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booksofkings's review against another edition
3.0
Well, let's just say the scenery of this book was 5 stars all the way, the plot (for the most part) was 5 stars. The MC...not so much. If this book had focused around any of the Natives then maybe it would have been ALOT more interesting. Instead this book, that takes place in a beautiful tropical island with it's litttle old ladies and poisonous tropical plants has potentially the worst type of MC imaginable, a teenage white boy. Who apparently, after living there all summer every year and has a mother who's native here, DOESNT SPEAK SPANISH AT ALL! LIke he barely understands it which makes almost no sense. As much as I like that the book was then all in English (because I dont speak spanish and i've read a book where 1/3 of all conversations were in a different language..thanks for that assignment teach) and I could understand it, Lucas could have been ALOT better.
This book had such an interesting idea and plot behind it that sounded original to me. A girl that can grant wishes that locals had all sorts of myths and local legends about, awesome.
Even though Lucas was such a flop, Isabel and the plot were what kept me going. I enjoyed reading it and I would have loved it if the whole book was in a different POV like maybe Isabel's. The book could have been a different but still really interesting story.
It made all of the culture and scenery almost feel a little died down because we were seeing it all through the eyes of a teenage boy who wants to basically live like a hermit when he's older. I guess this is the type of book that has one of those unreliable narrators. Oh well.
While i dont "unrecommend" this book to anyone, I will say just be ready for a lot about Lucas and for Puerto Rico to kind of take the back burner in this. Even the ending wasn't all that special, the epilogue was kind of a snoozer and Lucas sure didn't change at all that much by the end of it.
This book had such an interesting idea and plot behind it that sounded original to me. A girl that can grant wishes that locals had all sorts of myths and local legends about, awesome.
Even though Lucas was such a flop, Isabel and the plot were what kept me going. I enjoyed reading it and I would have loved it if the whole book was in a different POV like maybe Isabel's. The book could have been a different but still really interesting story.
It made all of the culture and scenery almost feel a little died down because we were seeing it all through the eyes of a teenage boy who wants to basically live like a hermit when he's older. I guess this is the type of book that has one of those unreliable narrators. Oh well.
While i dont "unrecommend" this book to anyone, I will say just be ready for a lot about Lucas and for Puerto Rico to kind of take the back burner in this. Even the ending wasn't all that special, the epilogue was kind of a snoozer and Lucas sure didn't change at all that much by the end of it.
readbyashleyd's review against another edition
5.0
I bought this book solely because I fell in love with the cover and I must say, it's one of the best decisions I've ever made! This book was a totally unexpected gem and I absolutely loved everything about it from start to finish.
The story is so interesting and unique, I've never read anything like it! The whole concept captivated me right from the very beginning and I only became more and more enraptured by this story as it went along.
I really loved the setting of the story as well! I've never read a book set in Puerto Rico before so it was really interesting getting to see glimpses of the culture. I also really loved the beautiful, lush descriptions of the scenery. I almost felt like if I reached out my hands, I found touch the beautiful but poisonous plants myself!
I also really enjoyed the little bits of Spanish mixed in here and there, I thought it really added to the atmosphere of the story! Although I don't think I would have really known what they meant if I wasn't fluent in French (French and Spanish are actually pretty similar!) and if I hadn't taken a few basic Spanish courses in high school.
I honestly can't name one thing I didn't enjoy about this book! It was refreshing to read something so different from anything I've read before and I'm really glad this cover caught my eye and allowed me to discover this story!
The story is so interesting and unique, I've never read anything like it! The whole concept captivated me right from the very beginning and I only became more and more enraptured by this story as it went along.
I really loved the setting of the story as well! I've never read a book set in Puerto Rico before so it was really interesting getting to see glimpses of the culture. I also really loved the beautiful, lush descriptions of the scenery. I almost felt like if I reached out my hands, I found touch the beautiful but poisonous plants myself!
I also really enjoyed the little bits of Spanish mixed in here and there, I thought it really added to the atmosphere of the story! Although I don't think I would have really known what they meant if I wasn't fluent in French (French and Spanish are actually pretty similar!) and if I hadn't taken a few basic Spanish courses in high school.
I honestly can't name one thing I didn't enjoy about this book! It was refreshing to read something so different from anything I've read before and I'm really glad this cover caught my eye and allowed me to discover this story!
lyderature's review against another edition
There were bits and pieces in this that I could appreciate—the magical realism, the diversity, the setting, the eerie lore—but all in all, I don't think the writing was strong enough to pull it all together for me. And it's such a shame because the premise was so strong and this had all the right ingredients, but the execution just wasn't there. I kept on waiting for the pieces to click together, for that moment where the story really hit me, but unfortunately, it never did.
