attempt to be motherly and kiss him on the cheek before sending him away rings the alarm bells in particular as a stunning breach of professionalism. 

  Although I could understand the desire of this book to highlight the need to make the law personal, the way that it goes about it is kind of gross, in my opinion.
Further, I am so annoyed by the portrayal of Fiona as a middle-aged woman. Of course we get hit with the cheating trope, since she prioritizes her job. Of course we get hit with her regret of not having children, since she prioritizes her job. So tired of seeing these tropes. Ugh!
3.5 stars only because I enjoyed learning about the British law system.

i had to read this book for class and if i had to summarize it in one word it would probably be: ugh. that's exactly what i felt every time i had to read a new chapter. not only they're extremely long but it felt like the author was constantly mainsplaining, oh my god. it just felt like he was constantly like "hey look at me i know a lot about geography, laws, music... anything you want to know!"

i guess the only pro i can see in the book is the portrayal of the legal world, i think that can be interesting. but everything else? ugh again. since i first picked up the book i kept thinking "please don't let this turn into pedophilia"

surprise! it did, wtf

then there's the lack of communication in fiona's marriage and just the author pretending she was better, more free and more intelligent for not having a religion? uhm, yeah, fuck him. even if you're an atheist, acting like people who have a faith are dumb and blinded by it is an awful thing to do. 

so yeah, although the court drama was interesting, this author really needs to realize his mainsplaining won't take him anywhere.

surprisingly enjoyed this, makes me feel melancholy 

A solid examination of the right to freedom of religion and the complex topic of medical consent. Somewhat undone by the large focus on the minutiae of a late in life separation which was a bit of a distraction.