Reading this over a year after it started feels different, as we've distanced ourselves from both the beginning of the pandemic as well as the murder of George Floyd and subsequent Black Lives Matter rallies.
As a non-US person, I tend to find their politics somewhat boring. This is partly because I'm not informed enough to make a call on many of the topics that are being discussed, but also because the message doesn't seem to ever change. I just find that some views are constantly being hammered at on social media and hearing it yet again doesn't exactly get me to question society and its politics. And I get people not liking say, Trump, it is understandable, but it's not like the alternatives are usually that much better (an idea that applies to most if not all democracies). That said, I did appreciate her mentioning the fact that neither political party is objectively better and that both are pretty screwed up, which is (again) applicable to most democracies.
The one thing that did bother me was the corrupt-police arc. I do think there's a serious issue with police brutality and the way the penitentiary system is organized in the US, but portraying every cop as evil is unrealistic. I understand what the author was aiming at, but I think having some (if not most) of the cops be good or, at the very least, neutral would have allowed for similar points to be made without making generalizations about policemen.
Similarly, while I fully support peaceful rallies, I don’t think the same of assaulting or mocking police offers. Unless they are doing the same to you, acts of violence like these only makes it seem like they were in the right all along and further perpetrates the system of violence.
Getting back to the good stuff, I found myself really getting invested into most of the characters, even ones I hadn’t expected to enjoy as much like Hissy. They were relatable in their mundane problems (mostly) and their dealing with the issues of modern life was never boring or unrealistic.
The relationships (both romantic and platonic) between all the major characters were complex and nuanced, especially towards the end, when we’d gotten to see the various different sides each character had. The romantic subplot in particular was very engaging, even though it happened much quicker than I’m used to, being a fan of regency romances. The suddenness with which it occurred lent a contemporary feel to the narrative which was appropriate, even if I tend to prefer slower development.
The art was also great. I really liked how she drew characters, especially the main three, and the way they expressed themselves and their emotions was very relatable. Similarly, I felt she was particularly good at drawing navel-gazing and dialogue scenes, which is not something every artist can make engaging.
The ending was fantastic, though it got much darker than I expected. That said, I think the way most of the character arcs concluded was on point as it was neither unrealistically happy nor heartachingly depressing.
Overall, I really enjoyed this series. The character work was fantastic, especially for a series set in a complicated era like the summer and autumn of 2020 and the art was top-notch.
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