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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
I stalled reading this book for the longest time because I was lazy, but I read the remaining 5/6ths of the book in one go during my business competition downtime. This isn't a light read like I thought there would be and there's lots of instances where it tells more than it shows. But I appreciate the story it was weaving minus that Kiara situation. I just can't bring myself to care for those kinds of things.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-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
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
If you were going into this book thinking it would be light-hearted and fun, it isn’t. It does have its moments though.
The author uses common themes found in romance novels about two characters from different sides of the tracks: racism and/or racial injustice (particularly from police and other authority figures), classism, family expectations, and friendship woes, etc. But, she also attempts to tackle heavier topics related to mental illness, specifically bipolar disorder, internalized racism (chiefly Isa’s bigoted mother who is Cuban born, yet does not want her daughter to marry a Spanish-speaking person), and the psychological effects of systemic racism and code switching. My guy, Alex deals with this real bad.
That’s alot for a YA “meet cute-esque” romance. And consent issues aside with that whole kissing a random stranger bit, I still wanted to enjoy this book. Unfortunately, it wasn’t well executed and I found myself put off by the characterization of Alex and Isa.
At times it seemed that the author wanted the reader to view the main character Isa, a beautiful ballet dancer, as the ideal with her lighter features, blond hair, and sweet nature. While Alex, the good-natured brown-skinned Dominican American baseball player with a domineering father, is only legitimatized by his love of poetry and his desire to defer to the dominant culture. And why wouldn’t he, his neighborhood has gangs, and drug abusing fathers, and overly jealous and attitudinal girls who can be used as rebounds and slighted continuously but still expected to be in your corner during times of racial injustice (Justice for Kiara(sp?)!!
So…definitely not my favorite book I’ve listened to this year. It was mildly entertaining and I did manage to maintain my usual 1.5x speed.
The author uses common themes found in romance novels about two characters from different sides of the tracks: racism and/or racial injustice (particularly from police and other authority figures), classism, family expectations, and friendship woes, etc. But, she also attempts to tackle heavier topics related to mental illness, specifically bipolar disorder, internalized racism (chiefly Isa’s bigoted mother who is Cuban born, yet does not want her daughter to marry a Spanish-speaking person), and the psychological effects of systemic racism and code switching. My guy, Alex deals with this real bad.
That’s alot for a YA “meet cute-esque” romance. And consent issues aside with that whole kissing a random stranger bit, I still wanted to enjoy this book. Unfortunately, it wasn’t well executed and I found myself put off by the characterization of Alex and Isa.
At times it seemed that the author wanted the reader to view the main character Isa, a beautiful ballet dancer, as the ideal with her lighter features, blond hair, and sweet nature. While Alex, the good-natured brown-skinned Dominican American baseball player with a domineering father, is only legitimatized by his love of poetry and his desire to defer to the dominant culture. And why wouldn’t he, his neighborhood has gangs, and drug abusing fathers, and overly jealous and attitudinal girls who can be used as rebounds and slighted continuously but still expected to be in your corner during times of racial injustice (Justice for Kiara(sp?)!!
So…definitely not my favorite book I’ve listened to this year. It was mildly entertaining and I did manage to maintain my usual 1.5x speed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Police brutality
Moderate: Racism, Classism
All right, look. I know that I have limited patience and an ever-growing boredom with straight romances. I already knew this and I continue to acknowledge this as I continue to get charmed by pretty covers and get annoyed by the number of non-problematic queer romances that I have to dig for. And let’s not talk about how sick I am about all queer romances being compared to Becky Albertalli; that’s another rant for another time that’s more fitting than this particular time where straight romance made me want to brain myself. Anyway.
Funny thing is, I wanted to like this book. I liked the concept. Am I aware that it’s wildly unrealistic and probably a little weird to fall in love with someone you met like twice on a train by chance? Yes. Did I care? Nah. Because it was fun to ignore my own reality and responsibilities! But I am both extremely underwhelmed and actually slightly peeved by this book because as someone that enjoys some miscommunication, sometimes even non-communication, for the sake of angst, this shit was just wild and frustrating as fuck. Because not only this but these characters were just awful to each other.
