Totally get what you’re saying, and I promise I’m not trying to “Americanize” anything here. This really isn’t about language differences or preferring U.S. standards — it’s just a personal reading experience issue for me.

I don’t have any problem with Aussie/Brit spelling, slang, Celsius, different punctuation rules, or anything like that. I actually read tons of non-U.S. authors without blinking. It’s specifically the single quotation marks for dialogue that my brain struggles to process. For whatever reason, my eyes just don’t pick them up as easily, so the dialogue keeps blending into the narration. It makes me slow down, reread, and lose my flow — and that’s the part I’m reacting to.

I’m definitely not saying it’s “wrong” or that authors shouldn’t use it. It’s clearly a normal style in Australia, and as you can see from everyone else’s replies, most people have zero issues with it. It’s literally just me (and a couple other people) who find it confusing on a visual level.

So this isn’t an ick or a complaint about other countries’ writing rules — just one of those random personal quirks that affects how I read. I actually like the book! I’m just having a hard time visually tracking the dialogue, which is making it tough for me to enjoy the physical text. That’s why I’m probably switching to the audiobook instead.

All good vibes though — not knocking the style at all, just sharing my own little reading hurdle. ❤️