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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
I read this book in one day. Three generations of women in one family are all widows and they all
Have secrets and unresolved issues. We go through them, finding out bits and pieces of each woman’s story as it moves along. I enjoy books like that, who don’t tell us all the info up front but sprinkle in more info as the story progresses and then we u see stand more about the characters and their actions.
I really enjoyed this one.
Have secrets and unresolved issues. We go through them, finding out bits and pieces of each woman’s story as it moves along. I enjoy books like that, who don’t tell us all the info up front but sprinkle in more info as the story progresses and then we u see stand more about the characters and their actions.
I really enjoyed this one.
emotional
hopeful
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
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This tells the story of three generations of women in a family: matriarch Mama Melda, her daughter Ana, and Ana's daughter Yesica. Yesica is the overachieving, ambitious daughter who has no time for her mother. Ana is the sensitive mother and fully devoted daughter, while Mama Melda is the core holding their family together. Above and beyond family ties, the thread that runs through this family is one of heartache. Mama Melda's beloved husband was murdered when Ana was young. Ana's husband and Yesica's beloved father suddenly passed away five years prior. And now Yesica finds herself a widow when her husband dies in an accident six months before the events of this book. An issue in Ana's house forces the three women to live together in Yesica's home, navigating a lifetime of resentment, misunderstanding, and secrets.
Just...wow. This book is a stunning depiction of the tension that exists between mothers and daughters at all stages of life. I lost count of the number of times that I found myself reading Ana's thoughts and hearing my mother's voice, or Yesica's short-temper and impatience and hearing my own. There was a sense of martyrdom on both sides of that particular coin, with the intentional withholding of information expanding the ever-widening chasm between them. I felt a sense of guilt about my own interactions and left wanting to improve them.
I certainly identified with aspects of Yesica's personality and characterization, particularly the sense of needing to achieve and improve in every stage of life. That ever-present need to depict a calm and cool exterior despite whatever is going on around you. Proving yourself again and again, if only to yourself...
This is a beautiful story, full of emotion and love. It wasn't particularly difficult to read, but it did result in significant introspection along the way.
Just...wow. This book is a stunning depiction of the tension that exists between mothers and daughters at all stages of life. I lost count of the number of times that I found myself reading Ana's thoughts and hearing my mother's voice, or Yesica's short-temper and impatience and hearing my own. There was a sense of martyrdom on both sides of that particular coin, with the intentional withholding of information expanding the ever-widening chasm between them. I felt a sense of guilt about my own interactions and left wanting to improve them.
I certainly identified with aspects of Yesica's personality and characterization, particularly the sense of needing to achieve and improve in every stage of life. That ever-present need to depict a calm and cool exterior despite whatever is going on around you. Proving yourself again and again, if only to yourself...
This is a beautiful story, full of emotion and love. It wasn't particularly difficult to read, but it did result in significant introspection along the way.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was such a deeply moving story about love, loss, and the unbreakable bonds of family. The novel follows three generations of widowed women—Yesica, her mother Ana, and her grandmother Mama Melda—who find themselves living under one roof, each carrying their own grief and secrets. As they navigate their shared pain and complex relationships, they uncover the strength and resilience that bind them together. With rich cultural elements and heartfelt storytelling, Macias delivered an emotional and beautifully crafted novel that explores healing, forgiveness, and the power of family connections.
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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:
Complicated
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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:
Complicated
hopeful
reflective
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Interesting concept for a story but pacing was a bit off
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I can only hope but one day achieve the emotional punches that Annette Chavez Macías do with such beautiful and simple words, reminding me that writing is not about how stylistic the prose is, but how much feelings you can awake by choosing the right words.
And Chávez Macias, once again, left me completely filled with joy as I turned the last page of "When We Were Widows", as her stories have now become such a great hug to my soul with their despiction of grief, female relationship, healing, and latinidad.
The story beautifully despicts the healing journey in which both Ana and Yesica, mother and daughter, embark once life circumstances forces them to share a house for some weeks. Their personalities often clash, as Ana, always putting herself last, can't understand Yesica's ambition and drive. However, both of them are consumed with a grief that they barely talk about, and a grief that has the potential to bond them considering that now both of them are widows... And Yesica is a young one, as she lost her husband at 32, the same age her grandma, Mamá Melda, also lost her own husband and Ana's father.
In a lighthearted tone that makes it a breezy reading, Chávez Macias not only explores grief, but how complicated the mother-daughter relationships can be (especially in Latino's households in which the fathers are usually the one spoiling rotten the children and mothers are in charge of discipline), the stigma of mental health among the Latino community and the healing power of communication. However, the story has some sprinkles of romance that feel a bit predictable and scream at some point because it is build on top many casualties. However, the charm of Oscar and Lucas.
Lovely reading, even if entomatadas are not done with melted queso fresco 😭 But that's just my Mexican speaking. Thanks, Anette, for allowing me to grieve with your characters.
And Chávez Macias, once again, left me completely filled with joy as I turned the last page of "When We Were Widows", as her stories have now become such a great hug to my soul with their despiction of grief, female relationship, healing, and latinidad.
The story beautifully despicts the healing journey in which both Ana and Yesica, mother and daughter, embark once life circumstances forces them to share a house for some weeks. Their personalities often clash, as Ana, always putting herself last, can't understand Yesica's ambition and drive. However, both of them are consumed with a grief that they barely talk about, and a grief that has the potential to bond them considering that now both of them are widows... And Yesica is a young one, as she lost her husband at 32, the same age her grandma, Mamá Melda, also lost her own husband and Ana's father.
In a lighthearted tone that makes it a breezy reading, Chávez Macias not only explores grief, but how complicated the mother-daughter relationships can be (especially in Latino's households in which the fathers are usually the one spoiling rotten the children and mothers are in charge of discipline), the stigma of mental health among the Latino community and the healing power of communication. However, the story has some sprinkles of romance that feel a bit predictable and scream at some point because it is build on top many casualties. However, the charm of Oscar and Lucas.
Lovely reading, even if entomatadas are not done with melted queso fresco 😭 But that's just my Mexican speaking. Thanks, Anette, for allowing me to grieve with your characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility
Moderate: Death, Miscarriage, Car accident