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Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'
A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey
14 reviews
adricruzrizo's review
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Dementia and Death of parent
regent_ace's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
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
5.0
I adored this book, it gave me a cavity from how absolutely sweet this was. The characters all won my heart and I was obsessed with Lila and Orion, their relationship was so sweet and I love reading about it. The friend group and Flora had such fun dynamics with each other and Lila and Flora’s growth and her sisterly friendship with Lila was really sweet and I hope to see more of them in Flora’s spin off book. The descriptions of the baking and cooking were spot on and I loved the inclusion and meshing of Cuban and British culture.
Also while this book was very lighthearted most of the time, the discussions of grief, mental illness, and the struggle of trying to find yourself were done really well and I especially sympathized with Flora's character.
Also while this book was very lighthearted most of the time, the discussions of grief, mental illness, and the struggle of trying to find yourself were done really well and I especially sympathized with Flora's character.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Dementia, and Death of parent
bookishmelissaa'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
bookwormbullet's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, and Dementia
elenushka8's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Dementia
delz's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
3.75
A Cuban’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow
Cuban food and cooking, pastries and baking are a large part of this YA romance. Lila experiences what she calls a “trifecta.” Her abuela/mentor suddenly died, her boyfriend of 3 years dumps her just before prom, and her best friend leaves Miami for a 2 year mission to **Ghana. She acts out in a destructive way and injures herself. Her family is so frightened for her that they decide to send this Miami girl to England for the summer. Her mom’s cousin’s family owns a B&B in a small English town. At first Lila hates everything about being there, but with the help of a state of the art kitchen, a boy, some really awesome friends and a lovely countryside Lila begins the healing process, along with much needed self reflection. This story really would have been perfect if Lila were say 20 to 25, because saying someone is set in a career and a relationship at the age of 18, when their prefrontal lobe is not fully developed is kind of laughable. Aside from my complaints I really did enjoy the happy, positivity of the story that had me smiling and I would recommend this for a light summer romance.
**This part is problematic
b/c the author actually says Africa as in the entire continent. She doesn’t mention Ghana until 3/4 of the way through the book. Also the jab taken at the countries in Africa by saying something like “she can’t go a day w/out her hairdryer” as if counties on the continent don’t have electricity. These dismissive comments could have been teachable moments w/in the story, but the author needs to come to that realization first.
Cuban food and cooking, pastries and baking are a large part of this YA romance. Lila experiences what she calls a “trifecta.” Her abuela/mentor suddenly died, her boyfriend of 3 years dumps her just before prom, and her best friend leaves Miami for a 2 year mission to **Ghana. She acts out in a destructive way and injures herself. Her family is so frightened for her that they decide to send this Miami girl to England for the summer. Her mom’s cousin’s family owns a B&B in a small English town. At first Lila hates everything about being there, but with the help of a state of the art kitchen, a boy, some really awesome friends and a lovely countryside Lila begins the healing process, along with much needed self reflection. This story really would have been perfect if Lila were say 20 to 25, because saying someone is set in a career and a relationship at the age of 18, when their prefrontal lobe is not fully developed is kind of laughable. Aside from my complaints I really did enjoy the happy, positivity of the story that had me smiling and I would recommend this for a light summer romance.
**This part is problematic
b/c the author actually says Africa as in the entire continent. She doesn’t mention Ghana until 3/4 of the way through the book. Also the jab taken at the countries in Africa by saying something like “she can’t go a day w/out her hairdryer” as if counties on the continent don’t have electricity. These dismissive comments could have been teachable moments w/in the story, but the author needs to come to that realization first.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent and Death
kayladaila's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I have two qualms with this book. The first is that the author made some obtuse remarks about Lila’s friend going to “Africa” rather than naming a country or a city and then treating Africa like a backwards continent.
The second issue is that as a Cuban in the UK, Lila begins making pastries with lard in them and how proud she is of Cubans loving pork products. There are SO MANY vegetarians in England and every single establishment in the smallest towns is vegetarian friendly, so I would have liked to see that be addressed.
The second issue is that as a Cuban in the UK, Lila begins making pastries with lard in them and how proud she is of Cubans loving pork products. There are SO MANY vegetarians in England and every single establishment in the smallest towns is vegetarian friendly, so I would have liked to see that be addressed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia and Death
Moderate: Death of parent, Alcohol, Self harm, Abandonment, Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Grief
Minor: Racism and Xenophobia
blackveilbeccy's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The pace of this was very slow and I felt rather disconnected from both the main character and the love interest. I did like the new friendship group and a lot of the side characters. I found the “emotional recipes” an annoying quirk in the writing. The cooking theme was enjoyable. This was just okay.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Medical content, Grief, and Dementia
Moderate: Mental illness, Death of parent, Stalking, Abandonment, Self harm, Medical trauma, Alcohol, and Cursing
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, and Terminal illness
daisyandherbooks's review
adventurous
inspiring
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? It's complicated
4.25
I picked this out of my ✨magical tbr box✨ And I gotta say I LOVED IT!
I read it super quickly, it was the perfect cute romance, the chapters were short, the characters loveable, the plot intriguing. I love it when characters find themselves and that exactly what our main character does.
The only reason why I give this 4.25 stars is because I predicted the big plot twist and it was sometimes a little cliche. And it ended a bit quickly. But that didn’t stop me from loving it :) I was sad that it was over to be honest!
If you want to see me draw this book from the tbr box, just go to the tbr box highlight on my profile :) @daisy.andherbooks on insta x
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief and Death of parent
livelyghost's review
emotional
hopeful
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
This coming-of-age novel’s first third was hard to get through, mostly because it reminded me so much of the melancholia and bitterness of my own teenage years. Once Lila starts getting to know her new environment though she and the book really start to blossom. I loved imagining the walks around the small English town and Miami described, as well as all of the delicious-sounding foods. One of the lines of the last chapter a love-interest says made me tear up. What starts out painfully becomes quite a comforting read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, and Dementia