But hey, instead of writing a proper and coherent review, let’s make a bullet point list because I have nothing better to do with my time!
**NOT SPOILER FREE**
• It is a bold (and questionable of epic proportions) choice to have a female character throw some internalized misogyny out there for the sake of showing the readers how the love interest is a Good Feminist upon their first meeting and by choice, I did not mean a good one.
• It is also a bold (bold, not good) choice to make the aforementioned female character commit borderline sexual harassment to said Good Feminist Love Interest and briefly acknowledge that it would never be okay if a man did it and then have her apologize later which doesn’t, in any way, make up for the fact that she did it?
• Good Feminist Love Interest defaults to a girl that he knows is into him when he and The One break up (because it wouldn’t be a good book with poor communication without a good break-up from both sides for different reasons so make no mistake, there are two (2), COUNT ‘EM, break-ups technically) and then when shit hits the fan—as it do—it’s never really dealt with or apologized for. In fact, it’s kind of swept under the rug.
• LIKE THE RACISM AND POLICE BRUTALITY CLIMAX?????
• I’m not kidding. This book spends a good 95% clearly building up to something with foreshadowing of one of Alex’s best friends being in a gang and Alex clearly having anxiety and discomfort about police and at the end, when Isa and Alex are doing their stupid hetero tango of non-communication simply for the sake of dragging everything out, there’s a confrontation with the rival gang and the police assaulting Alex upon assuming he was part of it. This? This is not dealt with beyond “so Danny got out and is going to college and oh yeah, Alex is in therapy.” For giving it so much weight, it sure was tossed out the window real quick for the sake of Isa and Alex’s stupid romance.
• And I have no personal experience with the Dominican rep (obviously, as you could mistake me for a piece of printer paper) and only some personal experience with bipolar but something didn’t vibe and I don’t know what to tell you.
• My verdict? The author tried to cram way too much angst from different sources into one thing and it ended up being a disaster.
Here’s the thing, though. I didn’t hate this book. It kept me entertained enough; I did finish it which is either telling that it wasn’t so awful that I needed to catapult it into space or I’m a masochist, I don’t know. The writing wasn’t anything special and kind of almost read like a Wattpad fic in that weirdly specific things were overly detailed (like honestly, I didn’t care that much about every technical move Isa did and I didn’t care about the process of Alex eating a taco with his buds on the subway), but it’s whatever. Concept? Fun. Execution? Lackluster, a little exasperating in basically everything, I squinted a lot, I’d give a lukewarm D- so it’s fine. I guess.
Would I recommend this? I really have no idea. I’ve seen good reviews and I’ve also seen bad ones. The way the romance starts is fun, but there’s a lot of other infuriating elements and how they’re handled that can be hard to swallow for people so I’m gonna leave this one at: my opinion is entirely subjective and maybe you’ll love this, so go for it. Do what makes you happy.
Funny thing is, I wanted to like this book. I liked the concept. Am I aware that it’s wildly unrealistic and probably a little weird to fall in love with someone you met like twice on a train by chance? Yes. Did I care? Nah. Because it was fun to ignore my own reality and responsibilities! But I am both extremely underwhelmed and actually slightly peeved by this book because as someone that enjoys some miscommunication, sometimes even non-communication, for the sake of angst, this shit was just wild and frustrating as fuck. Because not only this but these characters were just awful to each other.
But hey, instead of writing a proper and coherent review, let’s make a bullet point list because I have nothing better to do with my time!
**NOT SPOILER FREE**
• It is a bold (and questionable of epic proportions) choice to have a female character throw some internalized misogyny out there for the sake of showing the readers how the love interest is a Good Feminist upon their first meeting and by choice, I did not mean a good one.
• It is also a bold (bold, not good) choice to make the aforementioned female character commit borderline sexual harassment to said Good Feminist Love Interest and briefly acknowledge that it would never be okay if a man did it and then have her apologize later which doesn’t, in any way, make up for the fact that she did it?
