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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
Themes in this book include:
Mexican folklore, conspiracy theories, life after sexual assault, domestic abuse, ICE and deportation, Catholicism, girls (literally) kicking ass, aliens, grief, there are some ~sexy~ scenes, racism, clones, coming of age, PTSD, police violence, time manipulation …
There are 224 chapters in roughly 400 pages!
There’s A LOT going on here, especially for such a short read, but it somehow all works. This book is so unusual and a little messy, but it’s very fun and surpassed all of my expectations.
Mexican folklore, conspiracy theories, life after sexual assault, domestic abuse, ICE and deportation, Catholicism, girls (literally) kicking ass, aliens, grief, there are some ~sexy~ scenes, racism, clones, coming of age, PTSD, police violence, time manipulation …
There are 224 chapters in roughly 400 pages!
There’s A LOT going on here, especially for such a short read, but it somehow all works. This book is so unusual and a little messy, but it’s very fun and surpassed all of my expectations.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
tense
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:
Complicated
A spec fic meditation on growing up, loss, love, ICE, illegal detainment, racism, and more. With dancing cacti.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Death of parent
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Torture, Xenophobia, Medical trauma
Minor: Physical abuse, Police brutality, Deportation
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
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:
N/A
Hmm. I really wanted to like this one, and at first I did. I enjoyed the author setting up the characters and their lives. The devastating image of Sia's mother's bones laying out there in the desert somewhere, while Sia lights candles to guide her home every new moon, really sticks with me. But as a whole, I felt like the author tried to write about too many things, which left all of them sort of on the surface. How USA treats immigrants, racism, sexual assault, bullying, friendships that change, police brutality, sexuality, folklore and myths, loss and grief, conspiracy theories, domestic abuse, religion, and probably more that I can't remember just now. And that's just the part of the plot that isn't science fiction.
I also felt that the science fiction plot ended up being a little too on the nose, with a lot of, hmm... ideas you would expect to find in an episode of X-files (which is frequently referenced). And while fun in it's own right, it ended up quite simplistic, which again falls in line with the feeling that there are just too many important ideas competing for our attention here, in my opinion.
As a science fiction fan, I'm surprised to say that I would have liked this book more without the science fiction... Found that part to be too heavy-handed.
I also felt that the science fiction plot ended up being a little too on the nose, with a lot of, hmm... ideas you would expect to find in an episode of X-files (which is frequently referenced). And while fun in it's own right, it ended up quite simplistic, which again falls in line with the feeling that there are just too many important ideas competing for our attention here, in my opinion.
As a science fiction fan, I'm surprised to say that I would have liked this book more without the science fiction... Found that part to be too heavy-handed.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
fast-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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Deportation
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Felt like reading two different books
This one just wasn't for me! {Thanks to LibroFM and Simon & Schuster Audio for the advanced audio copy in exchange for my honest review.}
Ok, so my bad. I didn't go into this one actually knowing anything about it (which is sometimes what I prefer to do so there are no expectations). HOWEVER, it would have been nice to prepare myself for the alien/sci-fi aspect, which I felt wasn't as cohesive as I would have liked.
There is a huge mix of genres here: YA fiction, YA-romance, sci-fi, mystery.
As well as so many important hot-button topics (and TWs): immigration, sexual assault, ptsd from assault, bullying, death of a parent, abuse by a parent, racism, beliefs/values.
PHEW! Overall, it was an entertaining read, and I loved the audio version (the narrator did a great job capturing different personalities). But I think it just tackled too much for my brain to handle. I would have loved a more focused story.
Ok, so my bad. I didn't go into this one actually knowing anything about it (which is sometimes what I prefer to do so there are no expectations). HOWEVER, it would have been nice to prepare myself for the alien/sci-fi aspect, which I felt wasn't as cohesive as I would have liked.
There is a huge mix of genres here: YA fiction, YA-romance, sci-fi, mystery.
As well as so many important hot-button topics (and TWs): immigration, sexual assault, ptsd from assault, bullying, death of a parent, abuse by a parent, racism, beliefs/values.
PHEW! Overall, it was an entertaining read, and I loved the audio version (the narrator did a great job capturing different personalities). But I think it just tackled too much for my brain to handle. I would have loved a more focused story.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced