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nottusacym's review against another edition
5.0
Fresh, new perspective on life that I've not seen before in a story.
M.T. (Who has a full name no one can pronounce) is an 17 year old illegal immigrant. No one knows this outside of her family, not even her best friend Chelsea, who she's been friends with since kindergarten.
She has an abusive father, and a mother who always bows down to him. She wants a better life for herself and her little brother Jose; she despises her parents for making her illegal.
She's been told by her Father Time and time again that she can't go to college or get a decent job because of her immigration status, and she feels confined by her situation. If that's not enough, her parents keep saying they're going to move back to Argentina, but America is the only home she's ever known.
Her life finally seems to get a little better when she meets Nate, an all-American boy she meets courtesy of Chelsea's über-annoying cousin. She begins to really like him and their relationship blossoms.
Eventually, the dreariness of her situation gets to her and she gets sick of her life as a whole. She lashes out towards her friends while her father is lashing out at her even more than usual.
She's fighting an uphill battle and she doesn't know how to win.
You'll see what happens. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
M.T. (Who has a full name no one can pronounce) is an 17 year old illegal immigrant. No one knows this outside of her family, not even her best friend Chelsea, who she's been friends with since kindergarten.
She has an abusive father, and a mother who always bows down to him. She wants a better life for herself and her little brother Jose; she despises her parents for making her illegal.
She's been told by her Father Time and time again that she can't go to college or get a decent job because of her immigration status, and she feels confined by her situation. If that's not enough, her parents keep saying they're going to move back to Argentina, but America is the only home she's ever known.
Her life finally seems to get a little better when she meets Nate, an all-American boy she meets courtesy of Chelsea's über-annoying cousin. She begins to really like him and their relationship blossoms.
Eventually, the dreariness of her situation gets to her and she gets sick of her life as a whole. She lashes out towards her friends while her father is lashing out at her even more than usual.
She's fighting an uphill battle and she doesn't know how to win.
You'll see what happens. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
ivleafclover's review against another edition
5.0
Companion read for the 2015 Wichita Public Library Big Read.
ryalcoll28's review against another edition
3.0
Another good read for ESL students or students studying immigration/identity/assimilation.
akweley_mazarae's review against another edition
4.0
I read an uncorrected proof of this book, so some things might've changed, but I don't think so.
I really liked this book, and I was debating between 4 or 5 stars and choose 4 because I felt like a couple of things were unresolved. I have only read a few good books on immigration, fictional anyway, and this is one of the ones that is up there. A struggle for a lot of illegal immigrants is going to college, and being able to stay with their family, and I understand MT's struggle, especially with her heritage.
The only reason why I didn't give this four stars is because I feel like the situation with Siobhan and her boyfriend never really got finished, and I'm not sure if I liked the ending or not.
I don't know if this author will write another book, but if she does, I will read it.
I really liked this book, and I was debating between 4 or 5 stars and choose 4 because I felt like a couple of things were unresolved. I have only read a few good books on immigration, fictional anyway, and this is one of the ones that is up there. A struggle for a lot of illegal immigrants is going to college, and being able to stay with their family, and I understand MT's struggle, especially with her heritage.
The only reason why I didn't give this four stars is because I feel like the situation with Siobhan and her boyfriend never really got finished, and I'm not sure if I liked the ending or not.
I don't know if this author will write another book, but if she does, I will read it.
aliteraryenthusiast's review against another edition
5.0
This book was truly amazing. I can't think of any other way to describe it. I've never been one to read a book about people who are illegal immigrants, and that's because the one's I HAVE read weren't what I was looking for. But this book right here? It was realistic, it was true, it brought tears to my eyes, and I am glad to have read it.
I highly recommend it for everyone.
I highly recommend it for everyone.
bookmerized's review against another edition
4.0
A good book, not a great book. M.T. is an undocumented immigrant. Her father is abusive. She excels in school but faces limited options beyond high school because of her status. This was definitely a great read in these times. A bit cheesy in parts. The love story was a bit much. The M.T. symbolism was a bit much. Overall, a quick and informative read!
bbz's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars. Interesting concept. I've never encountered a YA book that dealt with issues of immigration, so I appreciate this. I think Andreu captured the immigrant experience, whether undocumented or not, quite well. I especially liked the way she captured the identity of children of immigrants and their feelings on statehood. 3.5/5 because the book struggled at times. Andreu tried to pick up too many sub plots so as to make M.T. a more rounded character, or perhaps to not make this solely an immigration story. The subplots didn't work. They were not explored, abandoned halfway or reintroduced at awkward moments for the sake it. Despite that, it's an interesting story on immigration, and would recommend on that alone.
amanda_'s review against another edition
3.0
People always talk about fighting being the brave thing. But maybe the bravest thing is knowing when to stop. Knowing when you are beat. It is such a simple answer. It almost makes me happy.
The Secret Side of Empty is a touching story about M.T., an undocumented immigrant. (M.T. describes herself as an 'illegal immigrant'.) When entering her senior year of high school it is becoming clearer than ever for her how different her life is from her peers' lives. They have grand plans to head off to college, to travel, and what else they may choose. M.T. believes she does not have the same choices, that her life will come to a standstill. We follow her life through this period of uncertainty.
The author takes inspiration from her own life as an (formerly) undocumented immigrant, which is quite clear throughout the novel. There are moments that is clearly drawn from experience or watching it closely, such as M.T.'s life at home, especially the strained - abusive - relationship with her father. These moments and scenes were the best ones, due to their honest narration, painful as it was to read it. Overall, the portrayal of the mundane - if you can call it that - life of a family of undocumented immigrants; the struggles of finding jobs and make it financially, what risks to take and what to stay clear of.
The story is, however, quite uneven. The pacing and writing are uneven. For long periods of the book, nothing ever really happens, and we're stuck in M.T.'s head, whose voice is so dull. It's understandable though; as the story progresses, M.T. sinks into what can only be depression, but right from the start there's nothing exciting about her voice and narration, so the long stretches of time when nothing happens are downright boring despite the hard situation she's in. The writing suffers from a similar problem; one moment it flows and is a delight to read, and the next moment there are lines like these:
I feel electricity shooting from my hand to him, like those glass balls you put your hands on and the plasma makes shooting purple streaks to your hands. I can feel him, the cells of him.
Call it nitpicking if you'd like, but these two lines made me cringe for quite some time. I mean, 'I can feel the cells of him'? What does that even mean?
Would I recommend this book? Well, yes. Despite the uneven writing and vague plot, it's a decent story. It is especially a story that the YA genre needs to tell. The parts with M.T.'s family are wonderful and painful, heartbreaking and heartwarming. So yes, in the end, I'd recommend reading The Secret Side of Empty despite its flaws.
sydmae's review against another edition
3.0
It took me a while to get into this book, and even then, I wasn't entirely invested. I think that the romance was the most alienating part of this story; it was just completely unbelievable that this girl would be so obsessed with her short-term boyfriend. I know that she was going through a lot at the time, but it felt out of character, and I just didn't feel it. On the other hand, her struggles with depression felt very real for her struggles.
Wanted this to be a summer reading as a part of my immigration reading list, but the suicidal thoughts, drug use, and sexual content is a bit too much for me to expect my kiddos to handle without more guidance.
Wanted this to be a summer reading as a part of my immigration reading list, but the suicidal thoughts, drug use, and sexual content is a bit too much for me to expect my kiddos to handle without more guidance.
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