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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
“I’m so stained by this loss that its color will bleed into everything I touch for the rest of my life. I think I loved him too much to ever wash my hands of it.” —Santiago, page 306
marie continues to prove herself as one of the strongest writers in the ya contemporary genre. the way each character grows around, through, under, and over grief is so interesting. beatriz lets bryce’s death engulf her, and santiago runs so far away and pretends it never existed until he has to confront the reality of it. finding love amidst all that is an added bonus to me! it took me a minute to find solid ground with this cast of characters, but i got into the groove soon enough.
also . . . how do i explain this. okay, i’m not too “old” for ya (fun fact: people can enjoy a wild variety of books!), but there is something constraining about the genre that makes everything a little too . . . neat? i’m not sure how to put it into words, honestly. beatriz and santiago’s grief is messy and complicated and the way they react to the world in grief comes back to them, but i just! don’t! know! how to describe it!
anyway, a very rich narrative, saturated in grief and flowing with love. very delicious :)
marie continues to prove herself as one of the strongest writers in the ya contemporary genre. the way each character grows around, through, under, and over grief is so interesting. beatriz lets bryce’s death engulf her, and santiago runs so far away and pretends it never existed until he has to confront the reality of it. finding love amidst all that is an added bonus to me! it took me a minute to find solid ground with this cast of characters, but i got into the groove soon enough.
also . . . how do i explain this. okay, i’m not too “old” for ya (fun fact: people can enjoy a wild variety of books!), but there is something constraining about the genre that makes everything a little too . . . neat? i’m not sure how to put it into words, honestly. beatriz and santiago’s grief is messy and complicated and the way they react to the world in grief comes back to them, but i just! don’t! know! how to describe it!
anyway, a very rich narrative, saturated in grief and flowing with love. very delicious :)
5/5 ripped my chest in two and sewed it back together.
Truly I wasn't expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did. I wasn't sure I was ready for something that covers such heavy topics but they were handled with so much care. But truly PLEASE check the content warnings, this is a very heavy book. While the suicide occurs off page (and the method is never mentioned) the grief that is discussed is strong.
Content warnings that wasn't an option below: misgendering
Truly I wasn't expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did. I wasn't sure I was ready for something that covers such heavy topics but they were handled with so much care. But truly PLEASE check the content warnings, this is a very heavy book. While the suicide occurs off page (and the method is never mentioned) the grief that is discussed is strong.
Content warnings that wasn't an option below: misgendering
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent
Moderate: Transphobia, Abandonment
Minor: Cancer, Alcohol
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
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:
N/A
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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:
Yes
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This didn't blow me away like Marie's other novels did. It was all just too subtle and meandering for my current taste. I think if I'd read this when I was younger I would've gotten more out of it. But if you like John Green's early work or Sonora Reyes, you might enjoy this.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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
starting off strong with the title being a taylor swift song. ending off strong with the title matching the book perfectly.
this book was a heavy read, so proceed with caution, but i think it portrays grief in a variety of ways that aren’t often portrayed in media. everyone experiences grief differently, and this book showed the process of everyone dealing with it not just the MC’s/POV characters.
this book was a heavy read, so proceed with caution, but i think it portrays grief in a variety of ways that aren’t often portrayed in media. everyone experiences grief differently, and this book showed the process of everyone dealing with it not just the MC’s/POV characters.
dark
emotional
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not gonna lie, the cover and title are the main reasons I wanted to read this book. This is a good book. It's well written and I was really enjoying the first 100 pages, but I just couldn't connect with the characters and that made it hard for me to feel for them. The characters didn't really feel fleshed out and while I was reading, I kept feeling like nothing was happening and I started losing interest. This is definitely one of the better written YA books and I'm so sad I didn't love it like I thought I would.
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
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
Another incredible story by Racquel Marie. I've loved everything she's ever put out before and this is no exception. I felt a lot of different emotions in this book. Bea and Santiago were such great characters and I loved their POVS. Whitney, Olive, Dustin and even Bryce had such major impacts on them and the story as a whole too. This was about friendship and grief and learning to live your live for yourself and not for others . I think it was a truly powerful story that everyone should read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Abandonment