TBD, 4.5?/5

This book! Don’t be fooled by the cover or length and expect this to be an emotionally light read! This was not quite perfect* but its interesting and unique premise caught my attention when it was a BOTM pick. This is a character-driven story. This is a book where the choice to omit a name to the MC serves as a well-deployed plot device. The author also portrays what it is like to be mixed race and struggle to be accepted or wanted for your full identity, instead of whichever “half” people see. The final line of this book was beautiful**. The blurbs on the cover about this book being funny are, in my opinion, a disservice to book. A tad slow to capture me, I became increasingly invested in this novel after the first two chapters and found this to be an engaging and at times introspective read, but I did not find the level of humor to but what the cover promises. Do not let that stop you from reading this though! This is a book that will stay on my mind.


*POTENTIAL SPOILERS BELOW: tried to be vague where I could
- I wish that Stranger’s mental transition to wanting to be part of the family’s life was a mire fleshed out. This is a short book, and some meat might’ve been added here.
- More on the length of this book: I think the overall execution of the premise and character development would’ve been stronger if the story was longer. There were specific instances that revealed parts of the character that felt disjointed at times, or left me wondering why the details were included (yes, they added some layer to the character, but to what purpose?**)
- What was the purpose of the old man character? Wish we’d gotten to know how he connected more to the story, but I also respect how that distance keeps him true: a stranger, unknown, no desire to create or share those deep connections. I can understand how he serves as a guide for the MC but I guess I wanted one more interaction with them? 
-** Stranger is afraid of the dark because of what happened with his parent. The final line made me ponder the connection between Stranger’s stunted emotional development and his fear of casting a “shadow” (darkness) on the life of others, which is why he chooses to the career he does. 

—4.25/5? 4.5? I’m rounding up because the GR rating of this book is way too low in my opinion!