LEN DIMARTILE I'M IN YOUR WALLS. honestly, i LOVED the romance. the book got me kicking my blankets, giggling into my pillows, and covering my face w my hands to hide a stupid grin at 3 am. abeer's recommendations always slap. and this book was already on my radar coz of the cover. man, this is almost like a better version of If You Could See The Sun. i expected too much of that book and got nothing, and here i expected nothing and got everything. one thing i've come to realise is that i actually like well-developed love interests with actual nuance and personality (loved the layers that len was wrapped in, like his fear of failing and succeeding both becoming a factor for determining his identity and not wanting to be defined by a single trait) unlike those tiktok book bfs *cough* ifyoucouldseethesun *cough* who only seem to be cardboard cutouts of what a desirable boy is in the female gaze. speaking of that, i appreciated the theme of feminism and the rampant internalised misogyny in all the characters lol. ALSO THE ENTIRE THING WITH THAT FRENCH BOOK (Life: A User's Manual) being used to explain eliza's arc early on—that life is bigger than any constraints you can put on it—it turns out to be true in the end, too. but also sometimes, there were uhh situations where i was like girl, just do what u want instead of falling into the clutches of societal constructs (eg. really liking len but not wanting to go farther coz it's not very feminist of her. actually, i kind of have a problem w that type of feminism. for me at least, it's not abt being above men but at the same level as them—egalitarianism with special emphasis on women's voices and struggles being heard. wanting a man doesn't make you any less feminist. it's just a human need for connection, soo i was a bit peeved by that coz i don't think that aspect was explored??) but in the end it was a well written book and it did what it came to do so kudos <3