In short, I wanted this to be an Ava Lavender. Instead, I got something watered down and none too compelling. 2 stars.
In short, I wanted this to be an Ava Lavender. Instead, I got something watered down and none too compelling. 2 stars.
trishajennreads's review against another edition
4.0
I received this book from NetGalley and Algonquin Young Readers in exchange for an honest review. Full review to be posted on my blog soon.
This book was beautiful. The writing is lovely. I was drawn in to Mabry's smooth, simmering prose.
The story isn't as fantastical as I expected. I thought it would be more intense with a cursed girl, and a normal boy fighting for his life. Rather, it was about a cursed girl and a normal boy trying to save a different kidnapped girl.
But the magical realism was also refreshing, in a way. It was subtle as the title suggests. The mystery simmered below the surface. What is real? What is true? These questions constantly barrelled around my brain.
I didn't like Lucas in the beginning. He seemed to be exactly what he complained people saw him as, the lazy rich kid who hooks up with girls. But as he narrated more and I started to recognize what he was actually thinking and feeling, I began to really like him. It was refreshing to read a male narrator again. So much of the YA I have recently read has been female driven.
I liked the exploration of abandonment and dreams, and the mystery and power of story.
Overall, I quite enjoyed this book and definitely recommend it to anyone who would like a dose of magical realism as a break from YA fantasy.
This book was beautiful. The writing is lovely. I was drawn in to Mabry's smooth, simmering prose.
The story isn't as fantastical as I expected. I thought it would be more intense with a cursed girl, and a normal boy fighting for his life. Rather, it was about a cursed girl and a normal boy trying to save a different kidnapped girl.
But the magical realism was also refreshing, in a way. It was subtle as the title suggests. The mystery simmered below the surface. What is real? What is true? These questions constantly barrelled around my brain.
I didn't like Lucas in the beginning. He seemed to be exactly what he complained people saw him as, the lazy rich kid who hooks up with girls. But as he narrated more and I started to recognize what he was actually thinking and feeling, I began to really like him. It was refreshing to read a male narrator again. So much of the YA I have recently read has been female driven.
I liked the exploration of abandonment and dreams, and the mystery and power of story.
Overall, I quite enjoyed this book and definitely recommend it to anyone who would like a dose of magical realism as a break from YA fantasy.
nikimarion's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted the book to be as good as its cover. It fell short, for me.
merylhenry's review against another edition
1.0
So I read this book in four hours. I have to say, the story was interesting but it lacked so much. it felt very rushed. (not because I read it in four hours) i also wished the ending was different, but the story was very interesting and it kept me wanting to know what would happen next. I hope there will be a second book just so that I can find out what happens next (:
scarlettscattered's review against another edition
2.0
How can someone who teaches Latino Literature have a book with so many mistakes in Spanish? They really couldn't get a native speaker to proof read this?
em_brebs's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 (very much close to a 4/5, however.)
So I actually quite liked this, though I do understand many readers were less than pleased. The writing was, as many have noted, pretty gorgeous and I thought that, though the protagonist himself was not particularly interesting, the plot and some of the secondary characters were truly fascinating. I was just… consistently intrigued and interested and the images and motifs strewn throughout worked really, really well for me. Furthermore, the magical realism worked quite well for me and… I don't know. I liked it, not loved it, but I liked it and I think there's a lot to explore in it that I didn't even really get to in this first reading. It's the kind of book I want to read again, and that says something beyond the star rating.
(I consider this to not really touch on any possible spoilers considering what other reviews say, but it does say more than the blurb on the book, which isn't really a blurb at all but a tease, so keep in mind that the author might not want you to know the following.) This book is about Lucas who spends every summer in Puerto Rico with his developer dad. Throughout his time there, he has heard stories about the house at the end of a specific street. Some of the stories talk about a green haired girl, and some about poison which means birds won't even fly over the house.
SPOILERSSSSSSS DISCUSSION!!!!!!!
I really loved that this book was set in a location I've never never really read about before. That being said, I didn't necessarily feel like the location was explored as much as it could have been– if you're going to set your book in Puerto Rico, then set your book in Puerto Rico . Really, really commit. Here, we definitely got Puerto Rico, but I felt like I wanted more of it.
I could've done without Lucas's three friends (really, for the sake of the story, he only needed Ruben and maybe another one with a scooter.) Too many of those friends made their characters unwieldy and relationships hard to keep track of, especially in a book with an otherwise fairly limited scope of characters (which works really well, in my opinion.) Also, just like the partying and the drinking and the fighting… maybe good for the set-up, but by far my least favorite parts.
In fact, I didn't really like the whole first section of the book until the part where Isabel was introduced. I mean, I like get that there had to be some set-up but it kind of dragged or at the least was uninteresting to me. I did enjoy the stories told by the señoras though, especially the one about the nun who died in his room.
I've read some reviews which call into question how the scientist gets away with having a hidden daughter and, like, experimenting on girls. Which, fair (more the hidden daughter part) especially given that the disappearance of white girls was something to keep track of, but I also kind of buy it. Here's this kind of quirky old scientist whose wife left him; who's to say she didn't take the daughter, who's to say that there even was a daughter. No one was interested in finding out who he really was, Lucas had never even thought of climbing the wall before Mari suggested it, so, yeah, I guess I can see how he, a total outsider, could get away with a hidden daughter. I don't think it would necessarily happen in reality, but for this magical realism book I buy it.
I really liked that Ms. Mabry included that the only reason that the desaparecidas were really being looked for was because, for once, one of them was white and out of town. That's why, that's the only reason. Otherwise, no one would have really cared. That's a really wonderful detail.
I actually liked that there was this kind of mystery element to it. I mean, we clearly find out that Isabel's dad is the one doing all this and stuff, but the build-up to that and the connections and then you find out that Lucas has been set up and all this groundwork that Isabel's father did… All of those connections being made was a kind of fun element of a not otherwise fun book for me.
Because clearly, the rest of the book was pretty damn depressing. I mean, we have this girl who is dying and killing everyone around her while she's at it… and just totally hating herself for it. And her father who is willing to justify absolutely everything in order to save his daughter's life (the idea of him looking at things in a black-and-white "scientific" way is really interesting given Isabel's condition. He's trying to diagnose her, and when he justifies why it's okay to kill all of these girls, he says that she's basically one of a kind and so special she must be kept alive. Special to him, sure, but more special to humanity as a whole to study and get a handle on.) I thought those dynamics were so fascinating and intriguing.
Okay, I wish we'd been given some closure on why Celia was immune? Like, is she the next one? But she can't be, because Lucas is the one who gets all the wishes now, so what's the point of her immunity. I wanted more from that, not just saving her from the poison because… why not? There needed to be some clear and defined reasoning behind there.
But also, like, this idea of a literal toxic person. A person who you can't even be around without getting sick, sicker even if you kiss them… Isn't that just a wonderful concept? That is one of those elements that I'd love to discuss with others because I think its just so cool . And though maybe this book could've gone further with it, I still thought that Ms. Mabry addressed it responsibly and created a great, if not flawless, story from that premise.
I just feel like there's a lot to unpack within this story, and I like stories like that which feel like they're teeming below the surface. It intrigues me, and the atmosphere of this book (hot and sticky and deadly) really contributed to that I think. As well as use of imagery and language and plot and just everything. If I had to pick a favorite element it'd be that one (and I'm sorry it's not at all tangible or easily expressible to others, I hope the rest of my thoughts will be more applicable to other readers, but I felt I needed to include this one.)
I will definitely be checking out more of Ms. Mabry's work.
FFFFFFFFIIIIIINNNNNN!!!!!!!!
Atmospheric, mysterious, and wonderful (though with some issues): 87%
So I actually quite liked this, though I do understand many readers were less than pleased. The writing was, as many have noted, pretty gorgeous and I thought that, though the protagonist himself was not particularly interesting, the plot and some of the secondary characters were truly fascinating. I was just… consistently intrigued and interested and the images and motifs strewn throughout worked really, really well for me. Furthermore, the magical realism worked quite well for me and… I don't know. I liked it, not loved it, but I liked it and I think there's a lot to explore in it that I didn't even really get to in this first reading. It's the kind of book I want to read again, and that says something beyond the star rating.
(I consider this to not really touch on any possible spoilers considering what other reviews say, but it does say more than the blurb on the book, which isn't really a blurb at all but a tease, so keep in mind that the author might not want you to know the following.) This book is about Lucas who spends every summer in Puerto Rico with his developer dad. Throughout his time there, he has heard stories about the house at the end of a specific street. Some of the stories talk about a green haired girl, and some about poison which means birds won't even fly over the house.
SPOILERSSSSSSS DISCUSSION!!!!!!!
