as subtle as a brick through a window. an excessively rigid tale adorned with pop culture references and where the line between the author's individual perspective and the narrative voice is almost indistinguishable. while it does succeed in stirring up discussions, it falls short in delving into a more nuanced storyline. despite all this, i did appreciate how the third act veered into more of a gothic horror type of thing, which made the subsequent ending all the more disappointing to me.