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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
“I was a collection of hyphens and bilingual words. Always caught in between. Two schools, two languages, two countries. Never quite right or enough for either. My dreams were funded by a loan made long before me, and I paid it back with in guilt and success. I paid it back by tending a garden whose roots I could not reach.”
I listened to an audiobook copy, great narrator, highly recommend btw. Don't Date Rosa Santos was a beautiful own voices novel that explores family dynamics, love, loss, knowing one's self, knowing one's past/culture, it covered a huge range of emotions in what was a fairly short book. I'm not actually sure if this was magical realism or contemporary, though I'd say it leaned more toward contemporary. The majority of the book, I would argue, is about family dynamics over the love story, so set expectations accordingly. As a Hispanic-American, I highly identified with many of the cultural aspects of this work and very much felt seen in the struggles and joys that it can bring.
I would highly recommend for fans of Gilmore Girls (Port Coral was basically a Cuban/Hispanic Stars Hollow) and Jane the Virgin.
Writing Style
Moreno wrote very evocatively of Cuban/Latinx culture here. You can smell the food, the gardens, the sea. Everything. You can feel the humidity and the electricity in the air from the lightning. It all felt like a very realistic window into the life of a Latinx family, of several Latinx families. There weren't the stereotypes that I detest seeing, thank goodness. The Spanish was woven in beautifully, but not to an overwhelming degree that someone who speaks less Spanish (and I speak very little) than me would have too much difficulty understanding from context. My only issue with the writing style, and par of what kept it from being a 5 star for me, was that not all of Moreno's metaphors/similes always worked for me. Some leaned a little too purple for my liking, or just didn't connect back well enough. There were however some I very much enjoyed.
"I begged time to slow so I could live in this moment a little longer. Gather all of this up and press these moments between pages like flowers."
Characterization
Moreno created a beautiful cast of characters for this work. Mimi, Rosa's grandmother, was so believable. The chiding over clothes, the unwillingness to speak of the past, the food making, problem solving, center of the family. Liliana, Rosa's mother, our flighty and heartbroken artist, was equally vivid. Rosa was a little hard to identify with for me, not from the diaspora stand point, she just had a touch of a little too perfect about her. Her only mistakes seemed to be keeping secrets from her grandmother, which on the scale of teenagers, just didn't feel that big/realistic. However, her pain, that felt supremely real. That longing, that heartbreak, that was absolutely visceral. Alex was swoony, a perfect YA contemporary rom-com lead. No complaints about the cast of side characters, all felt well fleshed out.
Plot/Pacing
This starts off as a pretty typical "Save the Town" type of story, the commercial developers are coming in to turn their marina into condos or something. Now we have a festival to try to raise the money to stop that from happening. While that's what the majority of the book is framed around, that's definitely not the story. With that said the pacing sometimes dragged at parts, you think you know where the story is going, and then the big shock happens, and you're sent reeling, and there's still more story to go. It was what happened after the big shockMimi dying that the story took a turn for odd pacing. I felt like that part of the story could have even been another book, to give those experiences their own room to breathe. It also caused the romance in the back half of the book to feel rushed and almost a little forced.
Final Thoughts
Even with my petty complaints, and believe me, in the face of the raw emotion this book is able to evoke, they are petty complaints, I would highly recommend this book for lovers of YA contemporary. It was a window to a place I might have never seen and isn't that what reading is supposed to be about?
I listened to an audiobook copy, great narrator, highly recommend btw. Don't Date Rosa Santos was a beautiful own voices novel that explores family dynamics, love, loss, knowing one's self, knowing one's past/culture, it covered a huge range of emotions in what was a fairly short book. I'm not actually sure if this was magical realism or contemporary, though I'd say it leaned more toward contemporary. The majority of the book, I would argue, is about family dynamics over the love story, so set expectations accordingly. As a Hispanic-American, I highly identified with many of the cultural aspects of this work and very much felt seen in the struggles and joys that it can bring.
I would highly recommend for fans of Gilmore Girls (Port Coral was basically a Cuban/Hispanic Stars Hollow) and Jane the Virgin.