• Good Feminist Love Interest defaults to a girl that he knows is into him when he and The One break up (because it wouldn’t be a good book with poor communication without a good break-up from both sides for different reasons so make no mistake, there are two (2), COUNT ‘EM, break-ups technically) and then when shit hits the fan—as it do—it’s never really dealt with or apologized for. In fact, it’s kind of swept under the rug.
• LIKE THE RACISM AND POLICE BRUTALITY CLIMAX?????
• I’m not kidding. This book spends a good 95% clearly building up to something with foreshadowing of one of Alex’s best friends being in a gang and Alex clearly having anxiety and discomfort about police and at the end, when Isa and Alex are doing their stupid hetero tango of non-communication simply for the sake of dragging everything out, there’s a confrontation with the rival gang and the police assaulting Alex upon assuming he was part of it. This? This is not dealt with beyond “so Danny got out and is going to college and oh yeah, Alex is in therapy.” For giving it so much weight, it sure was tossed out the window real quick for the sake of Isa and Alex’s stupid romance.
• And I have no personal experience with the Dominican rep (obviously, as you could mistake me for a piece of printer paper) and only some personal experience with bipolar but something didn’t vibe and I don’t know what to tell you.
• My verdict? The author tried to cram way too much angst from different sources into one thing and it ended up being a disaster.
Here’s the thing, though. I didn’t hate this book. It kept me entertained enough; I did finish it which is either telling that it wasn’t so awful that I needed to catapult it into space or I’m a masochist, I don’t know. The writing wasn’t anything special and kind of almost read like a Wattpad fic in that weirdly specific things were overly detailed (like honestly, I didn’t care that much about every technical move Isa did and I didn’t care about the process of Alex eating a taco with his buds on the subway), but it’s whatever. Concept? Fun. Execution? Lackluster, a little exasperating in basically everything, I squinted a lot, I’d give a lukewarm D- so it’s fine. I guess.
Would I recommend this? I really have no idea. I’ve seen good reviews and I’ve also seen bad ones. The way the romance starts is fun, but there’s a lot of other infuriating elements and how they’re handled that can be hard to swallow for people so I’m gonna leave this one at: my opinion is entirely subjective and maybe you’ll love this, so go for it. Do what makes you happy.
✨ Rep: half Cuban mc, Dominican American mc/li, POC side characters, side characters with mental illness (bipolar disorder)
!! CWs: racism, suicidal ideation, suicide attempt (off-page, side character)
I listened to this as an audiobook. I was captured by the first three minutes and it never let me go.
I don’t have great NYC geography but I had a decent mind for where this story took place. I struggled with the MANY times Isa and Amex ran into each other on the train. Even with similar schedules, that many coincidences, really? I liked the ballet and baseball topics, and the theme of family secrets making you sick, and the whiteness and darkness that varies among Caribbean islanders. It’s a mostly chaste romance with one in bed scene, sex off page. I liked that Elizabeth Acevedo gave it a blurb on the cover; I think this was promoted by We Need Diverse Books. 9th grade and up.
➔I have been wanting to read this book since it came out in February 2020 but I am terrible at keeping my to-read list organized, so here we are.
➔The main thing you need to know about this book is that it centers around a relationship between two extremely well-developed characters.
➔Alex is a Dominican-American boy who is a very good baseball player and Isa is a white girl and a ballet dancer. They both are very busy, as you can imagine, not having time for anything other than dance and baseball until one day they see each other riding the same train.
Sounds like a typical romance novel right? The unique aspect of this book is how well I.A. Williams writes her characters and their struggles.
Both characters are dealing with complex family issues.
➔Isa I am stressed just writing those things down.
➔Alex
➔Two main characters fall in love via communication due to shared space on the train and form a relationship built on support. They root for each other and encourage each other to be happy. Even though they haven't confided in each other (their family secrets and insecurities); they have a genuine need to help each other and that I can't help but promote and share.
➔If you are into strong character-driven novels with a love based on the support you might want to check out this novel because it was one of the better romance contemporaries I have read in a while; kind of sad I didn't read it in February for the love theme and all but oh well, there is always next year for rereading.
