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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
3.5 stars for a truly New York novel - the city plays such an important part of the story (the characters meet on the subway; schools and real estate play an important role in their journeys; there are mentions of the Macy’s parade balloon inflating and a Barclays Center concert).
The characters within it? I found Isa to be a slightly unreliable narrator - not only does she keep Alex in the dark about what’s going on with her family, but even the reader isn’t totally sure until the very end. I also found her story less finished than Alex’s - we end with him sure about who he is and where he’s going, but I can’t say the same for her. Still kept me hooked, though.
The characters within it? I found Isa to be a slightly unreliable narrator - not only does she keep Alex in the dark about what’s going on with her family, but even the reader isn’t totally sure until the very end. I also found her story less finished than Alex’s - we end with him sure about who he is and where he’s going, but I can’t say the same for her. Still kept me hooked, though.
Another book I read for NoVaTeen, this one was a good one. I immediately liked it. The concept of a love story that started on the train was so meet cute and I loved it. But it fell prey to the secret-keeping trope which is one that I hate. I hate characters keeping secrets when telling the truth would literally solve all the conflict that arises.
Despite this, I really enjoyed the characters. Alex was interesting and complicated. He’s a baseball player that’s Dominican and pushed hard by his dad to aim to become a pro ballplayer. Alex, however, has a newly discovered love for writing poetry and is considering going to college before trying to get drafted for baseball. I liked Alex a lot. He clearly loved his mom. It wasn’t clear How he felt about his stepmom but he totally adores his younger brother and spends time with him training him to get better at baseball. With all of this Alex doesn’t want a relationship, but he can’t help his attraction to Isa. I thought their relationship formed naturally and I loved all the meetings on the train.
Isa was a little annoying. She’s the one keeping secrets. She’s embarrassed by her family. Her mom and brother both have mental health issues. Instead of confiding in Alex about this, she keeps it a secret and it causes several problems. I liked her passion for dance despite her mother wanting her to become a doctor. She seems to see the world through rose-colored glasses because though she is Cuban, she looks white, so she hasn’t dealt with the same things that Alex has and doesn’t understand his reactions to certain things (like the police.)
This book covers some heavy topics like racism, gangs, police brutality, in a way that really made me feel for the characters. There’s also a bit of inequality between Isa and Alex. Isa lives on Park Ave and goes to private school and Alex does not. This causes conflict too, but this was a more realistic conflict (I hate secrets that cause conflict. It just pisses me off.)
Overall, I thought this book was good. I enjoyed it and the characters. Thought the chapters are marked with the changing days and dates, so sometimes there was a week or more in between some chapters and that was a bit jarring at first. I definitely think this will be a well-loved book, but the secret-keeping really lowered my enjoyment.
Despite this, I really enjoyed the characters. Alex was interesting and complicated. He’s a baseball player that’s Dominican and pushed hard by his dad to aim to become a pro ballplayer. Alex, however, has a newly discovered love for writing poetry and is considering going to college before trying to get drafted for baseball. I liked Alex a lot. He clearly loved his mom. It wasn’t clear How he felt about his stepmom but he totally adores his younger brother and spends time with him training him to get better at baseball. With all of this Alex doesn’t want a relationship, but he can’t help his attraction to Isa. I thought their relationship formed naturally and I loved all the meetings on the train.
Isa was a little annoying. She’s the one keeping secrets. She’s embarrassed by her family. Her mom and brother both have mental health issues. Instead of confiding in Alex about this, she keeps it a secret and it causes several problems. I liked her passion for dance despite her mother wanting her to become a doctor. She seems to see the world through rose-colored glasses because though she is Cuban, she looks white, so she hasn’t dealt with the same things that Alex has and doesn’t understand his reactions to certain things (like the police.)
This book covers some heavy topics like racism, gangs, police brutality, in a way that really made me feel for the characters. There’s also a bit of inequality between Isa and Alex. Isa lives on Park Ave and goes to private school and Alex does not. This causes conflict too, but this was a more realistic conflict (I hate secrets that cause conflict. It just pisses me off.)
Overall, I thought this book was good. I enjoyed it and the characters. Thought the chapters are marked with the changing days and dates, so sometimes there was a week or more in between some chapters and that was a bit jarring at first. I definitely think this will be a well-loved book, but the secret-keeping really lowered my enjoyment.
3.75.
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I loved Isa & Alex and their passion. The ending felt little dramatic to make everything fall into a nice place.
.
I loved Isa & Alex and their passion. The ending felt little dramatic to make everything fall into a nice place.
This book started out really strong; the explorations of race, living in a black body and the inherent fear that your unwanted body is taking up space in a white world; the discussions of mental health and familial expectations; the passion for sports and writing.
It all went downhill from the instagram messages 2/3 of the way through where the male mc took on a typical toxic male approach, blaming the female mc for “making” him feel a certain way. That ain’t it. This interaction completely reoriented my feelings towards him, despite adoring his character from the start.
An altogether cute and moving story discussing identity, self-worth, what is right, and love.
