I really enjoyed this book. I loved Elena as a character, and I like how messy and imperfect the romance is. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good YA read. ( )

This book was strange, funny, and unapologetically political. I thought it was great. There was lots of emphasis on personal responsibility and our choices making us who we are, but since it was framed as conversations between friends and family it didnt come out as preachy. I didnt always agree with the conclusions characters came to but I appreciated their process and the way the author left some room for the reader to make their own choices. ( )

Unfortunately, not at all what I thought. With the amazing title and the brief synopsis, I was expecting something a little more action-packed or mystery-oriented: where were people going when they were sucked up into the sky? Why was Elena chosen? Is the world really ending?

Instead, what I got was a very talky book. Elena talks about her crush, her ex-boyfriend, her best friend, her mom, her step-dad,the shooter, her step-dad... all she does is talk. Or ponder. She doesn't understand why she has this power, and if she should use it or if she's being used. I think she heals about 10 people in the whole book.

While it's briefly mentioned that Homeland Security is interested in her and she's briefly kidnapped and pressed into service for a rich man, the book seems to take place in a vacuum (despite mentions of Reddit and other social media). If there really was someone out there who could heal people, regardless of the fact that hundreds of people are disappearing, she would never be left alone. Everyone would want a piece of her, no matter how bloody. It's even mentioned that the agents who visit her at school are not who they say they are, but then it's never followed up on.

The only thing I liked was the depiction of bisexuality - totally normal and everyday, nothing special. ( )

diverse teen fiction - existential magical realism? Cuban-American bisexual girl teen Elena tries to decide the fate of the world with the help of her incidentally Muslim male friend Fadil and her crush/maybe-girlfriend Freddie.
This was amazing, and very messy at the same time--but messy in a good way. The characters are fascinating and complex and the choices they have to make are of course also complex. I found it hard to stop reading, but kind of hoped that the mental health aspects could be given a bit more seriousness (which is not to say they weren't approached in seriousness, but it was hard to give those points their full due when the world was also theoretically ending). ( )

I listened to the audiobook version. This was an interesting take on what an apocalypse, or even what being around a miracle-person might be like. The guiding voices are manipulative and annoying, Elena continues to live her life, and crushes aren't as cool when you get to know them. ( )