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serendipitysbooks's review
emotional
reflective
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? It's complicated
4.25
The Things We Didn’t Know is a complex coming of age-story. Early in the novel 9 year old Andrea and her brother Pablo are taken from their Massachusetts home to Puerto Rico by their mother who effectively abandons them to the care of her family before their father is contacted and arrives to take them back to Massachusetts. This novel was a success for me on many levels - a strong female character to get behind; complex and complicated family dynamics some of which were loving and supportive, while others were controlling or neglectful; strong and engaging writing; its exploration of many interesting and important themes - racism, the pressure of parental expectations, identity and belonging, sexism and gender roles, homophobia, differing cultural values, addiction, mental health, self-determination. Andrea’s childhood involved many challenges and difficulties so it was a relief to see she was able to build a successful career and happy home life for herself as an adult.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Colonisation, Sexual assault, and Racism
Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis
bookishmillennial's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
Thank you to Libro FM for the ALC! The narrator, Marisa Blake, did a fantastic job. I just listened to her narrate another book right before this, so I was like, 'I KNOW THAT VOICE!' She is just lovely!
This was such an intriguing and at times heart-wrenching read. The book opens in the 1950’s in Massachusetts as Raquel takes her 9-year old daughter Andrea & 7-year-old son Pablo to Puerto Rico, her home, leaving their father behind. After Andrea essentially abandons the children with their aunt, their father finds the children and brings them home to Massachussetts a few months later. We follow Andrea as she grows up, tries to acclimate back in MA and find her way. Meanwhile, her father remarries Carmen, and Andrea welcomes a new baby brother to their family.
As if repeating history or continuing generational trauma, Andrea’s brother Pablo eventually leaves her and their father behind too, and Andrea doesn’t see him for 8 years. EIGHT YEARS!!!! It’s devastating, but just as when Raquel abandoned them, Andrea had to continue living, and to move on with her life. She has crushes, makes friends, and navigates her father’s problematic, racist views. Amidst all of this, the abandonment of her mother and brother quietly haunt Andrea, filled with questions that she feels she may never receive answers to. The discovery of and possibility of reuniting with Pablo and Raquel enrage and devastate Andrea, and I deeply felt for her as she contended with these situations.
Andrea meets Arturo, a fellow Puerto Rican (but Afro-latino, and this is important because of the role it plays with Andrea’s father😞) in college, as he’s a few years older than her in his graduate law program. This is around the time of a massive march and strike in DC against the expansion of the Vietnam war in Laos and Cambodia. I appreciated the way actual history was sprinkled in to set the stage, and help frame the cultural context of the story. I loved the way Andrea stood up for Arturo, as Andrea is blonde with blue eyes so she recognizes that life is different for her, even if she had always felt othered in elementary and high school especially due to being Puerto Rican.
Thank you to Libro FM for the ALC! The narrator, Marisa Blake, did a fantastic job. I just listened to her narrate another book right before this, so I was like, 'I KNOW THAT VOICE!' She is just lovely!
This was such an intriguing and at times heart-wrenching read. The book opens in the 1950’s in Massachusetts as Raquel takes her 9-year old daughter Andrea & 7-year-old son Pablo to Puerto Rico, her home, leaving their father behind. After Andrea essentially abandons the children with their aunt, their father finds the children and brings them home to Massachussetts a few months later. We follow Andrea as she grows up, tries to acclimate back in MA and find her way. Meanwhile, her father remarries Carmen, and Andrea welcomes a new baby brother to their family.
As if repeating history or continuing generational trauma, Andrea’s brother Pablo eventually leaves her and their father behind too, and Andrea doesn’t see him for 8 years. EIGHT YEARS!!!! It’s devastating, but just as when Raquel abandoned them, Andrea had to continue living, and to move on with her life. She has crushes, makes friends, and navigates her father’s problematic, racist views. Amidst all of this, the abandonment of her mother and brother quietly haunt Andrea, filled with questions that she feels she may never receive answers to. The discovery of and possibility of reuniting with Pablo and Raquel enrage and devastate Andrea, and I deeply felt for her as she contended with these situations.
Andrea meets Arturo, a fellow Puerto Rican (but Afro-latino, and this is important because of the role it plays with Andrea’s father😞) in college, as he’s a few years older than her in his graduate law program. This is around the time of a massive march and strike in DC against the expansion of the Vietnam war in Laos and Cambodia. I appreciated the way actual history was sprinkled in to set the stage, and help frame the cultural context of the story. I loved the way Andrea stood up for Arturo, as Andrea is blonde with blue eyes so she recognizes that life is different for her, even if she had always felt othered in elementary and high school especially due to being Puerto Rican.
The book ends in the 1970’s which is kind of unbelievable because I listened to this in one day, so I was like “does it ever drive you crazy just how fast the night changes?” 🎶🥺 I am so proud of Andrea’s coming-of-age story and think many historical fiction lovers would thoroughly enjoy this one!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Domestic abuse, Ableism, and Infidelity
Moderate: Child abuse, Colonisation, and War
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