----------------------------------------------------------
I really liked this book. And I really hate that I haven't taken my laptop with me when I returned to my hometown
➔The main thing you need to know about this book is that it centers around a relationship between two extremely well-developed characters.
➔Alex is a Dominican-American boy who is a very good baseball player and Isa is a white girl and a ballet dancer. They both are very busy, as you can imagine, not having time for anything other than dance and baseball until one day they see each other riding the same train.
Sounds like a typical romance novel right? The unique aspect of this book is how well I.A. Williams writes her characters and their struggles.
Both characters are dealing with complex family issues.
➔Isa
Spoiler
has a bipolar mom and brother, her father lost his job resulting in the family moving to a smaller apartment and the tension being high, on top of that, her brother hasn't been doing well mentally and there is a lot on her plate. She needs to persuade her mom to let her apply to a school that has better opportunities for ballet and to take her goal to be a professional dancer seriously, keep up with her busy dancing schedule, be there for her friend Chrissy and to have a healthy relationship.Spoiler
We can't judge a girl for not sharing all aspects of her life with Alex even though I absolutely hate the secrecy that leads to miscommunication scenario.➔Alex
Spoiler
is living trying to fit the picture of baseball perfection, which is his father's dream, his story also deals with racism and prejudice towards Latino-American people. He is finding out more about himself in the process of falling in love with Isa, finding new interests and ways of expressing himself(poetry).➔Two main characters fall in love via communication due to shared space on the train and form a relationship built on support. They root for each other and encourage each other to be happy. Even though they haven't confided in each other (their family secrets and insecurities); they have a genuine need to help each other and that I can't help but promote and share.
➔If you are into strong character-driven novels with a love based on the support you might want to check out this novel because it was one of the better romance contemporaries I have read in a while; kind of sad I didn't read it in February for the love theme and all but oh well, there is always next year for rereading.
----------------------------------------------------------
I really liked this book. And I really hate that I haven't taken my laptop with me when I returned to my hometown
I really liked this book. The characters faced relevant problems that would happen in the world today without feeling too desperate to be woke. I wish the side characters had slightly more development but other than that this book was great. I never felt bored which is rare for me so I recommend it 100%. Especially if you like books like the Cheat Sheet and Jenny Han Books.
RTC
I was really excited to read This Train is Being Held as let's face it the cover is really pretty. Even though I was drawn in by the cover, I got a story that I liked a lot and it was one of my favourites last year.
To start, I have a slight criticism which is that the book was a little slow and I do feel like it takes a little while to get into. I do still like a slow read though and found the way the book is formatted kept me engaged.
I do like the whole concept of wanting them to meet and the collection of small meet-cutes throughout the story. Seeing two characters slowly fall for each other and come from different backgrounds was interesting to read about and I really enjoyed it.
They both liked each other and seeing them get closer and go through difficulties still be in a relationship was realistic to read about. I also think that the writer tackled some conversations around race and whiteness in comparison to being Latinx that was important and I learnt more from the story.
The plot does pick up at the end and was tense and exciting. I was genuinely afraid for the characters which is a credit to the great writing of the author. Compared to the beginning section of the book this is a big difference. It is this that definitely makes the story better and made me enjoy the characters and the book even more.
Of course, a main part of the book is the romance and Ismée William's goes a great job at developing the romance between the two characters. I loved both Isabelle and Alex and their romance as well as their characters individual. Both were great to read about and I also loved the family relationships in the story.
Basically, I highly recommend This Train is Being Held and it was one of my favourite books of last year. I can't wait to read more from Ismée Williams in the future.
The Verdict:
This Train Is Being Held is an important and heartbreaking read that will leave you hanging until the word.
I was really excited to read This Train is Being Held as let's face it the cover is really pretty. Even though I was drawn in by the cover, I got a story that I liked a lot and it was one of my favourites last year.
To start, I have a slight criticism which is that the book was a little slow and I do feel like it takes a little while to get into. I do still like a slow read though and found the way the book is formatted kept me engaged.
