"how'd you say it? you were the only one it could be."

I LOVEEE THIS BOOK SO!! MUCH!!! and i was so surprised because i wasn't expecting to love it this much since there's an element of mystery which isn't usually something i'd be interested in but i think i'm gonna try reading some more. this book is kind of giving paper towns by john green but way way better, gayer, and much better plot and character development lmao. seriously, there's something about the way casey mcquiston writes her characters that i just LOVE, it's just so unique to me and they all have their little "things" that make them interesting, even the side characters are really important and i really enjoyed reading about them and i was rooting for them so hard! smith and rory my faves i'm so happy for them <33. aside from the romance, the mystery plot was also interesting, and unpredictable (at least to me) which i liked, and just the overall theme of community and how people you would have never thought would have things in common actually do have a lot in common, and people can help each other in so many ways if we were all just a little bit more empathetic. the book also deals with the topic of identity a lot, and how difficult it can be to be in an environment where you feel like no one accepts you for who you are and so you really have to learn to stand up for yourself and not take shit from people. a lot of the book focuses on how people are so multifaceted and there's always more to someone than you might think, because you may think you know them and you believe all that's been said about them based on the image they are choosing to project onto everyone, but they are actually much more than that, you just have to get close enough and make an effort to try and see. it's a reminder that no matter how perfect someone's life may seem (specifically shara and smith in this book), everyone has their own shit to deal with. some people are just better at hiding it. so yeah!! great book, casey mcquiston has done it again, absolute queen. oh and one more thing (well actually 2 more things),

the way rory flooded the entire science lab because he knew smith didn't want to dissect the frogs🥲
and then rory said "i knew you didn't think about me anymore, but... i don't know. you really didn't want to dissect those frogs." and then smith goes "i never stopped thinking about you." AHHHHHH

and my other fav part omg<333
"can i hear one sometime? one of your new songs?"
"that depends,"
"depends on what?"
"depends if you don't mind that they're all about you."

MF ADORABLE ANYWAY OKAY I'M DONE NOW