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megelizabeth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.5
I absolutely LOVED this. It was slightly out of my comfort zone in that I very rarely read fantasy or anything with magical elements, but while some such elements did go over my head slightly, I adored the story and characters so, so much and ended up SO attached and invested that I didn't mind. I loved the family dynamics, the romance, the protagonist's relationship with his cousin and best friend, and honestly basically just everything about this. It's gorgeously written and such a beautiful, poignant story that is equally tragic and life-affirming - and which has so much to say about the world we live in and particularly about trans experiences. Honestly, my only real criticism is that there's a section towards the end where the timeline seems a bit 'off', but that didn't ultimately end up ruining my enjoyment of the story. It did also take me a little while to get into, but once I was in, I was IN. I truly can't recommend this enough.
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Violence, Murder, Blood, and Transphobia
Moderate: Child abuse
elizabethtrue's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Moderate: Murder
mirandyli's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Classism, Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Dysphoria, Grief, Transphobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
cowardlyteaman's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I'll be completely honest, and say that the first half of the book was rather uninteresting. The action didn't start until the last hundred pages of the book, but there was definitely potential for more action earlier on as well, to make it more exciting. There was a lot of identity issues and character dialogue during the first half of the book, which is by no means irrelevant to the plot, but to me it got dull.
I also wish that Yadriel had been given a more distinct personality. Julian was exceptional, Maritza was amazing, Catriz was fabulous, but Yadriel...? He deserved more than being a pretty standard protagonist-y type. Apart from being trans, he doesn't stand out as a protagonist at all, and being trans shouldn't be what makes him special. At least the trans people I know have personalities beside being trans.
However! I loved how Spanish was used in this book. Usually, non-English words will be written in cursive, alienating them, as it were. But here they're kind of just woven into the text as any other word, because of course Spanish isn't foreign at all to the narrator, and it makes it easier for me as a reader to relate as well, despite being the from the whitest of corners in Norway.
This applies to the rest of the culture references as well. It was all explained in a very nice way.
On a side note concerning the identity and language here: Why was there one line where author Thomas wrote «Latinx mom»? If the gender was unspecified, it would've made perfect sense, but if it's given that she's a mom, then wouldn't she be Latina...? As far as I know, you wouldn't really have a Latino mom? Maybe a Latino's mom, but... unless I misinterpreted, that wasn't the case.
Anyways, I've given my opinion, but I still enjoyed the read. Frankly quite predictable, but aren't all stories these days.
Graphic: Violence, Death, Transphobia, and Blood
Moderate: Racism, Murder, Death of parent, and Dysphoria
Minor: Cursing, Deportation, Deadnaming, Alcohol, Animal death, Classism, and Abandonment
mle11's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Deadnaming, Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Transphobia, Cursing, Kidnapping, Blood, Child death, and Dysphoria
Minor: Alcohol, Child abuse, Homophobia, Gun violence, Abandonment, Deportation, and Animal death
grets_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Murder, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Violence, Blood, Transphobia, Grief, Cursing, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Deportation, Dysphoria, Abandonment, and Confinement
ahopper7's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Moderate: Deadnaming, Death of parent, Murder, Transphobia, and Blood
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Deportation
madamenovelist's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Death, Grief, Death of parent, Gore, Murder, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Transphobia, Ableism, and Cursing
kirstenf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Transphobia
Moderate: Deportation, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Deadnaming, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Alcohol, Outing, Cultural appropriation, and Lesbophobia
njh_books's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Reading this story also over the dates they happened added a bit of extra magic to it. Finishing the story in the early morning/late night hours of Dia de Muertos was like being in the story.
I enjoyed all the friendship shown in the story and the interactions the characters had. It felt so realistic and also just kids being kids in the circumstances they find themselves in. Maritza was wonderful and I enjoyed the scenes with her dogs.
Julian and Yadriel are quite cute and the playful teasing is fun. The slowly blooming relationship was reminiscent of teenage years and I loved that Yadriel's mom, Camila, got to meet him in the epilogue. The reunion with his mom was heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time.
Apparently the book should have sequel in 2024, so looking forward to that!
Graphic: Blood, Death, Torture, Murder, Transphobia, Violence, and Child death
Moderate: Kidnapping, Abandonment, Death of parent, and Deadnaming
Minor: Car accident and Alcohol