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bethany6788's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
tense
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
5.0
Yamilet and her younger brother are starting at a new, mostly white, Catholic school due to some issues at their prior school. She meets an openly queer girl, Bo, who she starts crushing on. And honestly I don’t want to say more because this one was SO good going in not knowing anything.
I swear - my friend Meagan never misses when she recommends a book to me. I adored this one.
*spoilers*
Yamilet was such a refreshing character. She made mistakes. She was a little messy. And I loved her. I felt for her with her journey of being outed and losing her best friend. Hard to trust when you’ve been so hurt! The relationship with her dad was special but hard to read as the book continued. My heart absolutely broke for her after she was vulnerable with her dad. (Loved that scene toward the end though with her mom and brother!!) I also felt for her with how scared she was, and how she felt responsible for everything. Her mom really counted on her and made sure she knew it. When the event happened with her brother and her mom partially blamed her I cried.
Loved Bo. A great love interest. But most importantly - a great friend. Truly, Sonora writes really strong friendships of high school aged kids that feel incredibly relatable. I loved getting to know the whole group.
Caesar… my guy. My heart. The two big reveals for him had me hooked at the first and tearing up at the second. I thought his storyline was handled with grace and care.
LOVE how Yami’s mom came around. LOVED Bo’s parents. Loved the date. Loved the first kiss. Loved that promposal x2. Loved that anti-prom!!!
A great book. Definitely read it and I’d go for the audio. Incredibly well-done!
I swear - my friend Meagan never misses when she recommends a book to me. I adored this one.
*spoilers*
Yamilet was such a refreshing character. She made mistakes. She was a little messy. And I loved her. I felt for her with her journey of being outed and losing her best friend. Hard to trust when you’ve been so hurt! The relationship with her dad was special but hard to read as the book continued. My heart absolutely broke for her after she was vulnerable with her dad. (Loved that scene toward the end though with her mom and brother!!) I also felt for her with how scared she was, and how she felt responsible for everything. Her mom really counted on her and made sure she knew it. When the event happened with her brother and her mom partially blamed her I cried.
Loved Bo. A great love interest. But most importantly - a great friend. Truly, Sonora writes really strong friendships of high school aged kids that feel incredibly relatable. I loved getting to know the whole group.
Caesar… my guy. My heart. The two big reveals for him had me hooked at the first and tearing up at the second. I thought his storyline was handled with grace and care.
LOVE how Yami’s mom came around. LOVED Bo’s parents. Loved the date. Loved the first kiss. Loved that promposal x2. Loved that anti-prom!!!
A great book. Definitely read it and I’d go for the audio. Incredibly well-done!
isavalenti's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
livsliterarynook's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? No
4.25
overallsonfrogs's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
meganharperartist's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
5.0
lfouda's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
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? No
4.5
unhingedbookbitch's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? It's complicated
5.0
This audiobook just left me soooo happy. Like I loved the beginning and momentarily lost interest around 25% but then 30% it did a 180 for me and I GOT SUCKED IN. Like it took me 10 to listen to the first 25% then I finished the remaining 75% in one sitting. I got so into it that I downloaded the ebook of it from my library so I could finish the last 2 chapters while watching a movie. The writing felt so authentic and just easy to read and the characters were all likeable yet flawed (like they felt like real people) and the just seeing my Latine heritage celebrated in a book (especially involving a Catholic school which traumatized my high school years) was UGHH SOOOO DELICIOUS.
Just like 10s across the board - good story, lovable characters, diverse representation, and all the emotions. Just call her Inside Out 3: My Gay Awakening.
Another thing I think the author did sooo well was portray multiple life lessons and reflective situations without it being preachy or overwhelming or messy. I feel like coming of age novels try to do so much sometimes and pack a million situations that teach lessons into one book but lose the point along the way. This book was able to tackle like difficult and deep shit like religion, r@cism (especially deportation and police brutality towards POC), social classes, hømophobia, and more. It can be hard to juggle all the messages you want to send in a book without it becoming jumbled up and I just think this author did that so well with that while still making a great story.
So I can’t speak on the lesbian representation accuracy, but I can say (as a Latina myself) that the Latine rep was so accurate. Especially as an eldest daughter in a Latine family cause like that’s a whole other level my dude. I know Reyes (the author) is latine but idk if they’re an eldest child cause so much of what was placed upon Yami from her family (and expectations and responsibilities she placed on herself) and thoughts and feels she had as an eldest Latina daughter hit the nail on the head for me.
The romance UGHHHH I WAS TEEHEE GIGGLING!!! I WAS HOLDING MY BREATH!!! I WAS CRYING!!!! Such a sweet and genuine blossoming romance with a love that helped a little Latina girl stand up for herself GOD SO GOOD😫
This has easily become one of my fave reads this year. So much heart and thoughtfulness throughout this story GET ME A SPECIAL EDITON HARDCOVER VERSION TO PUT ON MY SHELF NOW!!!!
Ok this last part is a bit spoilery & discusses sųicide so proceed with caution or don’t proceed at all:
So I had a feeling someone was going to be sųicidal before I read this book based on what some people told me. I always get a little hesitant to read anything relating to sųicide cause I was sųicidal not that long ago. I’m not going to get into it but just understand that I’m healing and I could feel fine one day then the next I’m very depressed so I just tend to stay away from the subject just in case. Honestly that could’ve been why I hit a momentary lull 25% in, because I could see Cesar start displaying signs. But I continued reading this anyway and I’m glad I did. The book was able to tackle this heavy subject with grace and honesty. It actually made a small portion of the book but left an impact in a positive way. I think Reyes especially handled the aftermath of hospitalization and the start of the healing journey sooo well. It’s a bit awkward but (with the right kind of support) it slowly starts. And some days are dark days even if the day started out well. I just really appreciated the honesty, rawness, and compassion toward the subject.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deportation, Suicidal thoughts, Lesbophobia, Cultural appropriation, Mental illness, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Racism, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Outing, Biphobia, and Forced institutionalization
nenaveenstra's review against another edition
lighthearted
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? Yes
3.0
I think this book has the potential to change the lives of a lot of teens, but only if they don’t get to Adam Silvera’s and Becky Albertalli’s work first.
It took a while for me to get into this book. For the first three quarters, it felt like an nth iteration of a book I’d read before: closeted queer kid doesn’t communicate with anyone, jumps to all the wrong conclusions and is surprised when things turn out differently than expected. I found the plot/character beats highly predictable, the lack of communication incredibly irritating, and the characters very flat. Especially the main character - I found myself thinking multiple times that I was much more interested in Cesar’s perspective than his sister, Yami’s.
I think my main gripe with this book is that it’s inconsistent. There’s a lot of loose ends here; story arcs that never get resolved, characters that get introduced but never get their on-screen moment, and character relationships that don’t really make sense. Like the fact that Yami didn’t see how much Cesar was struggling, when they’re supposedly such close siblings. What happened to telepathy? The book started off with a job hunt, the significance of which was unclear by the end of the book. Yami’s ex-best friend came to visit a couple of times, but they never got the chance to talk. Stuff like that.
That being said, the last 25% of this book was really cute. I like that Yami obviously grew as a person, being able to stand up for herself and Bo, and that she got to have her happy ending. I’m glad she opened up to Bo about everything that happened with Bianca, and Cesar’s suicide attempt. I wouldn’t tell anyone not to read this book, but I just don’t think it adds much to the literary landscape of queer YA.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Lesbophobia, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Self harm and Domestic abuse
Minor: Body shaming
erino23's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
4.75