"The thing I'm finally learning is that someone can be your best friend in the world, but you're not necessarily theirs." 
 Pasadena is first and foremost a Noir story. I think it's important to know going in. If you're expecting a heartwarming tale of friendship and hope then you certainly came to the wrong place. There are a multitude of shadows surrounding these characters. No one is particularly innocent. Well... maybe a couple of the characters are genuinely good but everyone else consistently makes terrible decisions and has those shadows surrounding their souls. But that's the key to any good Noir story, the characters are deeply flawed and sometimes there isn't a happy ending. 
 The protagonist, Jude, is an asshole. Let's not put on airs and try to pretend she's not. She's supposed to be an unlikeable protagonist. NOIR! However, even though you may not like her, she's still pretty fascinating to follow along with. She draws you into her bitterness and you remain engrossed in everything she does. Without spoilers, something incredibly traumatic happened to Jude when she was a child. Instead of the fear or sadness that trauma survivors are commonly depicted as having, Jude is filled with 
 RAGE 
 . There is an inherent anger in being a teenage girl; let alone one who's survived something horrible. It's a very compelling character choice to show that unmitigated rage and let the character stew in bitterness. Usually this decision wouldn't work but in the case of Jude it makes you root for her regardless of whether or not she's a complete jerk. 
 "Maggie was my vice. All my bad habits and rash decisions balled up into one beautiful girl." 
 Let's take a moment and talk about Maggie... 
 THIS WAS THE DUMBEST REASON FOR SUICIDE THAT I'VE EVER HEARD OF! Literally. The. Dumbest. There are about 100 easily obtainable solutions for her "problem" that don't involve killing herself. The fact that she would decide killing herself was the only solution is entirely inscrutable. I'm baffled by it. It makes zero sense. I think as readers we weren't supposed to understand and empathize with her reasoning. In Noir, sometimes bad things happen to good people for no reason at all. The inscrutability leaves the reader wondering how her thought process could have possibly gone and we will never get an answer. NOIR! 
 Pasadena was a great Noir story. So if you like that kind of story then this would be an amazing book for you. Personally, this wasn't really a story that I would want to read again. I'm not saying it's bad because it's not. Pasadena is quite intelligent and character driven. It's a great book in that respect. Personally my tastes just love a happy ending.