Here’s my contribution to the “unpopular opinion” trope going around social media: I do not like this book. I tried, but I failed to see what people seem to appreciate about it. Plot and characterization were boring. I put the book down for a long time because the plot was so uncompelling to me. Many of the characters were just annoying–both human and non-human. If the focus is on strong female characters with a penchant for STEM, then I want more of them, not preternaturally precocious small boys and protective male sidekicks (who then become love interests? ugh). Honestly, I appreciated the paratexts in this edition of the text more than the text itself: Anna Quindlen’s “appreciation” almost convinced me I was wrong. And I enjoyed the author’s award acceptance speech in the back of the book.