I do like the whole concept of wanting them to meet and the collection of small meet-cutes throughout the story. Seeing two characters slowly fall for each other and come from different backgrounds was interesting to read about and I really enjoyed it.
They both liked each other and seeing them get closer and go through difficulties still be in a relationship was realistic to read about. I also think that the writer tackled some conversations around race and whiteness in comparison to being Latinx that was important and I learnt more from the story.
The plot does pick up at the end and was tense and exciting. I was genuinely afraid for the characters which is a credit to the great writing of the author. Compared to the beginning section of the book this is a big difference. It is this that definitely makes the story better and made me enjoy the characters and the book even more.
Of course, a main part of the book is the romance and Ismée William's goes a great job at developing the romance between the two characters. I loved both Isabelle and Alex and their romance as well as their characters individual. Both were great to read about and I also loved the family relationships in the story.
Basically, I highly recommend This Train is Being Held and it was one of my favourite books of last year. I can't wait to read more from Ismée Williams in the future.
The Verdict:
This Train Is Being Held is an important and heartbreaking read that will leave you hanging until the word.
One of my goals for 2020 is to read more novels with Latinx characters by Latinx authors, and I was thrilled to find that This Train Is Being Held featured not one but two Latinx protagonists, I was thrilled! The story follows Isa, a white passing, half Cuban ballerina, who meets Alex, a Dominican-American aspiring pro-baseball player, on New York public transit. Existing in different classes, social circles, and areas of New York, they keep running into each other on various trains until they realize there is definitely a spark between them that they both can't deny.
While this is definitely a YA Romance novel, I found there to be so much more going on in this story that helped develop Alex and Isa's world into a fully immersive reading experience. Both of their families play a major role in their lives and in the story, from Alex's divorced parents (his Dad is an ex-MLB player who is pushing him to follow in his footsteps and his mother and stepmom whom he has great relationships with) to Isa's seemingly privileged and inaccessible family (that's fraught behind the scenes with mental illness). Both of their families (and even friends) have prejudices and preconceptions about why their relationship should never work, especially Isa's mother who despite being Cuban, has a deep distrust of Latino men due to her own issues with her father. Yet the story doesn't turn into a "let's be together despite what our families think" situation. Though both having flawed families, Isa and Alex both care deeply for their parents and siblings and often choose to prioritize them first, though it caused problems between them, which was heart-wrenching yet realistic at the same time.
This story also really dove into the topic of mental illness in an honest and raw way. Isa's mother is bipolar and so is her older brother Merritt. One of the first times we meet Isa, she's tiptoeing around her mother, hoping she can leave for dance class without her mother having an episode. Throughout the course of the novel we see Isa having to be the rock of her family when things start falling apart, and though at times she can seem emotionless and detached, it's clear that her behavior is a coping mechanism because she's so often not able to react on her emotions due to always watching out for her mother and brother. Yet at the same time, Isa is terrified of exhibiting any signs or symptoms of bipolar disorder herself, as it's a constant looming threat hanging over her since she's seen several close family members suffer from it. While This Train Is Being Held isn't a mental health focused book exactly, it did an honest job showcasing that mental illness can run in any family and the toll it takes on those dealing with it, and that money or privilege doesn't make you immune to its affects.
As mentioned previously, both Isa and Alex come from different Latinx cultural backgrounds. Alex's family is still very much involved in their Dominican culture, speaking primarily Spanish and still keeping their culture alive through food, family gatherings etc (and what mouth-watering food it is! There are some wonderful food descriptions in this story!) Isa, meanwhile, has a much different relationship with her Latinx heritage, and while she speaks Spanish, she's white passing and doesn't have many of the same struggles or fear of authority that plague Alex, and her family is less open in their celebration of their culture (probably partially because her Dad isn't Latinx, and also because her mother seems to have assimilated pretty thoroughly into American culture and doesn't speak Spanish or reference her Cuban background much). Both families have preconceived notions about the other (positive and negative) and it was refreshing to see multiple Latinx cultures explored in one novel.
