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A review by nataliesboooks
The Resolutions by Mia Garcia
3.0
Since this book is centered around New Year’s resolutions, it’s the perfect book to read at the end of the year, despite the fact that only the beginning and ending take place on New Year’s Eve.
The story follows four friends who make resolutions for each other. Each character is dealing with different issues. I really liked the friendship dynamic and how they were always there for each other.
Jess - dealing with unbelievable pressure to take on “everything” - student council president, AP classes, early decision for college, scholarship essays, etc. She was a textbook example of burning the candle at both ends. She also suffers from panic attacks that she hides from her friends and family. I really felt for Jess as that is a common issue that many kids face. I couldn’t believe her friends gave her the resolution that she had to say “yes” to everything. That put incredible pressure on her. I was glad she got help in the end.
Ryan - dealing with a breakup with his boyfriend that has left him devastated and wanting closure. I couldn’t relate to him very well; he came off as somewhat clingy and I wanted him to write off Jason a lot earlier than he did (though I was glad he was able to in the end).
Nora - dealing with the pressure of helping in her mother’s restaurant when what she really wants to do is go to culinary school and become a baker. I couldn’t stand Nora’s mother. She was so selfish and didn’t seem to mind that her daughter put school on the back burner to help her out all the time.
Lee - dealing with a possible diagnosis of Huntington’s Disease (the genetic disease that caused her mother’s death). I really felt for her and I liked her story, even though it was sad. I wish the book mentioned the results of her test!
Overall I liked the story and the characters, but the random phrases in other languages were a bit difficult to follow. I do speak Spanish so that was ok, but Ryan’s grandmother was from Taiwan and it didn’t have a translation handy so I had to guess what was being said based on context clues. The book is also a bit on the long side at over 400 pages and I’m not sure it needed to be that long.
Nonetheless a good book to read as 2019 draws to a close.
The story follows four friends who make resolutions for each other. Each character is dealing with different issues. I really liked the friendship dynamic and how they were always there for each other.
Jess - dealing with unbelievable pressure to take on “everything” - student council president, AP classes, early decision for college, scholarship essays, etc. She was a textbook example of burning the candle at both ends. She also suffers from panic attacks that she hides from her friends and family. I really felt for Jess as that is a common issue that many kids face. I couldn’t believe her friends gave her the resolution that she had to say “yes” to everything. That put incredible pressure on her. I was glad she got help in the end.
Ryan - dealing with a breakup with his boyfriend that has left him devastated and wanting closure. I couldn’t relate to him very well; he came off as somewhat clingy and I wanted him to write off Jason a lot earlier than he did (though I was glad he was able to in the end).
Nora - dealing with the pressure of helping in her mother’s restaurant when what she really wants to do is go to culinary school and become a baker. I couldn’t stand Nora’s mother. She was so selfish and didn’t seem to mind that her daughter put school on the back burner to help her out all the time.
Lee - dealing with a possible diagnosis of Huntington’s Disease (the genetic disease that caused her mother’s death). I really felt for her and I liked her story, even though it was sad. I wish the book mentioned the results of her test!
Overall I liked the story and the characters, but the random phrases in other languages were a bit difficult to follow. I do speak Spanish so that was ok, but Ryan’s grandmother was from Taiwan and it didn’t have a translation handy so I had to guess what was being said based on context clues. The book is also a bit on the long side at over 400 pages and I’m not sure it needed to be that long.
Nonetheless a good book to read as 2019 draws to a close.