#ybtdom

like child was what? 13? and loney asf, no siblings, relatives (pretty sure mateo said that right?), no other friends. yes that wasn't a really nice thing to do but what i cant get iver the is IVY of all people calling him "the most selfish person" ever over it

like BITCH THREW BABY OIL ONTO A BOWLING LANE WHICH IN NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES IS SLIPPERY ENOUGH

mateo: you wrote five million dollars on the tip line for the pizza delivery man and insisted that he deserved it

spoilers obviously

i guessed the final line of tckas like… one chapter into the book because it literally says “two homecoming queens” and sadie was the homecoming queen so i was like ? yeah it was obviously supposed to be sadie. i didn’t even think it was a reveal like i literally assumed the entire town would guess that they had been mixed up. also guessed it was peter bc he was creepy as hell, but i did think katrin would have a bigger role than she did

oouil i guessed the simon suicide but not all the moving pieces like janae and jake and how it all fit together

oouin i guessed that it was phoebe’s sister because i mean…obviously?? but i never guessed the owen reveal that had me SHOOK

and you’ll be the death of me i did not guess a single thing—i mean except for the fact that lara was involved somehow but that was a pretty easy one. everything else came flying out of left field 😭😭

the entire storyline made me so sad, and i feel like it wasn’t explored enough in terms of the aftermath for cal. it felt like everyone was so busy being mad at lara (again, as they should) that no one took the time to check in with cal and be like…are you okay?

wowowow i have many thoughts so i’m gonna break it up—

plot:

boy was this a topsy turvy ride… the reveals happened so fast and in such quick succession that it was so overwhelming. it was excellent to draw you in, and i found myself wanting to scream as characters worked things out but then BAM! pov change. however, i also feel like it didn’t let the answers sink in, exactly? like oouil, for example, we have a few scenes worth of reveals happening at different times (the car, the café, and then janae’s) and just that little break up gives you enough time to digest before jumping into more information but here it was REALLY like: BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. right after each other and it’s kinda hard to really appreciate everything bc we’re going so DAMN FAST

it makes sense, in the end, but i feel like it could’ve been helped by focusing on smaller details—like coach stealing the phone or something—just to really take a moment, prolong it just a little bit. the reveal was just So Much holy shit 😭 although i always have to say i love karen’s way of introducing little hints so casually, and the reveal of the weasel and dígame was excellent. although am i the only one who thought that the emphasis on it meant that he was D??? still confused if i’ve missed something here.

and mateos dad….what on earth. i know everyone talks about the final chapter of tckas being a lot, but to me that was the most obvious reveal in the world i guessed it like one chapter in, but THIS ONE?!!? never in a million years holy shit. i was really cycling through all of it, like daniel??? dale hawkins??? dominick?? but NO—his DAD I MEAN COME ON WHAT!!! on one hand i’m like i need a sequel i have to know where this goes, on the other i’m like ?? literally where could this go lmao

ANYWAY MOVING ON

characters

mateo was the only one i liked 😭😭 his and ivy’s relationship was so freaking adorable, and the sugar babies thing made me want to CRY but ivy was awful???? i cannot believe that mateo apologised to HER like ??? the book would have seriously benefited from mateo being like “i like you, but i don’t trust you. so we have to only be friends” and ivy having to actually learn that her actions have consequences for once. it felt like such a great build up to that point and then it just,,, didn’t happen and i’m not sure why. mateo shouldn’t have apologised he was literally right lmao

although i will say that ivy and daniels relationship in the end gave me all the warm and fuzzies awh 🥺

as for cal…i’m not sure what to think. he literally made so many bad fucking choices and it kinda feels like it was just swept under the rug, you know everyone was like wanting lara to go to jail (AS SHE SHOULD, PREDATOR!!!!!) but no one seemed to really check in on cal and be like ?? hey what the fuck was that are you okay?? i wish that was expanded upon more, but let’s be honest karen’s characters never get to deal with their trauma 😭😭 but he was excellent comedic relief and his POV in the car after mateo and ivy fought is one of the best parts of the book lol