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zombiezami's review against another edition
3.75
What I most liked about this book were Zara as a character and her loving and mutually supportive relationship with her parents. I really loved how they were written. I also especially enjoy books where I can't predict what's going to happen next, and that was definitely the case with this one.
As far as my critiques, most of the characters did not feel especially developed. What activities does Priya enjoy? Why does Zara like Claire other than that Zara finds her pretty and they are both queer? At the end of the book, I didn't have a clear idea of how to answer those questions. Even with Zara, we open the book with her training in martial arts, but that barely gets brought up again after that first scene, despite the fact that she's been involved with it for most of her life.
Moreover, there were some plot points that were introduced but never really went anywhere. For example,what happened with Maria after Zara intervened in the bullying and intimidation that was happening? It's implied that she might talk to the principal about how she was bullied, but we never hear about her after that incident. I was thinking she might become friends with Zara and her crew . The ending felt rather abrupt, too.
There were also several instances where the characters acted as mouthpieces for the author's beliefs, sounding like they were reading Wikipedia pages about the DREAM Act and immigration reform. Although I agreed with what they were saying (fuck borders), I imagine there could have been a more organic way to present these ideas in the characters' own voices.
As far as my critiques, most of the characters did not feel especially developed. What activities does Priya enjoy? Why does Zara like Claire other than that Zara finds her pretty and they are both queer? At the end of the book, I didn't have a clear idea of how to answer those questions. Even with Zara, we open the book with her training in martial arts, but that barely gets brought up again after that first scene, despite the fact that she's been involved with it for most of her life.
Moreover, there were some plot points that were introduced but never really went anywhere. For example,
There were also several instances where the characters acted as mouthpieces for the author's beliefs, sounding like they were reading Wikipedia pages about the DREAM Act and immigration reform. Although I agreed with what they were saying (fuck borders), I imagine there could have been a more organic way to present these ideas in the characters' own voices.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Racism, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Grief, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, Islamophobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Homophobia, and Biphobia
Moderate: Gun violence, Vomit, Death, and Outing
Minor: Death of parent, Cursing, Deportation, Colonisation, and Car accident
sarah984's review against another edition
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This book touches on a lot of important topics and I did like parts of it but overall it felt a little bland and superficial, more like a summary than its own novel. A lot of things happen really quickly and kind of get glossed over (the romance is SO fast) and the side characters don't have a lot of personality. I liked the way the book spotlighted problems with the immigration system that aren't as commonly addressed. However a lot of issues got solved way too easily - the love interest’s homophobic Christian parents go to one therapy session and then they're okay with her Muslim girlfriend coming over for dinner, the way going to Canada is presented as an answer to every problem as if there are no racists here. The food descriptions are great though, and I loved Zara’s relationship with her family.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Gun violence, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Homophobia, Medical content, Xenophobia, and Racism
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, and Death of parent
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