This was a pretty tricky book to rate when it came down to it, and even now I feel like I'm still a little unsure. I've seen all sorts of reviews for this book from total adoration to complete and utter 'I don't get it' and it's plainly one of those books that will only be appreciated by those that are not expecting a story. Because while there is a plot and characters and setting, that is definitely not the POINT of this book. This is more like a political essay on humanity and morals in the Mexican culture that is illustrated by fictional examples. It's well-written and felt like a really nice introduction to Marcus Sedgwick's work but I can't help but feel that one of his other novels might be more my style. I liked this but couldn't get myself to love it in the same way that others have.

There were some absolutely wonderful things about this book that I need to mention. Firstly, the fact that it talks about Mexican culture, which feels very current given the tension between Mexico and the USA right now. I loved the focus on a society that doesn't, in my reading experience, receive a huge amount of attention. Especially in YA! I also loved the way that Sedgwick subtly mixed English and Spanish together, even with punctuation use! It made for an interesting read that combined fragments of story with facts and figures to really highlight Sedgwick's message. I also really loved the world-building, which really highlighted just how poor communities such as Anapra actually are and Sedgwick provides some gorgeously quotable points that I loved. The 'polite embarrassment' passage for example, among so many.

At first, I felt really heavily invested in what was happening. I got attached to the characters and the situation, and loved the sense of tension that it brought. But as I read on, and the frustrating sense of hopelessness started to get too much, I realised I would only really appreciate what this book was trying to do if I put myself in a more neutral and less emotional state while reading. Otherwise, I felt that the message would be lost in my own sense of annoyance at the continual stupidity of all of the characters, but also the fact that really, their situations and surroundings meant they had no real choice but to BE stupid. In a way I felt like the titular character Saint Death, watching events unfold with mild interest and not allowing myself to judge but instead observe. If you like books like that, then great! But for me, it wasn't something I fell in love with.