Take a photo of a barcode or cover
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Homophobia, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Child death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Body shaming, Child death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, Alcohol
Minor: Cancer, Cursing, Pregnancy
time for honesty. i hated julia as a character. her pov through the first half of the book had me close to hitting my head with the book. i was so frustrated with her, and that only continued. i could see part of myself in her, with how she was a planner, but she never thought to look at her “plans” with a different lens. she thought she was high and mighty. i don’t pity her. she did it to herself.
at first i didn’t like the whole
i would’ve liked an epilogue to see a little taste of the future but i’m ok with how it ended.
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Abandonment
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide
Minor: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Lesbophobia
- stymied (pg 21)
- caterwauled (pg 107)
- cassocked (pg 165)
- maelstrom (pg 215)
- manacled (pg 219)
- talisman (pg 228)
- besotted (pg 231)
- moxie (pg 233)
- ailing (pg 255)
- discomfited (pg 264)
- infinitesimal (pg 295)
I quite seriously almost quit reading this book at page 18 because the insinuation that not only finding sombrero in a Mexican American family's trashcan, but furthermore, that finding said sombrero after A CINCO DE MAYO CELEBRATION, is a perfectly normal, reasonable thing to write. While yes, a sombrero likely fits the celebratory garb one might associate with Cinco de Mayo, it is largely an American holiday (it's not widely celebrated outside of Puebla in Mexico). While the holiday may have a different past regarding its celebration in the US, over recent decades (i.e. when this book takes place), it has become more and more commercialized. Is this detail plausible? Sure. But it's (at least) equally as likely that you could find the sombrero in the trashcan of one of the Padavano's Italian neighbors after a cinco de mayo celebration. It appears Napolitano lacks diversity in her staff and colleagues and/or has failed to cultivate an environment in which those who know better feel comfortable voicing such.
*stepping off my soapbox* Once I got past page 18, I overall enjoyed the book. I had some issues with some choices made by Napolitano at a plot level, as well as how certain characters were written in/out of the story. But overall, enjoyable read. Also, the cover art is beautiful.
Moderate: Cancer, Suicide, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Suicide attempt
Minor: Cancer
Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Death, Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Grief, Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer, Suicide attempt, Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism, Mental illness
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail