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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
sad
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Not enough books about Cubans. There, I said it.
What I loved about this book is that I saw shades of my family within it. I mean, by no means are we afraid of the water, quite the opposite. My mom says her powers are better near the water and the moon, and me I feel best when submerged, but I digress.
This is a beautiful story about not just a summer romance, but the relationships between mothers and daughters and how sometimes it takes more work than people realize. This book really had two love stories, and I loved both of them.
What I loved about this book is that I saw shades of my family within it. I mean, by no means are we afraid of the water, quite the opposite. My mom says her powers are better near the water and the moon, and me I feel best when submerged, but I digress.
This is a beautiful story about not just a summer romance, but the relationships between mothers and daughters and how sometimes it takes more work than people realize. This book really had two love stories, and I loved both of them.
This was an interesting experience for me. I really loved the story and the characters but the pacing of it wasn't really for me. It felt really rushed and frantic in parts which I struggled with. But I also couldn’t stop reading once I got started. Definitely one to think about reading for sure.
So this was like Latina Gilmore Girls and it was amazing!! Rosa is a hardworking young women which is something all girls need to see. I particularly loved her grandmother.
“I would have my own stories from the island that, for so long, had been an heirloom I couldn't touch.”
TWs: On-page death, xenophobia.
I was hoping for a fun, wholesome YA romance with this book and I got so, so much more. Don't Date Rosa Santos deals with themes of identity, diaspora, family tensions, absent parents, college decisions, and cultural heritage. Rosa is charismatic, smart, and level-headed, and I loved listening to her narrate the trials and tribulations of her life on audio. (The audiobook narrator is great.)
There's soft romance, town festivals, brujeria, and a matriarchal family with the strongest of bonds. There's also incredible sadness woven into this book and Rosa's feelings of grief spoke to me in a way I wasn't expecting. Basically, this book exceeded all my expectations and I'm so glad I picked it up.
I was hoping for a fun, wholesome YA romance with this book and I got so, so much more. Don't Date Rosa Santos deals with themes of identity, diaspora, family tensions, absent parents, college decisions, and cultural heritage. Rosa is charismatic, smart, and level-headed, and I loved listening to her narrate the trials and tribulations of her life on audio. (The audiobook narrator is great.)
There's soft romance, town festivals, brujeria, and a matriarchal family with the strongest of bonds. There's also incredible sadness woven into this book and Rosa's feelings of grief spoke to me in a way I wasn't expecting. Basically, this book exceeded all my expectations and I'm so glad I picked it up.
I don’t know if I’ve ever read a book that lived up to its comp titles so perfectly. I first saw Don’t Date Rosa Santos pitched as Jane the Virgin meets Gilmore Girls, and that’s strikingly accurate.
Sometimes OwnVoices and diverse books get comped to the nearest popular work with characters with similar identities to simplify marketing, which is why my eyebrows went up at the comparison to Jane, one of my favorite shows of all time and by no means representative for every single story featuring Latina characters.)
But Rosa Santos completely fit the bill. We’ve got the multi-generational Latina household (with characters that echo some traits of Jane, Xiomara, and Alba) in a Stars Hollow-meets-Miami tiny coastal town, complete with town meetings, resident gossips, and deliveries by bicycle. It’s sweet and clever and buoyantly youthful. One part romance, one part coming-of-age, and one part heartwrenching portrait of a child of diaspora.
My full review is here, but you should be able to tell from the cover and the… everything that this is a textbook-perfect summer read. Expect gorgeous prose, clever dialogue, mouth-watering food descriptions, a diverse cast, and a healthy dose of magical realism.
Sometimes OwnVoices and diverse books get comped to the nearest popular work with characters with similar identities to simplify marketing, which is why my eyebrows went up at the comparison to Jane, one of my favorite shows of all time and by no means representative for every single story featuring Latina characters.)
But Rosa Santos completely fit the bill. We’ve got the multi-generational Latina household (with characters that echo some traits of Jane, Xiomara, and Alba) in a Stars Hollow-meets-Miami tiny coastal town, complete with town meetings, resident gossips, and deliveries by bicycle. It’s sweet and clever and buoyantly youthful. One part romance, one part coming-of-age, and one part heartwrenching portrait of a child of diaspora.
My full review is here, but you should be able to tell from the cover and the… everything that this is a textbook-perfect summer read. Expect gorgeous prose, clever dialogue, mouth-watering food descriptions, a diverse cast, and a healthy dose of magical realism.
A sweet storyline with a strong main character. It wasn't perfect, but it definitely made me feel a bit more than I expected.