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oxfordcommaon's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Colonisation, Death, and Grief
alenka's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
sarahanne8382's review against another edition
3.0
I liked but didn't love this Afro-Latinx retelling of the Orpheus myth.
Running from the destruction of Hurricane Maria and the demon who torments her, Eury agrees to spend the summer in the Bronx with her cousin, where she meets charming guitar playing Pheus. While she's been warned that all the girls in the neighborhood are crazy about him, Eury can't help but notice the darkness that's surrounded her for years disappears when he plays his guitar and sings, and Pheus realizes that maybe there's more to his musical talent than the adulation of the crowd.
I think my problem is less with the story than with the myth it's retelling. Rivera does a creative job with weak source material.
Running from the destruction of Hurricane Maria and the demon who torments her, Eury agrees to spend the summer in the Bronx with her cousin, where she meets charming guitar playing Pheus. While she's been warned that all the girls in the neighborhood are crazy about him, Eury can't help but notice the darkness that's surrounded her for years disappears when he plays his guitar and sings, and Pheus realizes that maybe there's more to his musical talent than the adulation of the crowd.
I think my problem is less with the story than with the myth it's retelling. Rivera does a creative job with weak source material.
christina_smith's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
emsprobablyreading's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
miss617's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. I read a version of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice (most likely Ovid) in high school, and Never Look Back jibed with my memories of it. Really my only quibble with this story is "why Eury?" We get a very brief explanation of why Ato is drawn to her, but that's about it. I would have liked a little more elaboration about what made her special (because I see this a lot in YA books and it drives me a little crazy), but otherwise, I was rooting for her and Pheus.
emisallbooked's review against another edition
4.0
3.5ish stars rounded up.
Initial thoughts: love me a Greek myth retelling, and I really enjoyed the slight twist on the ending. The second half gave me strong Percy Jackson/Gods of Jade and Shadow vibes. It did take me a little bit to get into, but the second half sucked me in.
Initial thoughts: love me a Greek myth retelling, and I really enjoyed the slight twist on the ending. The second half gave me strong Percy Jackson/Gods of Jade and Shadow vibes. It did take me a little bit to get into, but the second half sucked me in.
nataliealane's review against another edition
4.0
“You have to know your history before you can move forward...Some people say dwelling in the past can be a crutch, but you can’t ignore it either. There has to be a fine balance.”
~Lilliam Rivera, Never Look Back
~
Y’ALL. This BOOK. Reading it felt like my soul was singing. Lilliam Rivera set a strong sense of place and culture, and she pulled off the music element well, too. Although the relationship was a bit too insta-love-y, it was also super sweet and tender, and Pheus was trying to be so kind and respectful of her boundaries and privacy. He starts out as a playboy musician figure but is consistently learning how to catch and correct himself. I loved both of the main characters and their family dynamics, although Eury’s development and overall character was stronger to me than Pheus’s.
~
Where Never Looks Back really shines is its portrayal of mental mental health. Eury has anxiety and PTSD from both the devastating Hurricane Maria and a manipulative, controlling, and abusive relationship with the spirit Ato, who attached himself to her after father left her family when she was a child. Her fear is partially based in the fact that most people won’t believe Ato exists, that she is simply seeing things as a result of her trauma, although in this book’s version of the world, the spirits are very much real. However, there is still a lot of truth to her experiences: her hesitance to form relationships and be open, fear that Ato will follow her to New York, guilt and shelf-blame for the bad things that happened to her family, fear that things like therapy and her coping mechanisms will not truly help her, believing she alone can bear her burden of trauma and not involving people who genuinely want to help her. Eury’s journey with her mental health was so beautiful, well developed, and realistic.
~
The pacing was rushed in some critical areas, like falling in love and Pheus’ acceptance of the spirit world, and I kept wanting to know more about why Ato chose Eury, but the mental health and family themes is what really made this book for me. It’s a contemporary romance with a bit of magical realism, but it‘s not just about teens’ first love; ultimately it is about healing and identity.