I really loved that this book was set in a location I've never never really read about before. That being said, I didn't necessarily feel like the location was explored as much as it could have been– if you're going to set your book in Puerto Rico, then set your book in Puerto Rico . Really, really commit. Here, we definitely got Puerto Rico, but I felt like I wanted more of it.
I could've done without Lucas's three friends (really, for the sake of the story, he only needed Ruben and maybe another one with a scooter.) Too many of those friends made their characters unwieldy and relationships hard to keep track of, especially in a book with an otherwise fairly limited scope of characters (which works really well, in my opinion.) Also, just like the partying and the drinking and the fighting… maybe good for the set-up, but by far my least favorite parts.
In fact, I didn't really like the whole first section of the book until the part where Isabel was introduced. I mean, I like get that there had to be some set-up but it kind of dragged or at the least was uninteresting to me. I did enjoy the stories told by the señoras though, especially the one about the nun who died in his room.
I've read some reviews which call into question how the scientist gets away with having a hidden daughter and, like, experimenting on girls. Which, fair (more the hidden daughter part) especially given that the disappearance of white girls was something to keep track of, but I also kind of buy it. Here's this kind of quirky old scientist whose wife left him; who's to say she didn't take the daughter, who's to say that there even was a daughter. No one was interested in finding out who he really was, Lucas had never even thought of climbing the wall before Mari suggested it, so, yeah, I guess I can see how he, a total outsider, could get away with a hidden daughter. I don't think it would necessarily happen in reality, but for this magical realism book I buy it.
I really liked that Ms. Mabry included that the only reason that the desaparecidas were really being looked for was because, for once, one of them was white and out of town. That's why, that's the only reason. Otherwise, no one would have really cared. That's a really wonderful detail.
I actually liked that there was this kind of mystery element to it. I mean, we clearly find out that Isabel's dad is the one doing all this and stuff, but the build-up to that and the connections and then you find out that Lucas has been set up and all this groundwork that Isabel's father did… All of those connections being made was a kind of fun element of a not otherwise fun book for me.
Because clearly, the rest of the book was pretty damn depressing. I mean, we have this girl who is dying and killing everyone around her while she's at it… and just totally hating herself for it. And her father who is willing to justify absolutely everything in order to save his daughter's life (the idea of him looking at things in a black-and-white "scientific" way is really interesting given Isabel's condition. He's trying to diagnose her, and when he justifies why it's okay to kill all of these girls, he says that she's basically one of a kind and so special she must be kept alive. Special to him, sure, but more special to humanity as a whole to study and get a handle on.) I thought those dynamics were so fascinating and intriguing.
Okay, I wish we'd been given some closure on why Celia was immune? Like, is she the next one? But she can't be, because Lucas is the one who gets all the wishes now, so what's the point of her immunity. I wanted more from that, not just saving her from the poison because… why not? There needed to be some clear and defined reasoning behind there.
But also, like, this idea of a literal toxic person. A person who you can't even be around without getting sick, sicker even if you kiss them… Isn't that just a wonderful concept? That is one of those elements that I'd love to discuss with others because I think its just so cool . And though maybe this book could've gone further with it, I still thought that Ms. Mabry addressed it responsibly and created a great, if not flawless, story from that premise.
I just feel like there's a lot to unpack within this story, and I like stories like that which feel like they're teeming below the surface. It intrigues me, and the atmosphere of this book (hot and sticky and deadly) really contributed to that I think. As well as use of imagery and language and plot and just everything. If I had to pick a favorite element it'd be that one (and I'm sorry it's not at all tangible or easily expressible to others, I hope the rest of my thoughts will be more applicable to other readers, but I felt I needed to include this one.)
I will definitely be checking out more of Ms. Mabry's work.
FFFFFFFFIIIIIINNNNNN!!!!!!!!
Atmospheric, mysterious, and wonderful (though with some issues): 87%
junkyardigan's review against another edition
4.0
Well. That happened.
Clearly, the ending was a little muddled and could've been thought out more. It sometimes seemed like Lucas had absolutely no feelings, and was a little lost on what to do with his privileged life, but I guess I liked it.
Clearly, the ending was a little muddled and could've been thought out more. It sometimes seemed like Lucas had absolutely no feelings, and was a little lost on what to do with his privileged life, but I guess I liked it.
gregsgal's review against another edition
2.0
I finished this book, but it was just kinda meh. The story could have been so much more but instead felt like a series of lackluster characters, uneventful moments, and a cop out to get the white kid cobbled together with the most intriguing character being glazed over.