Alex and Isa's story takes place across the span of quite a bit of time (if I remember correctly, at least 1-2 years) and sometimes there were big time jumps between scenes. I didn't find this jarring, however and found that it fit with the overall theme of them meeting by happenstance at different points of their lives on the train. At the end of the story the tension definitely increased as many of the elements that had been simmering in the background came to a peak in an action scene that was honestly a little more intense than I was expecting (though I couldn't put the book down!).
Overall: This Train is Being Held is an honest exploration of growing up Latinx in today's American society and highlights both the differences and similarities of the experiences of the characters. While at times some of the decisions the characters made could be a little frustrating, it was realistic given their personal and family situations and it was fascinating to see how fate kept bringing them together on the train. It's a story of coming of age, finding yourself, rejecting and embracing familial expectations and most of all finding your person in perhaps the unlikeliest of places.
Blog | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages
While this is definitely a YA Romance novel, I found there to be so much more going on in this story that helped develop Alex and Isa's world into a fully immersive reading experience. Both of their families play a major role in their lives and in the story, from Alex's divorced parents (his Dad is an ex-MLB player who is pushing him to follow in his footsteps and his mother and stepmom whom he has great relationships with) to Isa's seemingly privileged and inaccessible family (that's fraught behind the scenes with mental illness). Both of their families (and even friends) have prejudices and preconceptions about why their relationship should never work, especially Isa's mother who despite being Cuban, has a deep distrust of Latino men due to her own issues with her father. Yet the story doesn't turn into a "let's be together despite what our families think" situation. Though both having flawed families, Isa and Alex both care deeply for their parents and siblings and often choose to prioritize them first, though it caused problems between them, which was heart-wrenching yet realistic at the same time.
This story also really dove into the topic of mental illness in an honest and raw way. Isa's mother is bipolar and so is her older brother Merritt. One of the first times we meet Isa, she's tiptoeing around her mother, hoping she can leave for dance class without her mother having an episode. Throughout the course of the novel we see Isa having to be the rock of her family when things start falling apart, and though at times she can seem emotionless and detached, it's clear that her behavior is a coping mechanism because she's so often not able to react on her emotions due to always watching out for her mother and brother. Yet at the same time, Isa is terrified of exhibiting any signs or symptoms of bipolar disorder herself, as it's a constant looming threat hanging over her since she's seen several close family members suffer from it. While This Train Is Being Held isn't a mental health focused book exactly, it did an honest job showcasing that mental illness can run in any family and the toll it takes on those dealing with it, and that money or privilege doesn't make you immune to its affects.
As mentioned previously, both Isa and Alex come from different Latinx cultural backgrounds. Alex's family is still very much involved in their Dominican culture, speaking primarily Spanish and still keeping their culture alive through food, family gatherings etc (and what mouth-watering food it is! There are some wonderful food descriptions in this story!) Isa, meanwhile, has a much different relationship with her Latinx heritage, and while she speaks Spanish, she's white passing and doesn't have many of the same struggles or fear of authority that plague Alex, and her family is less open in their celebration of their culture (probably partially because her Dad isn't Latinx, and also because her mother seems to have assimilated pretty thoroughly into American culture and doesn't speak Spanish or reference her Cuban background much). Both families have preconceived notions about the other (positive and negative) and it was refreshing to see multiple Latinx cultures explored in one novel.
Alex and Isa's story takes place across the span of quite a bit of time (if I remember correctly, at least 1-2 years) and sometimes there were big time jumps between scenes. I didn't find this jarring, however and found that it fit with the overall theme of them meeting by happenstance at different points of their lives on the train. At the end of the story the tension definitely increased as many of the elements that had been simmering in the background came to a peak in an action scene that was honestly a little more intense than I was expecting (though I couldn't put the book down!).
Overall: This Train is Being Held is an honest exploration of growing up Latinx in today's American society and highlights both the differences and similarities of the experiences of the characters. While at times some of the decisions the characters made could be a little frustrating, it was realistic given their personal and family situations and it was fascinating to see how fate kept bringing them together on the train. It's a story of coming of age, finding yourself, rejecting and embracing familial expectations and most of all finding your person in perhaps the unlikeliest of places.
Blog | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages