Reviews with content warning for Death - How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water

the book is structured as twelve interviews Cara Romero has with a job counselor, except you only get to hear/read Cara's words. Cara is open and candid, sharing all sorts of details about her life that get introduced in the first few interviews and further fleshed out in following ones. she's complicated and unapologetic about who she is and what she wants, but also shows remarkable growth throughout her life and these ~3 months that we spend with her.

the audiobook narrator did a phenomenal job pulling the listener in from the very beginning. highly recommend on audio!

Content Warnings

sofipitch's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny reflective

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The way Cara Romero talks was so like my grandmother and occasionally my dad it felt strange and comforting at the same time. Many of her beliefs echoed theirs too, the main difference is while Cara changes to where she becomes more open and loving to others, they haven't. But I guess it's meant to give you hope of that change, and I really appreciate how while there was some hope that maybe she would reconcile with her estranged son, he didn't owe it to her to come back

Content Warnings

angievansprang's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad fast-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

4.75

This was a really entertaining audiobook! I absolutely fell in love with our main character, Cara Romero. She is so human that she feels like a real, off-page person. You get to know her so well and the author gives you just enough information to keep you always wanting more about Cara’s life. Beautifully told story.

Content Warnings

kaynova's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

4.0

the audio version of this book is the best thing ever. i was immersed into the story, the characters, and always hoped for the best for every character. rossmery almonte's voice is so riveting and pulls you in.

Content Warnings

bella_cavicchi's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny 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

4.5

4.5 stars. A sheer joy and a half to read. Angie Cruz has crafted what is effectively a 190-page monologue, showcasing what feels to me like one of the most distinct voices in recent literary memory. My sentimental heart was tearing up by the final few pages, but I’ll leave that for you to experience for yourself… :)

(And for anyone craving a multi-media (!) experience, reading it is well-paired with this episode of Thresholds: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5odDnfti2oq70ktRVZ4rdU?si=1379209cd6e14d86)

Content Warnings

helenaeoftroy's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

I got choked up at the end. Finishing the book felt like I was losing a friend. I want to meet Cara Romero.

Content Warnings

readingwithcoffee's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad 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

3.75

Overall the book is about a woman using her job counselor more as therapist because she has no one to talk to and as the sessions continue and she looks for employment in an unforgiving country and city she unpacks the harm that’s been done to her and that she’s done to others.

A refreshing older woman protagonist but if you go in not expecting the character unpack domestic and child abuse and how she continued the cycles and tries it break them it may catch you off guard. I heavily recommend checking out the content warnings. Also most of the time the Spanglish made sense but there were times when instead “he has ten years” clearly being someone in English mimicking Spanish’s “Él tengo diez años”, instead at times it felt like taking a random word and making it Spanish to make sure we remember she’s poorly educated ESL especially that one sentence she didn’t recognize Chile the country despite being Latin American that seemed silly to me.

Small details but they bothered me, all in all Cara Romero is a very human character from her selfless virtues to her flaws that hurt everyone including herself. It made me cry which is a positive to the writer!

Content Warnings

booksinherhead's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful reflective 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

5.0

this epistolary novel absolutely caught me by surprise! In HOW NOT TO DROWN IN A GLASS OF WATER Dominican immigrant Cara Romero carefully describes her life to her job counselor over twelve sessions. Artful, lush, heartbreaking, and hopeful. I won't forget this one anytime soon. THIS is the sort of novel I truly love to read.

Content Warnings

More...