Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - Breathe and Count Back from Ten

I have never highlighted a book like I have this one! The disability rep here spoke to me on another level. The story perfectly captured the relationship I have to my body; the disconnect, and how simultaneously my body is hugely familiar AND unfamiliar to me. I also appreciated how the book showed that ableism comes in part from disabled people “making” abled people uncomfortable, as we are “uncomfortable” reminders that humans are not meant to be “perfect”, are not designed to be, and that ALL bodies have needs. Furthermore, I loved how the story poked holes in how abled people want to “fix” us. This quote in particular spoke to that:

“And why should it matter, anyway, when so many things in nature - rivers and trees and shorelines and mountains - are free to be imperfect? No one calls a flower chueca as it bends its way toward the sky.”

There’s so much more glowing praise I could lavish on the disability rep here! It was so spot on, and I’ll be looking at the annotations I’ve made for years to come.

The key theme of the book is bodily autonomy, and how Verónica is trying to find and assert this as a disabled immigrant Latina girl. Each of her intersecting identities impact this challenge, and it is in her search that she develops so much as a character. I really loved this part of the story.

I also really liked the summery feel this novel had. It is brought out by the pools and sunbathing, sunshine and, of course, mermaids. We got so much detail regarding how being a mermaid performer works and I loved it! It gave me a whole new appreciation for that profession.

I did struggle with two things. The first is the romance between Verónica and Alex. I didn’t get their chemistry, especially as everything within their relationship seemed to move so quickly. On top of this, I just don’t think having a romance was necessary for this book. The same themes could have been explored without it, and it took time and space away from the development of these themes. The second thing I didn’t like was that Sylvester never really properly addressed Verónica’s belief that her younger sister Dani didn’t have problems, or that the ones that she did have were insignificant. I didn’t like this invalidation of Dani’s experience especially as, aside from being disabled, she would have been going through similar struggles to Verónica. I will say that I DID appreciate how Sylvester handled the glass-child narrative within this relationship, though!

Rep: Peruvian-American MC with hip dysplasia, Mexican-American LI with depression, Peruvian-American SCs, sapphic SC, Black sapphic SC, Japanese-American SC, Native American genderqueer SC

Content Warnings

imstephtacular's review

Go to review page

emotional hopeful medium-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

4.25

Content Warnings

literelli's review

Go to review page

hopeful reflective medium-paced

5.0

“[I]t seems everyone gets to be whole but me. They get to be seen for who they are, not for what they aren’t.”
“They say they want me to feel comfortable—not happy, or fully supported—just fine, satisfied enough that I’m not in any pain. Which feels like a low bar to me.”
““People talk about pain like it’s measurable. They’ll ask me to put it on a scale from one to ten. But I’ve been pushing it away so long it’s like my barometer’s broken. I don’t know if I can trust my mind. Or my body. I think part of me thinks I deserve it. Like I should endure it, because that would be the brave thing to do. To be strong.””

Verónica’s story and her journey over a summer really spoke to me- as a disabled teen I too struggled with asserting myself with my doctors and trusting my body and my limits. I loved the way Spanish was woven into the text as a bilingual household, and Dani asserting herself as an abled sibling.
I really loved it and highly recommend it.

Content Warnings

More...