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carolynf's review
3.0
A great book, though hard to read, about a girl from Hialeah Lakes who manages to get accepted to a fantastic college far from Miami, to the shock and horror of her family. Lizet is trying to find herself, like all college students, and hack it in a much more academically rigorous environment than she is used to, while trying to win back the support of her family. To make matters worse, this is 1999 and her family lives two blocks from Elian Gonzalez, sorry "Ariel Hernandez," and gets swept up in that drama. Things do not get resolved tidily.
It is a little unfair that the author changed Elian's name and made up a fake college for Lizet to go to, while at the same time dumping all over Hialeah Lakes HS.
It is a little unfair that the author changed Elian's name and made up a fake college for Lizet to go to, while at the same time dumping all over Hialeah Lakes HS.
jess_segraves's review
3.0
3.5 stars. The character development in this book felt a bit lackluster, and some characters did things that made absolutely no sense, while others were fleshed out strangely.
iamtaratorres's review
4.0
Actual Rating: 3.5⭐, Rounded up
This book follows Lizet, a 1st Generation Cuban American daughter, who accepts a scholarship and leaves her home in Miami to go to an elite Univeristy in NY. This is a choice she makes against her parent's wishes and then weeks before she is set to leave, her family life is uprooted by her parent's divorce. Dealing with the uncertainty of her homelife, she now finds herself a minority in a strange setting with little to nothing in common with her peers. We watch her struggle to adjust and find her place in her new life, while finding it equally difficult to return home and relate to her family.
I enjoyed this coming of age tale, and found Lizet someone easy to root for her. I desperately wanted for her to find her place and attain her goals. As a 1st Generation Cuban American myself, there was a lot in this book that I found relatable. At times when Lizet found herself as the only Cuban or even Hispanic person in the room, I flashbacked to being in similar situations in my past and wanting desperately to fit in. I also appreciated the glimpse into what Miami was like during 1999/2000 when young Elián Gonzales, arrived on a raft and the whole country was watching his story. In this book, a fictional situation with striking resemblance to Elián's story is portrayed and you can feel the emotions of the time.
One thing I had a very hard time getting past was the lack of quotation Mark's, which unnecessarily made the dialogue hard to read. For this reason I couldn't see myself giving it a full 4⭐ rating.
This book follows Lizet, a 1st Generation Cuban American daughter, who accepts a scholarship and leaves her home in Miami to go to an elite Univeristy in NY. This is a choice she makes against her parent's wishes and then weeks before she is set to leave, her family life is uprooted by her parent's divorce. Dealing with the uncertainty of her homelife, she now finds herself a minority in a strange setting with little to nothing in common with her peers. We watch her struggle to adjust and find her place in her new life, while finding it equally difficult to return home and relate to her family.
I enjoyed this coming of age tale, and found Lizet someone easy to root for her. I desperately wanted for her to find her place and attain her goals. As a 1st Generation Cuban American myself, there was a lot in this book that I found relatable. At times when Lizet found herself as the only Cuban or even Hispanic person in the room, I flashbacked to being in similar situations in my past and wanting desperately to fit in. I also appreciated the glimpse into what Miami was like during 1999/2000 when young Elián Gonzales, arrived on a raft and the whole country was watching his story. In this book, a fictional situation with striking resemblance to Elián's story is portrayed and you can feel the emotions of the time.
One thing I had a very hard time getting past was the lack of quotation Mark's, which unnecessarily made the dialogue hard to read. For this reason I couldn't see myself giving it a full 4⭐ rating.
yelsel13's review
3.0
This book was so heartbreaking, it made it difficult for me to read. Writing was exquisite as was the rendering of the characters, but it was just too depressing for me right now.
dominicanbookworm's review
2.0
I enjoyed reading this book, and the experience was made better by being able to discuss it in with other fellow Latinx folks. What I didn't enjoy about the story was that the author had an idea of what she wanted her book to be about: displaying the college experience of the daughter of immigrants, but that story got lost with other subplots that were introduced. Reading I also felt that a lot of the characters weren't fleshed out enough, you couldn't understand their intentions or reasons for acting the way they did, and other things just didn't make much sense. I wish the family in this book and their relationships had been more developed, I believe that would have added more to the story since it was so family centric. As a Latinx who recently immigrated I could identify with many things mentioned in the book, but others just felt foreign to me, which I understand because we are all different. The point I'm trying to make is that this story started out in a good place but ended up being very muddle and that's why I didn't like as much as I hoped.
*bought in 2018
*bought in 2018
catladyreba's review
3.0
This was an interesting read. Once again, it took me awhile to get into the story. It might just be my quarantine brain. I think this is a super important, maybe even an essential book, for any first-generation college student. It's great even for those who are not, to give some insight into what the college experience looks like from another point of view.
karibaumann's review
5.0
There was a bit where it lagged about 2/3 of the way through but it might have just been that I wanted things to be easier. Loved this. Recommended.
jaclynday's review
4.0
Lizet is one of the richest and most complex characters I’ve read this year. Lizet’s family stress, issues with cultural identity, college transition struggles, and relationships with new friends and old are all major themes expertly woven into a one big, wonderful story.
mackadesiac's review
5.0
I really liked this book. It made me think about my own students and what I mean I may be missing, and how complicated our own family is, especially when you realize that your parents are ultimately human.