Writing Style
Moreno wrote very evocatively of Cuban/Latinx culture here. You can smell the food, the gardens, the sea. Everything. You can feel the humidity and the electricity in the air from the lightning. It all felt like a very realistic window into the life of a Latinx family, of several Latinx families. There weren't the stereotypes that I detest seeing, thank goodness. The Spanish was woven in beautifully, but not to an overwhelming degree that someone who speaks less Spanish (and I speak very little) than me would have too much difficulty understanding from context. My only issue with the writing style, and par of what kept it from being a 5 star for me, was that not all of Moreno's metaphors/similes always worked for me. Some leaned a little too purple for my liking, or just didn't connect back well enough. There were however some I very much enjoyed.
"I begged time to slow so I could live in this moment a little longer. Gather all of this up and press these moments between pages like flowers."
Characterization
Moreno created a beautiful cast of characters for this work. Mimi, Rosa's grandmother, was so believable. The chiding over clothes, the unwillingness to speak of the past, the food making, problem solving, center of the family. Liliana, Rosa's mother, our flighty and heartbroken artist, was equally vivid. Rosa was a little hard to identify with for me, not from the diaspora stand point, she just had a touch of a little too perfect about her. Her only mistakes seemed to be keeping secrets from her grandmother, which on the scale of teenagers, just didn't feel that big/realistic. However, her pain, that felt supremely real. That longing, that heartbreak, that was absolutely visceral. Alex was swoony, a perfect YA contemporary rom-com lead. No complaints about the cast of side characters, all felt well fleshed out.
Plot/Pacing
This starts off as a pretty typical "Save the Town" type of story, the commercial developers are coming in to turn their marina into condos or something. Now we have a festival to try to raise the money to stop that from happening. While that's what the majority of the book is framed around, that's definitely not the story. With that said the pacing sometimes dragged at parts, you think you know where the story is going, and then the big shock happens, and you're sent reeling, and there's still more story to go. It was what happened after the big shock
Final Thoughts
Even with my petty complaints, and believe me, in the face of the raw emotion this book is able to evoke, they are petty complaints, I would highly recommend this book for lovers of YA contemporary. It was a window to a place I might have never seen and isn't that what reading is supposed to be about?
adventurous
challenging
emotional
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
This was such a beautiful story. I enjoyed how the plot was woven together. There was a lot going on but it all got addressed at one point or another and it came together wonderfully. I loved the colorful cast of characters and the representation of Cuban culture was great. The mysticism element was also a lot of fun. Overall, a great novel.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent
"This wasn't Cuba, and it wasn't her farm, and so much life and family had been taken from her, but despite loss and a raging sea, she reached the shore with my mother and her story hadn't stopped. She made something real and her life counted here, too."
Wow, what a great read! I really loved the amazing family and community dynamics that were so prominent in this story! For a debut author, this was very impressive!
Don't Date Rosa Santos is about a girl named (you guessed it) Rosa who has to decide her future, all while dealing with the stress of a wishy-washy mother, a secretive abuela, and a supposed curse that is getting in the way of her love life.
What truly shone in this book was the dynamics within Rosa's family, friend group, and community. The sense of support and familiarity with all of the citizens of Port Coral was so pure and wholesome to read about! I loved all of the unique personalities that each person in the story had, and how Rosa's friend group was a more realistic size than how a lot of YA books portray (for example, most books only have the protagonist have one good friend that they hang out with all of the time and no one else. This situation is not very realistic for most people. In this book, Rosa had a best friend that she was the closest with, and then she had a bunch of side friends who she also hung out with. This is how most friend groups are, and the dynamic within this group was really relatable to me and the friend group that I have in real life!). The only downside is that there are so many characters that sometimes you lose track of who people are. However, I still really enjoyed this aspect of the book and would say that the positives outweigh the negatives!
Another strong point in this book is the author's lovely, poetic prose! There were many lines that really stuck with me, and here are just a few of them:
"Spring was blossoming and my mother was back, but I only knew how long one of those would last."
"We try with all we have. We fight hands we can't see. We stomp against the earth and whisper all the right prayers, but sometimes it isn't meant to be. You believe life will always be as it is, and you make plans, but the next thing you know, you're climbing into a sinking boat in the dead of night because the land you love is no longer safe. The sun sets, he doesn't swim above water again, and time runs out."
I took the moment to jot down the memories I'd made in my journal. They were still so bright, sharp, and mine. I uncapped a marker and added my lost family to them. A little girl exploding with laughter as she chased a goat in Viñales. The grandmother who always slipped her extra sweets, when her world was alive with peace and possibility. I added a grinning Alvaro, in full color, rushing up the university steps, a book under his arm and hope in his heart."
Those are just to name a few!
So, as I said before, I really loved this prose. I found it really impressive, especially for a debut author!
