If I was an impressionable teen, reading this manga will probably give me all the feels and "realism". I think I did, because I read it way back then; but never finished as it was dropped.
Now, as an adult, it is somewhat old-fashioned and the type of shoujo that can be too much. Too much drama. Too much needless exaggeration. And too much pointlessness in the plot lines. In sum, it's an angsty teenage romance. I have to give it to the author for her excellent story and drawing. She really pulls the heart-strings of the readers. Even when it is not my taste, I still go with the flow of the characters' emotions.
I have yet to finish it, cause it's a chore. But I might skim to the end.
Edit: The author is pretty skilful in showing the readers (I hope this wasn't her thought/judgement) how cruel the people and society were towards Ann's mother. She committed suicide and was never allowed to shed a part of why she did so, how she felt, what drove her to end her life like that. Most everyone didn't at the very least sympathise with her. Most said: How could she leave her child behind?
I think our society has progressed through the ages and the 2000s to now, that we can care more about women, about the mothers, about their choices and share what might have been their deep, secretive thoughts to the world. No one is to judge another person's choice when they don't even care, don't even want to know or listen. I hope Japan is better now. I hope the world with progress even further, that we can sympathise, empathise with one another and come together.