Thinking back, it does make sense that her childlike written voice wouldn't have reflected an adult-appearing model meant as an AF. Maybe if AFs were designed more as babysitters, it'd be plausible.

I must have missed/forgotten the height mentions. Your take on Josie's eventual height definitely puts things into perspective. Thanks!

Ah yeah, I forgot about the upload part after I posted, so that bullet might not be relevant.

Some people, even with honest efforts, just don't benefit from ebooks or audiobooks. No problem if print books are the only format that suit your preferences, and it says nothing about you on a personal level.

I get most of my print books secondhand (thrift shops, used bookstores, etc.) with prices ranging from $1 to $10 each, or as gifts. If you're on a budget and the national library is the last resort, try to borrow as many books as possible on each visit? This way, you get the most out of your traveling efforts.

I've avoided sci-fi for years because I'd read a sample of books I thought I'd be interested in, and I couldn't keep up with the world-building from the first x pages. I tried keeping notes, but then it started feeling like a chore. I figured I was just too 'dumb', even though I can manage fantasy world-building just fine.

I'm still giving the genre a try every few months though. Currently reading Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao and it's going well enough. I'm drifting away from YA but I figured YA sci-fi could be a solid stepping stone to adult sci-fi.

Not viscerally ghastly like other topics mentioned here, but I get deeply upset with books/media that involve cheating on a partner. Even if the matter is dealt with in a responsible way by the end, I remain thoroughly upset the entire way through.

Not a 'reading journal', but I track my reading in a physical notebook as well as digitally. In my notebook:

• List of books read each year, bubbles to color-code the book format
• Monthly page listing all books started; X through the bubble to indicate if I DNFed; bubble filled in to indicate it was finished that month. If a book rolls over to the next month, I leave it unfilled but outlined in the book format color
• DNF list by month; also color-coded

I do my more detailed tracking in Notion (author, audio hours, author representation, etc), Goodreads (mark 'read' and add to recommendation tags, and Storygraph (ratings).

I agree that Daisy didn't handle things well. She had every right to an outlet for her frustrations with Aza but not in a public forum where Aza might have been recognized by people they both knew, since the fanfic was popular.

I don't hate Daisy, especially since she was still mostly present and supportive of Aza throughout, with the daily ins-and-outs of OCD.

I don't hate Aza either though. In my own life, I am the Problem Friend with mental illness. No matter how difficult it is to love someone with mental illness, it's probably more difficult to be the one with the mental illness. Speaking from my own experience, people with mental illness know they might make life hard for other people and they feel extreme shame about it, even if they don't (or can't) show it or make attempts to fix it. But still, the loved ones have every right to feel exhausted.

Knowing the author's background (he has OCD) and themes of his previous books (i.e. "Everyone is complicated"), I think we're meant to feel complicated about both characters, just like they feel complicated about each other.

I was disappointed too. I read The Giver and Gathering Blue as a kid then reread both and finished out the series as an adult.

I had moderate expectations for the ending, but I agree the "final boss battle" was kinda lame and I feel the intended audience (kids/preteens) would think so as well. I would've been more satisfied with a happily-ever-after, tied-up-in-a-bow ending instead.

I want to be lenient and chalk it up to: It's a children's/middle grade series, so it just didn't lend well to adult-me enjoying it.