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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
Read this book to teach to my high school seniors and I CANNOT wait for them to read this. I LOVED this book so much. this book gets into so many relatable things for my high school seniors and even myself. I cannot recommend this book enough to EVERYONE
4.5/5 stars! This was really good! I wasn't initially convinced, but around page 80, I was hooked. Gabi is such a flawed and endearing protagonist, and I loved watching her learn about love and life and sex as she documented her experiences in her fun, unique voice. As a young adult, I really enjoy reading about teenagers who are still learning the things I learned when I was 17. I love the nostalgia of it all. Gabi's life is hectic and tumultuous and confusing, but she is trying her best to be a good girlfriend, a good daughter, and a good friend, and I loved this book a lot if you can't tell.
3.5 stars rounded up. Gabi is a strong, likable character, written believably. I enjoyed the bits of Spanish throughout and Gabi's relationships with her friends. I did get tired of how often she called herself "fat," though. I suppose this was realistic because her mom kept harping on her about her weight, but I found it sad how much it preoccupied Gabi herself. I was happy, though, that she mostly remained positive and persevered.
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
This book made me laugh, made me tear up, and made me wish that I'd had a book like this when I was in high school. I appreciate how real it is; Gabi is not going to fix sexist double-standards, for example, but she writes about them and lets the reader realize that she sees them and hates them, too, and gives words to things that young readers may have felt but don't yet have the language for. I love her poetry teacher, and I love all of the references to amazing and wonderful poems. Just one of those incredibly realistic books, but not in a super depressing way- just in a 'wow, this makes the reader really feel seen' way. There are some terrible things that happen in the book (cw for addiction, death by overdose, rape, domestic abuse, etc) but these terrible things aren't rare events- they happen in real life with unfortunate frequency- and I'm glad that the author is able to write about them in a very relatable, human way. And how good was Gabi's zine- I love that we get to see her development as a poet and a creative, and get to end the book believing she is going to do great things.
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-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
Especially great on audio. I didn't want this book to end.
The only thing about this book that could make it hard to sell is the cover, which is quite jarring. But about two-thirds of the way through the book, the cover makes complete sense and you see that it is, in fact, brilliant.
I love Gabi. I love that she pushes back as other people try to tell her what a pale, freckled, heavyset Mexican-American girl "should" be. I love her mix of feistiness and self-doubt and self-confidence. I love how her senior year journal puts into words the things that a lot of teenage girls struggle with, regardless of their cultural background. She is unapologetic about her intelligence and her looks and her thoughts and her wishes and her fears. She is both hilarious and heart-breaking. In spite of her difficulties, she is determined to realize her dream of heading to college, and the poems that she shares in her journal clearly display her heart and her talent.
This is unquestionably Printz Award and Pura Bel Pre Award material, and I am so happy to have gotten to know Gabi and [a:Isabel Quintero|8077763|Isabel Quintero|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1408592318p2/8077763.jpg].
I love Gabi. I love that she pushes back as other people try to tell her what a pale, freckled, heavyset Mexican-American girl "should" be. I love her mix of feistiness and self-doubt and self-confidence. I love how her senior year journal puts into words the things that a lot of teenage girls struggle with, regardless of their cultural background. She is unapologetic about her intelligence and her looks and her thoughts and her wishes and her fears. She is both hilarious and heart-breaking. In spite of her difficulties, she is determined to realize her dream of heading to college, and the poems that she shares in her journal clearly display her heart and her talent.
This is unquestionably Printz Award and Pura Bel Pre Award material, and I am so happy to have gotten to know Gabi and [a:Isabel Quintero|8077763|Isabel Quintero|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1408592318p2/8077763.jpg].
