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caitlyn888's review
2.0
2.5 stars
This book took me almost two months to read, mostly because I found all the characters unlikable and the plot seemed to meander for too many chapters. Some of the choices the protagonist made also seemed contradictory to each other. In general, I don't really understand what I just read.
This book took me almost two months to read, mostly because I found all the characters unlikable and the plot seemed to meander for too many chapters. Some of the choices the protagonist made also seemed contradictory to each other. In general, I don't really understand what I just read.
sde's review against another edition
2.0
I heard the author speak at a local event, and she was really interesting, so I was very much looking forward to this book. I was disappointed. The author explained her characters in her talk much better than she did in the book. Not only were many of the characters unlikable, but I couldn't understand why many of them behaved as they did. For instance, plenty of insecure teenage girls stick with complete jerk boyfriends, but the book didn't explain WHY Maria was attracted to or wanted to stay with Andres when he was such an a**hole. I know the reasons may have been illogical or self-destructive, but readers didn't get a sense of her inner turmoil or thoughts about it. It just made her seem like an idiot.
One part of the ending was nice and Maria went through some growth, but a lot was left hanging.
Finally, the seemed to be a cross between an adult and a YA book, but didn't seem like it would ultimately appeal to either audience.
Spoiler
And the plot between Maria and Charlie needed more build up. It didn't make sense the way it happened given their relative stations in life. Maria came from a strict but ultimately loving home. Her behavior in this situation was more that of someone who was alone or abused. I think it is possible that they could have ended up having an affair, but it would need a lot more steps to get there in real life.One part of the ending was nice and Maria went through some growth, but a lot was left hanging.
Finally, the seemed to be a cross between an adult and a YA book, but didn't seem like it would ultimately appeal to either audience.
keross72's review against another edition
3.0
Good book
If I could, I'd rank it 3.5. it doesn't quite have all the elements I thoroughly enjoy, but I did stay awake several nights reading it. But, there were times I found it a bit simplistic
If I could, I'd rank it 3.5. it doesn't quite have all the elements I thoroughly enjoy, but I did stay awake several nights reading it. But, there were times I found it a bit simplistic
licelotd's review against another edition
1.0
If I can give it a zero I would. Idk what I read but it wasn't a story, it wasn't character development. It was words thrown together
paigereitz's review
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
lifeinpoetry's review against another edition
cw: sexual abuse of minors
I hate to admit it but I did not like this.
Everyone is a horrible person here, especially the friend's father who abuses underage girls.
A major theme of this novel is power, such as the lack of power the main character, Maria, has in directing her own life and her attempts to take control, even if by. Or the brief moments she savors where her (kind of) friend, Rocky, carries something for her or performs a task for her.
Which would be interesting is Maria wasn't so inherently dislikable. It wasn't even the cheating or the lying which isn't something that causes an automatic problem for me in fiction. It was her correction of her mother's pronunciation in English, those little humiliations. Maria treating her hard working immigrant parents like garbage even as she works to "save" them. I mean, I know parents can be embarrassing at that age but there's a certain awareness, however grudging, as a child of immigrants that your parents immigrated not only for their future but their children's future. Not true in all cases but often enough.
Maria prioritizes whiteness for most of the book. She wants to have what Rocky has.
There's a change of heart at the end but it was too little, too late.
I hate to admit it but I did not like this.
Everyone is a horrible person here, especially the friend's father who abuses underage girls.
A major theme of this novel is power, such as the lack of power the main character, Maria, has in directing her own life and her attempts to take control, even if by
Spoiler
selling her body to a friend's father for college moneyWhich would be interesting is Maria wasn't so inherently dislikable. It wasn't even the cheating or the lying which isn't something that causes an automatic problem for me in fiction. It was her correction of her mother's pronunciation in English, those little humiliations. Maria treating her hard working immigrant parents like garbage even as she works to "save" them. I mean, I know parents can be embarrassing at that age but there's a certain awareness, however grudging, as a child of immigrants that your parents immigrated not only for their future but their children's future. Not true in all cases but often enough.
Maria prioritizes whiteness for most of the book. She wants to have what Rocky has.
There's a change of heart at the end but it was too little, too late.
teakov's review against another edition
24% and couldn’t finish it. so all over the place with too many unrealistic story lines.
zhelana's review against another edition
I'm really not interested in the sex lives of 17 year old sluts. I mean, I'm not really interested in the sex lives of anyone, but least of all children. This book promised me a deep thinking book about what our names mean and how we live out our names for our whole lives. Instead it gave me some teenage pap about girls having sex and using vibrators and falling in love with their friend's father. Also the friend's father fell in love with her, so I'm quitting before I hit a child molestation scene in this piece of trash. It was absolutely disgusting.
Also, Maria's parents were completely unbelievable. They start out giving everything to get their daughter a better education and send her to a ritzy private school even though they are middle class. But then, they completely change track and demand she get a job and not go to college. The kinds of parents who value education enough to send their kid to expensive private school do not demand their kid not go to college. Every last kid at my private school, except for one who went to play professional baseball, went to college.
Also, Maria's parents were completely unbelievable. They start out giving everything to get their daughter a better education and send her to a ritzy private school even though they are middle class. But then, they completely change track and demand she get a job and not go to college. The kinds of parents who value education enough to send their kid to expensive private school do not demand their kid not go to college. Every last kid at my private school, except for one who went to play professional baseball, went to college.
niksasali's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
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
Don't often leave comments but this one was hard to rate for me. First, the purpose of my choosing of it was for a challenge prompt where the main character was a similar age to me in a similar time. In this case the main character was 17 and it was 2006 which is when I would've been 19. I expected to have more social cultural references that would have that nostalgia attached to them but really didn't find that.. in fact other than mentions of cable TV, it seemed more current the 2006 (the amount of times it referred to people on their phones, I remember 2006 as a time where far fewer people lived with their phones attached to their hands).
The bigger thing for me was I didn't really like anyone in the book... usually in books like this where you're seeing the struggles people have and what they're up against and all of that, I can like even the character with the least redeeming qualities, but none of them seemed to care about anyone other than themselves.. with the exception of maybe Maria's parents but that only really showed towards the end.
Finally, I was little disappointed that for a book that on the back claimed to be told through the perspectives of four characters it was pretty much 90% through one character's perspective with the other 3 getting small slivers.
I love that the bookaddress class and race issues as well as sexual consent issues..., But I also felt those topics were only just brought to the surface but never actually explored with much depth. They were only ever really looked up by one person's perspective and not discussed in any meaningful way between characters so that people could go any deeper with it.
The bigger thing for me was I didn't really like anyone in the book... usually in books like this where you're seeing the struggles people have and what they're up against and all of that, I can like even the character with the least redeeming qualities, but none of them seemed to care about anyone other than themselves.. with the exception of maybe Maria's parents but that only really showed towards the end.
Finally, I was little disappointed that for a book that on the back claimed to be told through the perspectives of four characters it was pretty much 90% through one character's perspective with the other 3 getting small slivers.
I love that the bookaddress class and race issues as well as sexual consent issues..., But I also felt those topics were only just brought to the surface but never actually explored with much depth. They were only ever really looked up by one person's perspective and not discussed in any meaningful way between characters so that people could go any deeper with it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship