Reviews - This Is Me Trying

190 reviews for:

I feel like theres not a ton I have to say every time I read a Racquel Marie book but its truly because the books speak for themselves. The way she writes books is so beautiful and captivating every time and its made it so easy to call her an auto-read author for me. She just does not have a capability to miss at all! But also make no mistake this book hurt and it still hurts to think about trying to write this review and do it justice lol. (I cannot do it justice ill tell you rn don't mind me if I butcher it horrifically)

This book nailed grief in such a powerful, honest and devastating way and it was an ouch for sure lol. I feel like it showed all the different ways people can grieve and handle their emotions when losing someone you loved. The after effects of seeing someone almost every day and knowing they are alive and living their life and then one day they aren't and knowing you WONT see them anymore is such a stark difference and there is no one right way to handle those emotions for anybody. It just takes a special touch to be able to write about that with care the way Racquel has and I'll be thinking about it for a long time.

This book also dealt with relationship dynamics in general too (Parental, sibling, romantic, family, friend, etc) which is yet ANOTHER heavy topic for a lot and I think it hit a lot of good points. I loved Beatriz and Santiago both together and separate and I think they were phenomenal main characters. They're both struggling in so many different ways and they're just trying to keep on going in spite of that and it sucks that they had so much to deal with at such a young age. I loved watching them grow back together throughout the book and try and lessen the hurt and baggage on each others shoulders. I'll be holding them close to my heart for a while.

Overall, this one is heavy. A lot heavier I think than Racquel's other 2 books and I didn't even talk about all this books touches on because I don't think I have the right words for it all. I highly recommend checking CW's if you plan on picking it up but if you do pick it up i'm confident you will absolutely love it like I did.

guineapiggirl's review against another edition

4.25

challenging dark emotional 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: Complicated

Content Warnings

ckreads28's review

4.75

dark emotional hopeful 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

4.75 out of 5 stars: This book has mental health rep, Queer Rep, and Latinx rep. I loved Santi pushing to re-establish friendships but being open to what he needed to work on when called out. The flashbacks also bring you into the emotions and the layers of the friendships as well as the characters themselves.

I related to Bea being anxious and scared not to meet her mom's expectations. I related to Santi's struggles with his dad. But I loved how Santi's grandpa took in Bea and Bea's mom took in Santi.

I do want to read this when I am more open to the emotions. It perfected the messiness of friendships and families perfectly.

gracecatherine's review against another edition

3.25

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

maybe it’s the horrible reading slump i’ve been in but this one was just meh for me. i didn’t feel particularly connected to the characters or their relationships to each other and the parts that were supposed to keep me on my toes just fell flat :( slay on the taylor swift reference tho

hellomadalyn's review

4.25

emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

bookselm's review against another edition

4.5

emotional sad tense

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

How do you live every day and grow up after a deeply personal loss that shatters the heart of your entire community? A deeply moving, raw potrayal of teenage grief. At it's heart, this is a story of loss and love, and learning how to live with the shattered pieces yourself. The journey is filled with anger, sadness, small moments of joy, acceptance, despair, and it is heartbreaking but beautifully written.
*check author's note for TWs