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psliz's review
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
oof. this book has a white savior love interest, cringe dialogue, no chemistry, villainization of religion, and an incomplete/unsatisfying ending. but hey, at least the anxiety rep is good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Misogyny and Sexism
Minor: Vomit and Outing
puddleshoes's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism and Emotional abuse
anielabooks's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
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
3.75
This book was cute. I liked the cultural diversity of the characters and the anxiety awareness. As an immigrant kid with anxiety, I understand how hard it is to set boundaries with parents, and this book showcased that wonderfully. It wasn’t life-changing, but I’m glad I read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Mental illness
Moderate: Child death and Emotional abuse
Minor: Alcohol, Homophobia, Sexism, and Misogyny
kayladaila's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.0
Counting Down With You is one of the sappiest, most earnest books I’ve ever read. Some of the sappy language seemed a little unrealistic for teenagers, and Ace is the most perfect love interest. Otherwise, the plot was unexpectedly enjoyable in that it wasn’t at all predictable. I love the complexities of all the characters and think that even though this is YA, it could be read by younger teens for sure.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Sexism
irisheyz77's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Biphobia
melaniereadsbooks's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-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
5.0
This was one of the cutest contemporaries I have ever read in my life! Everything about Karina and Ace was so flipping adorable I could hardly contain myself. I was constantly smiling with how cute their interactions were and just so sweet!
I also really loved Karina's interactions with her grandmother and brother and best friends. It really showed a great support system and how that was working in her life, and the obstacles she had to overcome. And I loved the secondary plot with Ace and his family, and how things were resolved with his father and brother.
Honestly, these two deserve every good thing in the world.
I also really loved Karina's interactions with her grandmother and brother and best friends. It really showed a great support system and how that was working in her life, and the obstacles she had to overcome. And I loved the secondary plot with Ace and his family, and how things were resolved with his father and brother.
Honestly, these two deserve every good thing in the world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Sexism
strawb3rry_tea's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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? It's complicated
3.5
I finished it in one day, and I immediately wanted to reread it, even if it was already 2AM. I'd recommend this book to anyone who's ever felt stuck under expectations, whether they're your own or someone else's.
I'm a 15 year old biracial, half chinese half white, bisexual girl, and Cora was the first character/person I've ever seen in media, whether it be a movie, book, TV show, or otherwise, to also be half chinese, half white, and honestly? It was like being hugged for the first time in years - you don't realize how important it is until you've gotten one, and then you're like, holy shit, how have I lived this long without it? That's how I'd describe seeing good representation in anything. This book is like a breath of fresh air, where it has a diverse cast of characters, but only talks about race as it relates to culture, and how the different culture affects the characters. Oftentimes, when we do get representation, the main focus of the story has to do with racism/homophobia/sexism, and while the book does cover sexism, and mention homophobia, it's not the main focus. Yes, of course those topics do deserve to be talked about, but it's nice to see a story where diverse characters are just allowed to be.
I'm a 15 year old biracial, half chinese half white, bisexual girl, and Cora was the first character/person I've ever seen in media, whether it be a movie, book, TV show, or otherwise, to also be half chinese, half white, and honestly? It was like being hugged for the first time in years - you don't realize how important it is until you've gotten one, and then you're like, holy shit, how have I lived this long without it? That's how I'd describe seeing good representation in anything. This book is like a breath of fresh air, where it has a diverse cast of characters, but only talks about race as it relates to culture, and how the different culture affects the characters. Oftentimes, when we do get representation, the main focus of the story has to do with racism/homophobia/sexism, and while the book does cover sexism, and mention homophobia, it's not the main focus. Yes, of course those topics do deserve to be talked about, but it's nice to see a story where diverse characters are just allowed to be.
EDIT (I missed this while writing the original review):
BUT. And this is a gigantic, huge BUT, is that although Cora was my first time seeing a biracial, half-white half-chinese character, and that alone was a lot, it wasn't treated well. AT. ALL. She was painted as being poc-lite, and there were several times in the book where she said something along the lines of "Look, I know I don't get it..." which is BULL. SHITE. Being half chinese doesn't make me any less a person of color! In fact, my mother (who's white) took having asian kids as an excuse to be performatively strict. Another instance where she was treated as POC-lite is when it was describing how her parents were fully-supportive, but her grandparents (on the chinese side specifically, as if I wouldn't be any less afraid to come out to the white side of my family) weren't. This would've been...fine... a hesitant fine, but this information was dropped right after the description of one of Karina's cousins being thrown out of the house and disowned for being LGBTQIA+. Not great at best, complete and utter bullshit at worst.
(also edit of the edit: Cora is described as being "platinum blonde", which unless she dyed it and i missed that little detail, isnt genetically possible being half-chinese. especially when she's already painted as being less of a POC by being half-white. and why this is important and infuriating to me as a whole is that she's the only east asian in the book, and there's already a thing against east asians as being POC-lite, or in some extreme cases that i've had to deal with, being more priviledged than white people. so yeah. not, not great, which is what brought this book from a 5 star to a 3.5).
(also edit of the edit: Cora is described as being "platinum blonde", which unless she dyed it and i missed that little detail, isnt genetically possible being half-chinese. especially when she's already painted as being less of a POC by being half-white. and why this is important and infuriating to me as a whole is that she's the only east asian in the book, and there's already a thing against east asians as being POC-lite, or in some extreme cases that i've had to deal with, being more priviledged than white people. so yeah. not, not great, which is what brought this book from a 5 star to a 3.5).
On a different note, the portrayal of the pressure put on Karina by her parents was great, which is what saves the book for me. (End of edit) What stuck with me the most was that her parents wanted her in STEM, but she wanted to be an English major. Neither of my parents believe you can be successful with a degree in English, and my older sister ended up giving up her dream in favor of following that. Karina's story tells me that maybe, just maybe, I don't have to follow that path. I want to be lionhearted, just like she was. For me, it's not just a story of bravery, but one of hope.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Sexism
Minor: Homophobia
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