Reviews with content warning for Pregnancy - This Time Will Be Different

A decent coming of age story with the perspective of one whose family suffered as a result of racist acts in prior generations. It's worth reading. Expect to be challenged amongst the lightheartedness.

I don't ever expect (or even like) perfect characters, but I found CJ's mom hate-able the whole book and the aunt eventually got there for me too, sadly. CJ spends a lot of time beating herself up, which is exhausting when placed alongside the examination of racism, the familial squabbles, the coming of age, the poor choices in how she treats her friends, and the strange inclusion of

her teenage pregnancy and abortion, about which she registered exceedingly little emotion except as it played with her doubts about her mother's choice to have her--she had those doubts regardless so it just felt like excess drama

Content Warnings

carareadsthebooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

jaec11's review against another edition

Go to review page

medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This is the story of CJ, whose ancestors were Japanese who faces internment, and those same people run her town and want to buy her family business. CJ deals with family drama, romance and boys, and friendship issues while fighting from social justice

There are some fascinating and relatable points about racism and social justice, and the novel can be eye-opening and educational. As a 3rd gen Asian Canadian, I saw my own story in so many ways. However, it's hard to tackle social justice issues in a book, and I fought some of it to be forced and preach-y. Some of it felt a bit like an afterthought, a plot point added midway through, rather than a more cohesive theme. I thought it was bizarre that the first half of the book was focused on romance and friendship, then suddenly took on an anti-racism lens, which was the new focus.

I also found the main character to be obnoxious. She seemed to think herself an expert in racism and allyship, and made some very questionable decisions. I also just found her to be rude and illogical, making several hurtful and rude choices and then not apologizing for them. I understand the desire to have a complex and flawed character, but she was simply unlikable.

What I enjoyed most were the between chapter glimpses into the past, looking at family and personal history. I found this to be interesting, and told in a fun way. I also did appreciate the main love interest

PG-13 for swearing, talk of teen pregnancy and sex, and other heavy topics

Content Warnings

More...