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Reviews tagging 'Dementia'
A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey
63 reviews
mybookishlife2's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I want to preface this, my rating is a high 3 so I rounded to 4 on GR. I’m a sucker endings, what can I say?
I feel like I’ve said this a lot but I’ve been distracted and have not been able to just sit and read. Which makes me frustrated and then my books pay for it. But I’m a mood reader and rater.
This book is cute. Being a Cuban, I know how all that delicious food tastes and smells. I love the Hispanic culture brought into this. I love that it’s in London. The way Lila grows as a character and makes meaningful relationships is so wonderful.
But I also got very annoyed with Lila, I don’t know why. Something just rubbed me wrong. Also, and I get why it was done. It’s something I think should be done, but I guess since I understand it, the sentence or saying being translated was so repetitive but again, I understand why it was done.
Oh but her birthday. Omg. The present they all gave her. 😭 it was so sweet.
The way she gave Flora a safe place too that was fantastic.
I feel like I’ve said this a lot but I’ve been distracted and have not been able to just sit and read. Which makes me frustrated and then my books pay for it. But I’m a mood reader and rater.
This book is cute. Being a Cuban, I know how all that delicious food tastes and smells. I love the Hispanic culture brought into this. I love that it’s in London. The way Lila grows as a character and makes meaningful relationships is so wonderful.
But I also got very annoyed with Lila, I don’t know why. Something just rubbed me wrong. Also, and I get why it was done. It’s something I think should be done, but I guess since I understand it, the sentence or saying being translated was so repetitive but again, I understand why it was done.
Oh but her birthday. Omg. The present they all gave her. 😭 it was so sweet.
The way she gave Flora a safe place too that was fantastic.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Dementia
blackveilbeccy's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The pace of this was very slow and I felt rather disconnected from both the main character and the love interest. I did like the new friendship group and a lot of the side characters. I found the “emotional recipes” an annoying quirk in the writing. The cooking theme was enjoyable. This was just okay.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Medical content, Grief, and Dementia
Moderate: Mental illness, Death of parent, Stalking, Abandonment, Self harm, Medical trauma, Alcohol, and Cursing
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, and Terminal illness
nitya's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
Read for MLIS elective
This was my first time reading a book by Laura and it definitely WON'T be the last!
I would enjoy it as a movie - the descriptions were so lovely and beautiful (especially the food - u g h don't read this on an empty stomach!)! I also appreciate that the author wrote about friendship breakups, and how they can be both heartbreaking and necessary. The ending was sweet and I liked how everything turned out (Lila's choice was 💯).
This was my first time reading a book by Laura and it definitely WON'T be the last!
I would enjoy it as a movie - the descriptions were so lovely and beautiful (especially the food - u g h don't read this on an empty stomach!)! I also appreciate that the author wrote about friendship breakups, and how they can be both heartbreaking and necessary. The ending was sweet and I liked how everything turned out (Lila's choice was 💯).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Death, and Dementia
Minor: Colonisation and Self harm
livelyghost's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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
4.0
This coming-of-age novel’s first third was hard to get through, mostly because it reminded me so much of the melancholia and bitterness of my own teenage years. Once Lila starts getting to know her new environment though she and the book really start to blossom. I loved imagining the walks around the small English town and Miami described, as well as all of the delicious-sounding foods. One of the lines of the last chapter a love-interest says made me tear up. What starts out painfully becomes quite a comforting read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, and Dementia
frantic_vampire's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
4.0
This book is a love letter to baking and complicated family dynamics. I loved the duality of this book, the warmth and humidity of Miami and the cool rains of Winchester. The hurt feelings and giving yourself permission to move on. The love for one city being exchanged for another. It was just lovely and I want to revel within its pages.
I loved Lila as the main characters. She was fiery and sweet and stubborn. I liked that she could be so mad at her family but still love them to the ends of the earth. I also really liked the point in this book where she started to see why her family sent her to England. And when she saw a little bit of herself in Flora? I was done for.
This book just hit all the right buttons for me. I want to visit Lila’s Miami and Winchester. I want to have tea with Orion, bake with Lila and Flora, and listen to Jules and her band. I really loved this book and will definitely be back for a reread. A Cuban Girls Guide to Tea and Tomorrow is getting a four stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Dementia, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Self harm, Alcohol, and Death of parent
The self harm tag is for Lila’s running 20 miles until she literally collapsed The death of a parent tag is for Lil’s grandmother instead of a parent The dementia and terminal illness tags are for Orion’s motheryeojinqueen's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief and Alcohol
Minor: Confinement, Death, and Dementia
cozylifewithabby's review against another edition
This book was cute, but felt repetitive and I just wasnt engaged with the characters.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Dementia, Death, and Self harm
ktb071's review against another edition
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? No
4.0
Recap for future reads:
Disclaimer: These reviews are mainly for myself to determine if I would ever re-read in the future.
I loved the use of Spanish within the book. It reignited my love for the language and the culture; it made me want to practice more after spending years not practicing. This book also made me miss the food. The way the baking segments are described made me realize how therapeutic it can be to bake. I did have a bit of an issue with the ages in the book, but how the story unfolds makes it bearable. Jules is 16, Remy is 18, Orion is 19, and Lila is turning 18 for reference. I love the inclusion of a bisexual character. This book was very emotional toward the end and I spent a good half hour crying as I was reading the book (mainly took so long to blow my nose and dry my eyes >.<)
Disclaimer: These reviews are mainly for myself to determine if I would ever re-read in the future.
I loved the use of Spanish within the book. It reignited my love for the language and the culture; it made me want to practice more after spending years not practicing. This book also made me miss the food. The way the baking segments are described made me realize how therapeutic it can be to bake. I did have a bit of an issue with the ages in the book, but how the story unfolds makes it bearable. Jules is 16, Remy is 18, Orion is 19, and Lila is turning 18 for reference. I love the inclusion of a bisexual character. This book was very emotional toward the end and I spent a good half hour crying as I was reading the book (mainly took so long to blow my nose and dry my eyes >.<)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Dementia, Grief, and Death
yaelaed's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Dementia, Grief, and Self harm
brookey8888's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was fine. For some reason I thought this was about a plus size main character, but it’s not so I went into this thinking it was going to be something else. I did like learning more about Cuban culture and the food descriptions made me hungry. It’s didn’t really love any of the characters they were just ok.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Dementia, and Grief