This was one of the most beautifully confusing and complicated things I have read. It's literally a masterclass in interpretive reading. I don't even know to appropriately explain this book, except that it was a wonderful mess.

The whole story felt like if a Broadway thespian and a mental therapist were to be combined together to create an abstract life story revolved around a Civ playthrough.

I felt like this is the type of book where 16 different people would read it and all 16 would view something different and take away a completely different story. Is this book about death and grief? Is this book about self sabotage and healing? Is this book about selfish manipulation love but also something so visceral that you still want to see the happy ending? The only answer to all that is "yes" along with so much more.

I also very much appreciated the author for having so much queer representation that didn't feel forced or was a main focus on those characters. I never once felt like they were "token queer" characters thrown in to diversify the story, it was just a part of who they were and it wasn't the only defining thing about them.