Reviews with content warning for Death - Eu Estou Aqui

I have had this novel on my shelves for a few years now, and finally decided to give it a try because I have heard amazing things about Nina LaCour as an author. I was rather disappointed by this story, and perhaps I was left wanting more because I waited too long to pick this up. "We Are Okay" follows Marin, a college freshman who is running away from her life in California at a school in New York. She has not talked about all of the terrible things that she was forced to face, not even to her best friend, Mabel. When Mabel shows up for winter break to take Marin home, Marin is forced to finally acknowledge everything she has been running from.
I can see why Nina LaCour is such a beloved author. This book was written beautifully: it perfectly balances poetic language while not being too verbose. This story was just really dull for me, and I struggled to get into it. This story really attempts to explore grief, but I felt like Marin did not truly face the deaths she was running away from. The story ends right where I felt there was a climax and I really wanted to see more character growth from Marin.
I do think I will give Nina LaCour another try sometime in the future.

Content Warnings

maiahhtratchh's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This story is a reflection of grief and the impacts of our actions, or non actions, on the ones around us. It is gut wrenching as it explores Marin’s life both before and after she left San Francisco to New York. The symbolism of the shells and ocean are mixed with the solid of snow and New York (a bustling city which, at its core, can be quite hollow). The relationship between Marin and Mabel left an ache in my chest and, although it appears that they will move forward together in a different capacity, it still broke my heart, the last chapter of the book. The ending was so beautiful, I kept repeating to myself that something good better happen because it’s just so heartbreakingly awful what Marin went through and, although it wasn’t the fairytale happily ever after it was a realistic portrayal of familial love. I will have to reread this in the future

Content Warnings

mariasilva's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

solaria's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I really liked the book at the start. It was super interesting and I enjoyed the constant flipping back and forth between the old Marin and new Marin. From the middle onwards though, my interest and enjoyment dwindled. I'm not sure why particularly, but it just felt......dull? It lacked something that kept me interested. I found some plot elements a bit cliche and others not really making sense.

The book certainly knows how to tackle grief and the aftermath of it, but I felt like from the moment Marin and Mabel went to the groundskeepers house during the snowstorm, the plot kind of fell apart. The reveal of Marin's grandfathers secrets felt a bit...underwhelming. And I just didn't think having a big "plot twist" like that was necessary for the book. I'm not sure really, what my thoughts are. It certainly isn't a bad book by any means, and I enjoyed the start thoroughly. I have mixed thoughts.

Content Warnings

crunchycrystals's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

Content Warnings

mmccombs's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.5

I’m surprised I didn’t like this more? The writing is absolutely stunning, LaCour really has a gift for distilling emotions in wonderfully descriptive ways. But I couldn’t really connect with these characters and didn’t think the structure of it did the story much service (I’m also just not a huge fan of flashbacks so it could just be a me problem). I wanted to like it more but I just thought it was okay! Deeply emotional, but okay! (Also, just providing a warning that a slur for the Inuit pops up in this book, just in case you need it!)

Content Warnings

semogecarg's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

==2nd Read==
Okay I cried this time.

==1st Read==
I enjoyed this book. I really did. but I think my expectations were really high and that may have affected things. I've seen people cry over this book and I kept waiting for that emotional punch and it never came. I kind of came out thinking "well what was the point?" and that was upsetting. but the prose was beautiful and raw and it was emotional but I think the fact that I was expecting it to ABSOLUTELY DESTROY ME took away what it did deliver.

Content Warnings

_fallinglight_'s review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

More...