Status Updates From A Scatter of Light

-it feels plausible. I wonder how things will conclude between her & Steph. Personally, I think their age gap (18 & 22) & lifestyle gap (Steph is employed, in a serious relationship, lives independently with said gf — Aria isn’t independent & is about to go to college) is kinda weird. Maybe Steph is a stepping stone on Aria’s journey of self-discovery & queerness, & they won’t get together.

Aria’s experiences with Nathan were tough for me to read; Aria hasn’t labeled her sexuality yet (if she will at all), but seeing her detach herself while she’s with Nathan bc she’s confused/not into him is like how I as before I realized I wasn’t into men. She enjoys the fact that he’s interested in her, but doesn’t actually want his attention. I’m enjoying her piecing things together gradually-

-queerness has varied from Lily’s in Last Night at the Telegraph Club. I appreciate how Aria’s inner voice & personality clearly has room to grow/nature, but she doesn’t feel unintelligent, abrasive, or rash. She feels human! This is truly a coming of age story; not a teen drama, like a lot of YA books. I loved to see the dyke march! Yay pride & celebrating love + self-expression

-dynamic between her & her grandmother, Joan. Refreshing to not see racism within a Wasian interracial family dynamic (even though there are certainly many real life cases of this, as I’m all too familiar). Aria’s Asian heritage hasn’t been touched on much yet (it’s certainly been discussed though), but I feel like that may change soon. It’s interesting to see how Aria’s inner conflicts/discovering her-

Adoring this so far; Malinda Lo’s YA novels don’t ever feel juvenile, silly, or like she doesn’t trust her audience to be able to piece things together (unlike many other novels geared towards that age demographic). This allows me to connect more with the characters, become more immersed in the story, & appreciate the overall message. We have a queer (lesbian?) Wasian mc (sounds familiar…) & I love the-

"my diet coke arrived, and I unwrapped the straw and slid it into the drink"
thank god we have bold writers coming out and saying the important things.

I need to finish this book today bc it's bad

Just because you write about the brand of shampoo the main character uses (St. Ives) and that she has to go to the store to get new shampoo (Pantene) doesn't mean your writing is realistic or deep