327 reviews for:

Malas

Marcela Fuentes

4.06 AVERAGE

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
emotional reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
akkaraboo's profile picture

akkaraboo's review

4.0
emotional reflective medium-paced
emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

It took me a little while to get into this book, but once I got to Lulu’s first chapter, I was hooked. I appreciated the character development, the setting in a border town in the 90s, and all the references to Selena. 
pilar15's profile picture

pilar15's review

4.75
adventurous emotional lighthearted medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
adventurous emotional funny reflective medium-paced

spaceb's review

3.75
emotional funny mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I enjoyed the characters, though feel the pacing and plot/character development were all uneven throughout the book. Not my favorite example of a split narrative or bifrucated chapter approach. Interesting history of race and class division in South Texas/Northern Mexico which was bolstered by the eras it was set, though could have incorporated more history into the story to make it more robust.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
inspiring mysterious medium-paced

joykirr's review

4.0
dark mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot

This was a recommendation from a parent of one of my students, and I’m so glad I picked it up! It was so different from so much of what I read. I enjoyed learning a bit about the Tejano culture, and I enjoyed the twists in the plot!
meganinip's profile picture

meganinip's review

4.25
adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I read the Spanish translation. As a mexican-american, I found many of the characters relatable and saw a lot of my family members reflected in them.
The explanation about the old woman was not satisfying at all, felt like a rushed easy way to explain her part in the story so that was a little disappointing and the ending defffff felt rushed.
for sure, worth a read.