Advit Jha

This book is a mess. It follows a depressed 10-year-old boy who finds a black-and-white, joyless world strangely fascinating. His baby sister is dying, his mum has anger issues, and his home life is emotionally unstable. Instead of seeking help, he sneaks out with a girl he just met and starts secretly feeding and drugging a creepy stranger living in his garage. Stranger danger? Completely ignored. The story drags, the tone is relentlessly bleak, and the themes — arthritis, anxiety, emotional neglect, existential dread, and unsafe behavior — are far too heavy for kids. It’s confusing, joyless, and leaves you feeling worse than when you started. Definitely not a book I’d recommend to any young reader.