Reading Open Water felt like having an intimate conversation with a friend; finishing it left me with a sense of loss. I felt so connected to the characters and the way they experience the world: through art, media and music (I can't stop listening to Solange now). The main character does 35mm photography like me, and I love the book understands the emotional intensity of capturing pictures of the people you love, and the desire to hold onto memories as something physical. 

The characters are not afraid to feel, cry, or love—or perhaps they are, but they acknowledge this. The mcs emotions are written with such a deep level of care and vulnerability—he's constantly reflecting on his thoughts and feelings regarding his relationships, within the context of being a black man and existing in a black body; his blackness defines both his fears and joys. 

It's rare to see books written in second person but it worked really well for this book. There were some points where the progression of events were hard to keep up with because of how much time was spent swimming in the mcs thoughts.

Despite touching on themes of race, masculinity, faith, freedom, and art, this is a love story. The progression of the characters feelings feel natural and, even though I wish we got a little more of the fmc, they both feel like real people with realistic flaws and vulnerabilities. The writing felt honest and yet still carried that dreamlike feeling of falling in love, all while being able to address larger themes that are as central to the narrative as the love itself.