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breathehopebooks's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Oof okay so
I remember waaaaaay back in the day—i must’ve been like 11 or 12? My mom made me check this book out and read it. Idk if my mom read this at one point and thought i’d like it, or if it was required summer reading, or if she pick it randomly as “YA book for girl by Hispanic author”. It was probs one of the second two, from what i recall.
ANYWAY. I’m really glad 11 year-old me couldn’t get through this book because THERE’S NO WAY MY MOM ACTUALLY WANTED ME TO READ THIS AT THAT AGE.
I kept thinking of this as a Hispanic “Little Women”, which is to say they are very similar in that it’s a book, told mostly in vingettes with a very loose plot to tie up at the end, about four sisters coming-of-age in a changing country. One of them is a writer called Jo/Yo, one is a flirt, and one becomes very ill for no reason. It’s literally about these four daughters growing up and their parents’ experiences with them in a new society.
But all the sexual content described? Probs not appropriate for an eleven-year-old, Mom.
I remember waaaaaay back in the day—i must’ve been like 11 or 12? My mom made me check this book out and read it. Idk if my mom read this at one point and thought i’d like it, or if it was required summer reading, or if she pick it randomly as “YA book for girl by Hispanic author”. It was probs one of the second two, from what i recall.
ANYWAY. I’m really glad 11 year-old me couldn’t get through this book because THERE’S NO WAY MY MOM ACTUALLY WANTED ME TO READ THIS AT THAT AGE.
I kept thinking of this as a Hispanic “Little Women”, which is to say they are very similar in that it’s a book, told mostly in vingettes with a very loose plot to tie up at the end, about four sisters coming-of-age in a changing country. One of them is a writer called Jo/Yo, one is a flirt, and one becomes very ill for no reason. It’s literally about these four daughters growing up and their parents’ experiences with them in a new society.
But all the sexual content described? Probs not appropriate for an eleven-year-old, Mom.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and War
neomellow's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
slow-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
2.0
this would’ve been great but the timeline and narrators of the story are confusing, as i read along i felt that it was going no where.
also, in this edition in particular the intro is beautifully written but i felt that elizabeth didn’t read the book it says some stuff, for example: laura didn’t understand jojo’s poems because of the language when it is stated, more than once, that laura studied in the usa, so it didn’t make any sense and only confused me more as i was reading.
also, in this edition in particular the intro is beautifully written but i felt that elizabeth didn’t read the book it says some stuff, for example: laura didn’t understand jojo’s poems because of the language when it is stated, more than once, that laura studied in the usa, so it didn’t make any sense and only confused me more as i was reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Grief, Alcohol, Colonisation, Classism, and Deportation