It all went downhill from the instagram messages 2/3 of the way through where the male mc took on a typical toxic male approach, blaming the female mc for “making” him feel a certain way. That ain’t it. This interaction completely reoriented my feelings towards him, despite adoring his character from the start.
An altogether cute and moving story discussing identity, self-worth, what is right, and love.
*This book was given by the publisher to give an honest review*
A girl and a boy meet on a New York City subway and it's love at first sight.
I really enjoyed this book and loved the involvement of different Spanish cultures. I really enjoyed reading these characters and felt connected. There were 2 P.O.V.s between the main characters which is lovely for this book. The side characters were also great and loved how they were in the main characters lives a lot and helped them develop. I loved the romance in this book also. I'm not a huge fan of love at first sight but the author nailed it with keeping it organized and having a good story plot. Ismee's writing is really good and I didn't have any problems with being lost in the book like not understanding. Since I took Spanish in High School I knew what most of the phrases meant which was cool because my Spanish came in handy. Haha. This book can also turn into a good romance movie because I could imagine every single detail in my head because I was hooked by it. So if any directors or producers are reading this, please read the book and turn it into a movie.
The reason I gave this book 4 stars is because I wish the characters spent more time at other places instead of the subway. I know the whole story is about finding each other in the subway but my little heart wanted to see them go on dates or something. I did really enjoy those times when they met each others parents so I'm not a whole lot disappointed.
Also, guys, the cover is gorgeous!
A girl and a boy meet on a New York City subway and it's love at first sight.
I really enjoyed this book and loved the involvement of different Spanish cultures. I really enjoyed reading these characters and felt connected. There were 2 P.O.V.s between the main characters which is lovely for this book. The side characters were also great and loved how they were in the main characters lives a lot and helped them develop. I loved the romance in this book also. I'm not a huge fan of love at first sight but the author nailed it with keeping it organized and having a good story plot. Ismee's writing is really good and I didn't have any problems with being lost in the book like not understanding. Since I took Spanish in High School I knew what most of the phrases meant which was cool because my Spanish came in handy. Haha. This book can also turn into a good romance movie because I could imagine every single detail in my head because I was hooked by it. So if any directors or producers are reading this, please read the book and turn it into a movie.
The reason I gave this book 4 stars is because I wish the characters spent more time at other places instead of the subway. I know the whole story is about finding each other in the subway but my little heart wanted to see them go on dates or something. I did really enjoy those times when they met each others parents so I'm not a whole lot disappointed.
Also, guys, the cover is gorgeous!
Not sure if it’s because I haven’t read a YA in ages but I loved this book SO MUCH. I listened to it and it made my reading experience 1000% better, the audiobook is narrated by Gary Tiedemann who voices Alex, and Frankie Corzo who voices Isa, and the fact that two different people read it adds a lot of dynamic to an already amazing book.
The main reason why I enjoyed this book so much may have been the easiness that I had in falling in love with Isa and Alex, not only individually as a character, but also with their relationship, and I will undoubtedly miss them meaning that I’ll probably reread this one someday.
Something that actually surprised me was the fact that the story takes place for three years, I came across this book while randomly browsing through GoodReads and only read the first sentences of the synopsis and got immediately interested, which means I never stumbled upon this huge detail, and because I read the audiobook I realized that a long period of time passed but never perceived that three years had actually gone by.
The thing that blew me away when I finished this was how well it was written, the way Ismée Williams talks about extremely current issues such as racism, classism, police brutality, etc,while marveling us with an amazing young love story is unbelievable.
As you may have realised by now this book is my new obsession and I feel like mentioning it about 500 times a day and recommending it to everyone so basically just read this book!
The main reason why I enjoyed this book so much may have been the easiness that I had in falling in love with Isa and Alex, not only individually as a character, but also with their relationship, and I will undoubtedly miss them meaning that I’ll probably reread this one someday.
Something that actually surprised me was the fact that the story takes place for three years, I came across this book while randomly browsing through GoodReads and only read the first sentences of the synopsis and got immediately interested, which means I never stumbled upon this huge detail, and because I read the audiobook I realized that a long period of time passed but never perceived that three years had actually gone by.
The thing that blew me away when I finished this was how well it was written, the way Ismée Williams talks about extremely current issues such as racism, classism, police brutality, etc,while marveling us with an amazing young love story is unbelievable.
As you may have realised by now this book is my new obsession and I feel like mentioning it about 500 times a day and recommending it to everyone so basically just read this book!
A decent romance, takes place mostly on subway cars in NYC. The insta-love thing at the beginning was a hurdle to get over. And then all the secrets that everyone kept, that seemed a little too much to get over too. I was mostly worried for little brother Robi -- the observant, sensitive one who just wants attention and gets nothing from papi.
Their worlds collided in the big climax, and the way things got tied up in a neat bow in the denoument seemed a little far-fetched.
Their worlds collided in the big climax, and the way things got tied up in a neat bow in the denoument seemed a little far-fetched.
I had a strong sense of deja vu during one of the rlly tense scenes in this book so maybe I've read it before??? But it was very cute - I liked the pacing and switches in POV, and the characterisation of both the main characters and their friends ✨
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No