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annreadsabook's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Similar to Severance, something that took a lot of getting used to was the lack of quotation marks. For one thing (and this may just be a personal problem), I found it difficult to distinguish when people were speaking from narration or internal thoughts. Stylistically, however, I think it actually lends itself to a more internalized way of engaging with the narrative—you are in Ana’s head almost completely. The lack of quotations, for me, additionally reflected the isolation Ana felt in a foreign country combined with her forced marriage to an abusive man.
Overall, this was such an excellent and challenging read—it’s not very long, but it holds a lot.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Death and Racism
Minor: Animal death and Suicidal thoughts
lis_alouny's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Mental illness
Minor: Physical abuse, Sexism, and Sexual violence
sorrymom94's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Grief, and Pregnancy
cheyne's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Medical trauma
kimmulholland's review against another edition
- 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? No
3.5
Graphic: Hate crime, Rape, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship
ellik6612's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
annbutnotanne's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I really loved Cruz's writing here, I just found it to hit the emotions right on the head for most of the book, and aside from some...interesting word choices, there are passages I don't think I could willingly forget because they hit home so perfectly.
I find it so interesting how Cruz created all these interesting dynamics involving Ana, her family, even some of the friends she does make, and yet the character I arguably know the least about...is Ana. I've just spent 300 pages in her mind, and I can't list a single personality trait. I know she both misses and does not miss her family, that she's afraid of her husband, I even know that she does care about appearances, and yet I'm not entirely sure whether she's a self-absorbed person, if she carries grudges, none of that.
But my biggest complaint of them all is how unaddressed it is by the narrative that Cesar goes after his teenage sister-in-law. It's clearly established that Cesar, while not in his thirties like his brother, is an adult, and Ana is a teenager when this romance does take place. After the halfway point certain events make it a little difficult for both the audience and the narrative to remember that Ana is still 15, but she is. A 15 year old who's easily more mature than both of the brothers she's involved with, but a 15 year old nonetheless. And, while this is written in first person and Ana as a character would see him in a good light, we don't see a hint of how predatory this relationship is.
And, to be frank, their love story is the weakest part of the novel. I can't really tell you why Ana falls for Cesar, but he does, and vice versa. It was very much "we did some things and then I fell for him" and just dealing with that for a good third of the book. If this specific romance was not there I would have no hesitation in giving it 5 stars. Because, aside from this, it addressed so many difficult and complex subjects full-on and exactly the way I wanted them to be handled.
The way colorism in the Dominican community is shown in this book is perfectly captured, I can't say I've read many books that discussed it in this much detail. The mother-daughter dynamic was complicated as hell but still rings so true to life, the lives they've lived in particular. The sexualization of underage girls in DR was and continues to be an everpresent issue, and it's genuinely horrifying how easy it was (and likely still is) to marry an underage girl with no one asking any questions about it. I'm not going to forget about any of these elements, because they all hit home.
All in all, this book is important. Not perfect, but definitely important, and I hope it's available in spanish, because more Dominicans should read this story to see their culture and maybe even a bit of themselves within it.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, and Police brutality