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margereadsanotherbook's review
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
bookswithgin's review
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
howiliv's review
emotional
reflective
sad
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
crazycatplantlady's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
lianacox's review
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- 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
3.5
I thought this would be my first 5 star review of the year. I couldn’t put the first half of the book down. The sudden change in pace and focus on character development rather than plot became a bit of a slog. It picked back up in the end.
amalvarez0313's review
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-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
3.25
zoraidasolo's review
A powerful debut set in Rio de Janeiro, in the tragic days leading up to the New Year.
hangyreads's review
2.0
I liked Tropicália, but I struggled a lot with the characterization and the pacing of the book. This is the story of a family told from differing points of view all culminating in one fateful new years night. I liked seeing background and choices of the grandparents and parents and how that affected the children. That being said I wish there had been a little more defining of characters. Each characters inner monologue was such a stream of consciousness, especially Daniels. I had trouble if I picked up in the middle of the chapter, sometimes even at the start of a chapter telling who was thinking at the moment because the characters felt too similar in how they communicated their thoughts. It wasn't clear if this was a conscious choice to say something about the characters or not. I also felt like it took half the book for me to get fully invested in the characters and what was happening. Overall I love a book that tackles hard topics, and this is definitely a vulnerable debut from Rogers.
marlmar3000's review
3.5
there is such a strong sense of place and narrative in this book, and i want to give it less than 4 stars because it definitely was a difficult read at times because of the prose and the very lackluster ending (i didn't need conflict resolution at all, tbh, but to throw in some happy/closure type grafs at the end of a chaotic book felt jarring). but i think it sums up overall a good sense of local vs international, generational trauma, death and life, cycles, etc. sometimes could be clearer but a very gripping read nonetheless