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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
This book was absolutely amazing. If you want to read a book where the main character is funny, strong, and real, Gabi is your girl. While it seemed like every kind of after-school-special scenario happened to Gabi and her friends, it just makes it more relatable to a reader of any background. I loved it! I want more books like this in my library to share with everyone.
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
This book is amazing. Gabi is a character anyone raised in a religious home can relate to. Loved this so much!
I did not care for Gabi's voice to begin with. By halfway in, though, I thought she found some strength. The mixture of Spanish and English was easy enough to follow.
This journal-style novel tackled a number of big ticket issues for teenage girls, and is worth the read.
There is mature content and language.
This journal-style novel tackled a number of big ticket issues for teenage girls, and is worth the read.
There is mature content and language.
"The levee broke. I hurricane. I flood. I baptismal waters. God the punisher. Ancient being full of wrath. Hammer of Thor. Bolt of Zeus. Huitzilopochtli emerging from Coatepec—recently birthed and thirsty for vengeance. Chola from the barrio that I could never be. I was pissed." this girl i swear
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book showed me a culture to which I have had very little exposure. As I live in Australia, it is extremely rare to meet someone with strong Mexican roots as with Gabi and her family.
It gave me an insight to a somewhat new world and it was extremely interesting. What I loved was that although I have had a completely different upbringing than those in this novel, I still related to specific aspects of the story which really pulled me in.
It was a fun, and eye-opening read that I highly recommend to everyone!
It gave me an insight to a somewhat new world and it was extremely interesting. What I loved was that although I have had a completely different upbringing than those in this novel, I still related to specific aspects of the story which really pulled me in.
It was a fun, and eye-opening read that I highly recommend to everyone!
This book by Isabel Quintero felt so powerful to read and I am so glad I encountered it. I wish so much that I had read it when I was younger and I wish this book was more widely known/read. The themes in this book are so important to me and they are generally themes and stories that don’t get talked about enough so having so many condensed in this book is amazing. Some of the themes I can think of (but not exhaustive) are:
Sex
Relationships (with friends, siblings, romantic partners etc)
Growing up as a woman
Abortion
Drug addiction
Body image
Rape
Religion (as an oppressive force)
Sexuality
Family
I am sure there are others but this feels like a pretty good list. I will say that I read a review on goodreads first this book in which the writer said they wished the book discussed the main character’s eating disorder more directly rather than just as a symptom of her life which I think I can agree with. Even with this wish I really can’t say I would want Quintero to change what she has written because it is so important to me and I hope more people read it.
What I also really like about this book is that it is about a community of which I am not a part of and cannot say I really know. With that I love that this book is about Mexican Americans, but that that is not the thread that holds this story together. In reading it I get the sense that we are more alike than we are unalike because the story focuses on her life as her life and not exclusively from the perspective of a life as a Mexican American girl (although that identity is certainly a part of it).
I encountered this book looking for book to read in Spanish. I know it was originally published in English and I am sure I missed out on the fullness of Isabel Quintero’s art because my grip on Spanish is not as good as my English and typically the original is the most faithful to the author’s initial intention, but I am glad that I got to practice while reading something that is indelibly tied to Spanish even if it is not what they speak in the book.
My final words: please read this book and have other people you know read it, Quintero’s messages and themes need to be heard more.
Sex
Relationships (with friends, siblings, romantic partners etc)
Growing up as a woman
Abortion
Drug addiction
Body image
Rape
Religion (as an oppressive force)
Sexuality
Family
I am sure there are others but this feels like a pretty good list. I will say that I read a review on goodreads first this book in which the writer said they wished the book discussed the main character’s eating disorder more directly rather than just as a symptom of her life which I think I can agree with. Even with this wish I really can’t say I would want Quintero to change what she has written because it is so important to me and I hope more people read it.
What I also really like about this book is that it is about a community of which I am not a part of and cannot say I really know. With that I love that this book is about Mexican Americans, but that that is not the thread that holds this story together. In reading it I get the sense that we are more alike than we are unalike because the story focuses on her life as her life and not exclusively from the perspective of a life as a Mexican American girl (although that identity is certainly a part of it).
I encountered this book looking for book to read in Spanish. I know it was originally published in English and I am sure I missed out on the fullness of Isabel Quintero’s art because my grip on Spanish is not as good as my English and typically the original is the most faithful to the author’s initial intention, but I am glad that I got to practice while reading something that is indelibly tied to Spanish even if it is not what they speak in the book.
My final words: please read this book and have other people you know read it, Quintero’s messages and themes need to be heard more.
emotional
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Audio reread