It’s taken me a fortnight to get to it, but I’m pleased as punch to have Alana M Kelley over at MAUDLIN HOUSE dig deep below to surface of Chinese Gucci, and come out the other side with an insightful review that zeros in on some of the book’s larger intentions. I admit, it’s a strange book to read, with a protagonist that is hard to root for. “Odd, Lonesome, and Fascinating,” is how Kelley describes the read, and I absolutely agree. Under all of Akira’s antics, Kelley finds the cruel schadenfreude and voyeurism of social media, and the sting of adolescent regret among other things.

It’s really rewarding as a writer when a reader or reviewer inherently understands the hidden mind of a book — and decodes the work to discover subtext, meaning, and theme. As a reader and a fan, I appreciate it when people go that extra mile. So if you have a few minutes, go check out what Kelley had to say.