~Lilliam Rivera, Never Look Back
~
Y’ALL. This BOOK. Reading it felt like my soul was singing. Lilliam Rivera set a strong sense of place and culture, and she pulled off the music element well, too. Although the relationship was a bit too insta-love-y, it was also super sweet and tender, and Pheus was trying to be so kind and respectful of her boundaries and privacy. He starts out as a playboy musician figure but is consistently learning how to catch and correct himself. I loved both of the main characters and their family dynamics, although Eury’s development and overall character was stronger to me than Pheus’s.
~
Where Never Looks Back really shines is its portrayal of mental mental health. Eury has anxiety and PTSD from both the devastating Hurricane Maria and a manipulative, controlling, and abusive relationship with the spirit Ato, who attached himself to her after father left her family when she was a child. Her fear is partially based in the fact that most people won’t believe Ato exists, that she is simply seeing things as a result of her trauma, although in this book’s version of the world, the spirits are very much real. However, there is still a lot of truth to her experiences: her hesitance to form relationships and be open, fear that Ato will follow her to New York, guilt and shelf-blame for the bad things that happened to her family, fear that things like therapy and her coping mechanisms will not truly help her, believing she alone can bear her burden of trauma and not involving people who genuinely want to help her. Eury’s journey with her mental health was so beautiful, well developed, and realistic.
~
The pacing was rushed in some critical areas, like falling in love and Pheus’ acceptance of the spirit world, and I kept wanting to know more about why Ato chose Eury, but the mental health and family themes is what really made this book for me. It’s a contemporary romance with a bit of magical realism, but it‘s not just about teens’ first love; ultimately it is about healing and identity.
briannareadsbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Never Look Back is a contemporary YA Latinx retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice story. It follows Pheus, a musician who is staying with his father in the Bronx for the summer, and Eury, a girl from Puerto Rico who is living with her cousin for the summer, and is being haunted by an evil spirit who has followed her from Peurto Rico.
For some reason, I didn't know it was an Orpheus and Eurydice retelling before starting it, and I was a bit bummed because that story isn't one of my favourites, but I think the author did a great job at making these characters a contemporary version of Orpheus and Eurydice.
I'm also not a fan of magical realism, so I was a bit wary going into it, but again, I think the author did a great job at having the magical realism aspects weave into issues of mental illness, and the effects of Hurricane Maria.
A few things I did not enjoy was the romance between Pheus and Eury, as it seemed a bit rushed and forced. And at times it felt like the story was reaching too hard to connect Book Pheus and Eury with the Classic Orpheus and Eurydice.
But overall, I really enjoyed the characters, the Latinx/modern-day spin on the retelling, and the real-life themes that it touched on.
Thank you to Colored Pages Tours for letting me be a part of their book tour!
For some reason, I didn't know it was an Orpheus and Eurydice retelling before starting it, and I was a bit bummed because that story isn't one of my favourites, but I think the author did a great job at making these characters a contemporary version of Orpheus and Eurydice.
I'm also not a fan of magical realism, so I was a bit wary going into it, but again, I think the author did a great job at having the magical realism aspects weave into issues of mental illness, and the effects of Hurricane Maria.
A few things I did not enjoy was the romance between Pheus and Eury, as it seemed a bit rushed and forced. And at times it felt like the story was reaching too hard to connect Book Pheus and Eury with the Classic Orpheus and Eurydice.
But overall, I really enjoyed the characters, the Latinx/modern-day spin on the retelling, and the real-life themes that it touched on.
Thank you to Colored Pages Tours for letting me be a part of their book tour!
modernhobbitvibes's review against another edition
3.0
I liked the Eury sections best, especially the pro-therapy angle.
CWs for abusive relationships, trauma, body horror, sexual harassment/assault (specifics in my notes), some sensual/sexual language.
CWs for abusive relationships, trauma, body horror, sexual harassment/assault (specifics in my notes), some sensual/sexual language.