The book hinges upon the twist to make it successful, forcing readers to reconsider everything they just read. However, what I read was not compelling. Stylistically, the writing was bland and the dialogue was atrocious. Again, I get this is a choice when thinking about the fact that we are in Jake’s mind, but HIS MIND IS NOT INTERESTING. If that was the point the author tried to make, mission accomplished, but overall the reading experience was painful to get through. Jake’s mind literally read like a Philosophy 101 or Psych 101 course. Every thought he had that he considered profound was as deep as a kiddie pool.

I also personally hate when a book completely relies on a twist of some sort to make it successful. In my mind, a book should have merits beyond a twist. That’s why books such as They Never Learn by Layne Fargo and The God of the Woods by Liz Moore didn’t work for me - they relied too heavily on building up to the twist at the expense of believable characters and the emotion within the story. 

What I have discovered about myself and the books I love most is that I enjoy stories that are grounded in reality (even if they have magical or supernatural elements), have well fleshed-out characters, and are thought-provoking. This had none of that and the only thoughts it provoked were about how much I hated this book.