Needless to say, I really enjoyed and recommend this book! However, there are a few more things that I wish I could have gotten from it. Personally, I really think that this book could have been fleshed out a little more. I feel like things happened a little too quickly sometimes, and because of how quick they would happen they didn't impact me as much as they usually would have. I am primarily talking about the romance, which I feel like needed a bit more developing in order to make it something more memorable. (Not saying I didn't enjoy the romance, but I feel like a lot more could have been done with those two characters!) The same goes for Alex's family, who we got a lot of conflict from that didn't seem quite fully resolved.
But, those little things aside, this was a great book! The positive definitely outweigh the negatives on this one. I loved the representation of Latinx characters, and I couldn't recommend this book enough! I hope this review inspires you to pick this one up if you haven't already!
A big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this e-arc in exchange for an honest review!
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I listened to this on audio.
Don't date Rosa Santos is a delightful teen drama, with the added twist of it being steeped in Cuban (and Latin) culture through it's dialogue, traditions, food, and multi-generational family relationship dynamics. Rosa is a child who has been raised to believe she will curse any man she loves just by being near the sea. This is a problem, since she lives in a seaside town. However, with the help of her friends, friendly townspeople, family, and a love interest, she is able to orchestrate a delightful street fair, more representative of her family's Cuban roots than usual, and raise enough money to save the harbor from developers. Yay for the 17yo who saves the town!
So that's my first complaint - she is surrounded by what appear to me to be able-bodied adults who have bought or rented homes, traveled outside their Florida towns, had children, run businesses for generations, graduated from college, etc.... and you're telling me that they couldn't run a town fair without a 17yo at the helm? Or they couldn't take up a monthly collection? Really?
Also, while I appreciate the fact that there is such diversity in the town that is respected (brief descriptions of her married gay neighbors and their baby girl, various dark- or white-skinned people, people who may or may not have traditional religious beliefs), but it does seem a little far-fetched. In small town Florida. I've never lived in Florida, but I have friends who do (both long-time residents and newly-transplanted people), and most will admit that there is an undercurrent during interactions with people who "are not like us," but that seems absent in this novel. That's fine - the author wanted to take on other things, blah, blah.
However, as a novel with Cuban roots, I did find the magical realism,especially once they got to Cuba, entirely charming, if hard to believe, and fun to follow.
Basically, if you're looking for a fluffy teen novel with a few moments of serious drama, especially one that honors Cuban customs and the search for one's heritage, this is a good one to pass the time with.
Don't date Rosa Santos is a delightful teen drama, with the added twist of it being steeped in Cuban (and Latin) culture through it's dialogue, traditions, food, and multi-generational family relationship dynamics. Rosa is a child who has been raised to believe she will curse any man she loves just by being near the sea. This is a problem, since she lives in a seaside town. However, with the help of her friends, friendly townspeople, family, and a love interest, she is able to orchestrate a delightful street fair, more representative of her family's Cuban roots than usual, and raise enough money to save the harbor from developers. Yay for the 17yo who saves the town!
So that's my first complaint - she is surrounded by what appear to me to be able-bodied adults who have bought or rented homes, traveled outside their Florida towns, had children, run businesses for generations, graduated from college, etc.... and you're telling me that they couldn't run a town fair without a 17yo at the helm? Or they couldn't take up a monthly collection? Really?
Also, while I appreciate the fact that there is such diversity in the town that is respected (brief descriptions of her married gay neighbors and their baby girl, various dark- or white-skinned people, people who may or may not have traditional religious beliefs), but it does seem a little far-fetched. In small town Florida. I've never lived in Florida, but I have friends who do (both long-time residents and newly-transplanted people), and most will admit that there is an undercurrent during interactions with people who "are not like us," but that seems absent in this novel. That's fine - the author wanted to take on other things, blah, blah.
However, as a novel with Cuban roots, I did find the magical realism,
Basically, if you're looking for a fluffy teen novel with a few moments of serious drama, especially one that honors Cuban customs and the search for one's heritage, this is a good one to pass the time with.
Don't Date Rosa Santos is a story about family, life and choices you make. The story is a light contemporary dealing with mom and daughter relationships, death and future choices. Even though I loved the lead protagonist i found the love story a little unconvincing and a little to insta for me. Wasnt happy in the direction the story went either could have left that part out and still made it be really impactful.
This was sweet and fun but also deep and real and raw. CW for grief.