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danne789's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed this book, but it was intense at times. If you have or know someone who has had PTSD, you might want to just be wary that this could be triggering for you.
The author made the symptoms of PTSD from the different perspectives very real. My heart heart for Manny and for his family. I felt connected to them as characters. I felt that the characters and dialogue was realistic and moved the story forward.
It was engaging, funny, heart wrenching, and heart warming at the same time.
The icing on the cake for me was being in Hatch, NM. I'm from NM and very familiar with Hatch and of course, Hatch green chili, so that was nostalgic.
The author made the symptoms of PTSD from the different perspectives very real. My heart heart for Manny and for his family. I felt connected to them as characters. I felt that the characters and dialogue was realistic and moved the story forward.
It was engaging, funny, heart wrenching, and heart warming at the same time.
The icing on the cake for me was being in Hatch, NM. I'm from NM and very familiar with Hatch and of course, Hatch green chili, so that was nostalgic.
steph01924's review against another edition
5.0
I was taken in by Teodoro and his family and loved every minute of this book. Check out my full review at Forever Young Adult.
moniquemaggiore's review against another edition
3.0
This book was really slow for me. Every time I put it down, I struggled with picking it back up to read. This book was a story about family bonds, especially when the main character's brother has just come back from the war, and is recovering from PTSD. This book definitely grew on me but was really hard. I felt that this story ended up being more of a love story and than a story about PTSD and family hardships. I was expecting more from it. I did not like the character development of the characters.
lsalgado's review against another edition
5.0
As far as YA goes, this was awesome! Great perspective on PTSD, not only for vets but also their families. Mixes in some romance and coming of age. This book has it all!
megatsunami's review against another edition
4.0
This book was a lovely exploration of healing from trauma through cultural/ collective/ ecological methods, something we almost never see depicted in fiction (usually it's the one heroic therapist). In this case the healing is viewed through the eyes of the traumatized veteran's younger brother, who is also working through his own struggles to improve his academics in order to be college-bound.
I mostly felt this was a very realistic portrayal of someone struggling to heal from PTSD, except for the scene where someone decides to go to therapy and they just drive up to the therapist's office and the person meets with the therapist. I was like, ok, first of all, they would have to call their insurance and get a list of approved providers and call like 10 of them and wait for several days and get only one or two responses and those people don't have any spots open and then they would have to call their insurance again for a new list... OR, they would show up at a nonprofit which would have a four-week waiting list just to get a first appointment.
I mean, I appreciated the author's optimism, and that's totally how it should be. I'm just sayin'.
The main character was really sweet and the text messages between him and his love interest were adorable.
I would have given this book five stars except that it way overused the trope of people secretly making major life decisions for others because they feel they know what the other person REALLY needs/ wants to be doing. This is a trope I can't stand and it happened four or five times in the book.
I mostly felt this was a very realistic portrayal of someone struggling to heal from PTSD, except for the scene where someone decides to go to therapy and they just drive up to the therapist's office and the person meets with the therapist. I was like, ok, first of all, they would have to call their insurance and get a list of approved providers and call like 10 of them and wait for several days and get only one or two responses and those people don't have any spots open and then they would have to call their insurance again for a new list... OR, they would show up at a nonprofit which would have a four-week waiting list just to get a first appointment.
I mean, I appreciated the author's optimism, and that's totally how it should be. I'm just sayin'.
The main character was really sweet and the text messages between him and his love interest were adorable.
I would have given this book five stars except that it way overused the trope of people secretly making major life decisions for others because they feel they know what the other person REALLY needs/ wants to be doing. This is a trope I can't stand and it happened four or five times in the book.
bjkatcher's review against another edition
4.0
Very engaging read, and surprisingly non-political. Though I did wince when I read the part where Obama was elected and the characters had such hope. They have no idea how low we'll sink, eight years later.
jessicavk91's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-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
3.5
tishreads's review against another edition
5.0
This story combines first love, academic challenges, war and PTSD, unemployment and family struggles, and friendship into a compelling, emotional, and heartwarming novel. Their is so much growth in all three of the Avila siblings as they go on a road trip that will change all of their lives as well as the reader's.