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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.6
I am a fan of YA and decided it's because the protagonists are brutally honest and uninhibited. Erika Sanchez created one who is full of self doubt, ballsy, and boundary breaking in her behavior. I admire her from the first page as she navigates losing her older sister, being left alone with immigrant parents who don't understand her, and feeling different than her classmates in high school, even her best friend. I rooted for her, wanting her to get perspective, grow up, step into other people's shoes, and watched her make one mistake after another until something gave.
dark
emotional
inspiring
slow-paced
This is an unflinchingly funny and heartbreaking book about all the points of being that come together and then tear us apart in a crisis. Julia has a delightfully blunt narrative voice. It's a well-written, interesting, and relevant novel.
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Eating disorder, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This book deals with some heavy themes: death, rape, suicide, immigration, adultery, teenage pregnancy, sexual orientation, drugs, multigenerational trauma, poverty, abuse, sexism, racism, abortion, and the list goes on. It does end on a hopeful note, but there are many very difficult parts to wade through. It also uses quite a bit of foul language. I would probably not recommend it for an adolescent, except under special circumstances. Reading it as an adult with a daughter of my own, I found it a bit hard to relate to the teenage mindset, especially at first. I tended to agree with the mother’s perspective on life. That said, there was beauty in this book, especially in some of the poetry. I also appreciated that the author explored complex emotions and didn’t try to resolve them neatly.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
22 pages in I had to put the book down and text my sisters that I have never related to a character more than this.
I representation I felt. unmatched.
As a Mexican-American who grew up in poverty, but have always wanted more in life than what was possible. As someone who struggled with anxiety and depression, as someone who comes from a family that struggles to communicate with eachother. Reading this book felt like reading my exact life.
The main character, Julia, inner thoughts were things I have thought almost down to the t. I have never felt so validated in life reading this book.
It was difficult to read. Seeing myself so plainly in this book.
It was frustrating because while the book is based on real issues the Mexican (honestly probably a lot more than just Mexican) community faces it’s still a work of fiction.
Because of that, the author ends the book on a positive note, with everything going right in Julia’s life.
she gets support from her friends and teachers at school durning low points of her life, her parents start to open up to her trying to understand her and try to communicate with her, she gets accepted to her dream college, with a scholarship that pays for everything. Even down to her medications working for her and helping balance her out.
It was frustrating bc it’s a work of fiction and that doesn’t always happen in life.
This book also touches on a lot of different problems we see in society. A lot of which could be trigger warnings:
The machismo in Hispanic communities, homophobia, sexual assault, rape, depression, cutting, suicide, drug trafficking, racism, sexism, unwanted pregnancies, anorexia, eating disorders.
There’s a lot that gets mentioned in such a short span.
To the point where it feels overwhelming.
I usually read books to escape my thoughts, so while I think this book was beautifully written- reading it felt like I was on a constant edge of overwhelming anxiety that didn’t let me put the book down. Probably only just because I related so much to the character.
There were many parts while reading that made me cry, some chapters I was just crying throughout even though there was nothing really making me cry.
But this scene had me in a full on breakdown where I had to take a minute to collect myself.
***
The tears are relentless now.
"This is embarrassing.
"The crying?"
I nod.
"You're entitled to your emotions. There shouldn't be
any shame in that." Dr. Cooke hands me a box of tissues. “This is the place to let it all out.”
"It just makes me feel stupid," I say. “And weak"
She shakes her head.
"But you're neither one of those
things."
****
I think this is a 5 star read but I completely understand some of the reviews that spoke about the amount of things that felt stereotypical. While everyone’s experiences are different, I didn’t find what the author wrote as stereotypical. It honestly felt like the author wrote about my exact life.
I representation I felt. unmatched.
As a Mexican-American who grew up in poverty, but have always wanted more in life than what was possible. As someone who struggled with anxiety and depression, as someone who comes from a family that struggles to communicate with eachother. Reading this book felt like reading my exact life.
The main character, Julia, inner thoughts were things I have thought almost down to the t. I have never felt so validated in life reading this book.
It was difficult to read. Seeing myself so plainly in this book.
It was frustrating because while the book is based on real issues the Mexican (honestly probably a lot more than just Mexican) community faces it’s still a work of fiction.
Because of that, the author ends the book on a positive note, with everything going right in Julia’s life.
she gets support from her friends and teachers at school durning low points of her life, her parents start to open up to her trying to understand her and try to communicate with her, she gets accepted to her dream college, with a scholarship that pays for everything. Even down to her medications working for her and helping balance her out.
It was frustrating bc it’s a work of fiction and that doesn’t always happen in life.
This book also touches on a lot of different problems we see in society. A lot of which could be trigger warnings:
The machismo in Hispanic communities, homophobia, sexual assault, rape, depression, cutting, suicide, drug trafficking, racism, sexism, unwanted pregnancies, anorexia, eating disorders.
There’s a lot that gets mentioned in such a short span.
To the point where it feels overwhelming.
I usually read books to escape my thoughts, so while I think this book was beautifully written- reading it felt like I was on a constant edge of overwhelming anxiety that didn’t let me put the book down. Probably only just because I related so much to the character.
There were many parts while reading that made me cry, some chapters I was just crying throughout even though there was nothing really making me cry.
But this scene had me in a full on breakdown where I had to take a minute to collect myself.
***
The tears are relentless now.
"This is embarrassing.
"The crying?"
I nod.
"You're entitled to your emotions. There shouldn't be
any shame in that." Dr. Cooke hands me a box of tissues. “This is the place to let it all out.”
"It just makes me feel stupid," I say. “And weak"
She shakes her head.
"But you're neither one of those
things."
****
I think this is a 5 star read but I completely understand some of the reviews that spoke about the amount of things that felt stereotypical. While everyone’s experiences are different, I didn’t find what the author wrote as stereotypical. It honestly felt like the author wrote about my exact life.