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I've decided that I can't decide how I feel about this, and I am just gonna give it a generic 2.5/5. There were things I liked and things I didn't like.

Of course I had high expectations for this book since everyone loves it. I was tempted to buy it so many times because I wanted to read it so bad. But I have a very strict book budget and usually only buy books that are already confirmed favourites or by a very few favourite authors. So instead I waited and waited and waited until they got it at my library. And now I am so glad that I didn't buy a copy to own, since it would have been a waste of money.

I guess I'll start with what I did like:
-Ari. He was complicated and well developed. Even though sometimes I really didn't like him, I would always come back to liking him again. Because he was real and interesting but not perfect.
-Ari's insights. He had some really amazing insights on life for a 15-16 year old. The writing could sometimes be beautiful. But it was also my least favourite thing about the book, which I will explain below.
-The idea of Ari and Dante. I loved the idea of Ari and Dante being such close friends and being in love with each other without really knowing it. Maybe Dante knew but I'm not really sure when he figured it out. It was just all really abstract and I didn't feel much while reading it. I looked up some fan art after finishing the book, and I felt more while looking at the fan art than I did while reading the book. And I didn't feel anything for Dante. He was the opposite of Ari. He didn't feel real at all. He almost felt like he was just a creation of Ari's mind. Again, the idea of Dante was kind of cute, but he was also a weirdo, and I didn't feel like I understood anything about him. He was more inscrutable than Ari.

What I did not like:
-The writing/dialogue. This book focused way too much on dialogue. There wasn't even the usual "he said/she said" after it, which had me so confused. "Who's talking now? I have no idea. Go back to the last time there was a "he said/she said" and count by twos. Too much work, I'll just guess. This sounds like an Ari thing to say. Lets just assume its Ari." It made the story feel really simplified and emotionless. It almost felt Middle Grade. Not that Middle Grade is emotionless, but the writing was pretty basic. When Ari was with Dante and they were having a conversation, or with anyone really, the conversation would not be interrupted by any of Ari's thoughts. Just a constant steam of back and forth dialogue. But I want to know how he felt while he was talking to Dante! That's why I like the idea of this book, but it just felt like there was too much missing.
-The coming-of-age storyline. Usually I don't have a problem with coming-of-age stories, but this was the epitome of a coming-of-age story. Realistically, coming-of-age is not very exciting, and neither was this book. Nothing happened! The only things of significance that happened are when Ari saved Dante's life, and when Ari discovered the secret of himself. So boring! Although I know this is just my preference.

So yeah, there it is. Not sure what else to say. I'm disappointed because there was so much potential for cute, but the main problem is that this is just not a "Rebecca" kind of book. 😞 Now I am thinking about removing The Inexplicable Logic of My Life from my TBR.