Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - It's Not Like It's a Secret

A coming of age novel that is sweet and wonderful.

Biggest warning is that it will backhand you with homophobia/racism without warning. You’ll feel very safe as a reader and then get whiplash as things are suddenly said or done and it’s pretty abrupt.

Otherwise, this is a cute book, there’s such a niche interest of poetry going on here that I really really loved. Sana was such a messy teen protagonist, and I really enjoyed watching her stumble and catch herself as she learned and grew.

Content Warnings

venice_the_vampire's review

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emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.25

a lot better than i expected, loved the way they wrapped up the families experiences but truly wish they would have fleshed out the actual main relationship of the story better. did have some unexpected beautiful moments, though

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thebookvali's review

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emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense 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

4.0

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bookishmillennial's review

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reflective tense fast-paced

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

contemporary young adult coming-of-age set in the SF Bay Area, California, told in first-person POV
16-year-old Sana moves to California from the midwest & begins to realize how much racism she used to let slide in her hometown
Sana meets Jamie, a Latina queer teen, & finds herself torn between Jamie's Latinx friends & her new Asian American friends
Sana also suspects her father of having an affair
the way these topics is handled is a bit sloppy & frustrating; my least favorite book by Misa unfortunately
cw: racism, homophobia, outing, infidelity, annoying ignorant ass kids lmaoooo

Content Warnings

sophie42's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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ari_is_tired's review

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reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I wanted to like this book so bad. It's got all the ingredients of a book I should like, but the main character is such an awful person, and not in the awkward, teenager-making-mistakes way, either.

She spends most of the book judging her father for an affair, and then turns around and cheats? Like make it make sense, because it doesn't. Never mind the race issue that are brought up, but just completely glossed over.

Overall, this is just a mess. It's been a very long time since I've actively despised a main character this much.

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book_snail's review

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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oonareads's review against another edition

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2.0

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