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whatannikareads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.5
4.5!
although jaquira isn't 70 or 80 years old, her life up to this point is heavy, and she has a whole lotta stories in her arsenal. you are completely sucked into all of the characters and their stories, as well as jaquira's journey navigating her own struggles with addiction, abusive parents, etc. it's a raw and blunt telling of what it's like living in puerto rico and miami primarily during the 80s and 90s, and how history has multiple ways of affecting the intricacies of our own lives: from concepts as broad as colonialism and slavery to specific ones as bloodlines and living environments. a really captivating read that makes you want to read more.
my only critique is that she has a tendency to jump back and forth between timelines; she'll foreshadow relationships with a specific person, for example, and it happens often, so i found myself being confused at what age of hers we're at. one chapter we'll be at age 18 at this point with a person, and then we'll go back to 14 and i'll have to remember where the relationship with said person was at at the time. it jumbled up my experience a bit reading it.
although jaquira isn't 70 or 80 years old, her life up to this point is heavy, and she has a whole lotta stories in her arsenal. you are completely sucked into all of the characters and their stories, as well as jaquira's journey navigating her own struggles with addiction, abusive parents, etc. it's a raw and blunt telling of what it's like living in puerto rico and miami primarily during the 80s and 90s, and how history has multiple ways of affecting the intricacies of our own lives: from concepts as broad as colonialism and slavery to specific ones as bloodlines and living environments. a really captivating read that makes you want to read more.
my only critique is that she has a tendency to jump back and forth between timelines; she'll foreshadow relationships with a specific person, for example, and it happens often, so i found myself being confused at what age of hers we're at. one chapter we'll be at age 18 at this point with a person, and then we'll go back to 14 and i'll have to remember where the relationship with said person was at at the time. it jumbled up my experience a bit reading it.
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Violence
lostinanovelidea's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Physical abuse, and Mental illness
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, and Infidelity
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