Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by stelliwithabookie
Something in Between by Melissa de la Cruz
4.0
beep boop beep boop
---------------------------------
I really enjoyed this book. I read this book for 4 hours straight, and this book was so different. This book follows a girl named Jasmine, and she just discovered that she is an undocumented immigrant. She is the valedictorian at her school, cheer captain, and dreams of going to Stanford. She starts to believe her dreams aren't possible anymore, but, then, she meets Royce who teaches her how to let loose and have fun in the moment. I have personal connections to this story, so this will be my first personal book review to date.
*ALL SPOILERS AHEAD*
Alright let's get this out of the way. Royce and Jasmine. They gave me the feels from day one. When they met at the hospital, I was take aback by their interaction which did feel insta-lovey at times. Royce says this cheesy pick-up line, and they see each other in Washington D.C. He brings her to the roof, and they explore DC together which got me awweing all day. I visited D.C. when I was 10, so it was like living through that memory.
There were so many fights for the DUMBEST reasons that got me upset like I know you guys are different (economic status wise) but you don't need all this extra drama. It just droned on and on and made me so sad. In the long run, though, their relationship taught them a lot about one another. With Royce becoming upfront with his dreams to be a journalist, and Jasmine wanting to go into politics was inspiring. Jasmine evolved from the beginning to the end with not being obsessed with studying every weekend and learning how to be a better friend to Kayla. When the spoiler came with Royce proposing to Jasmine I wasn't surprised AT ALL. I knew that plan would commence when dealing with someone getting deported. I'm extremely happy when Jasmine came to her senses and said no.
Alright, so now the side characters. I really enjoyed Kayla and she was a refreshing voice to the plot. She had struggles of her own but never failed to express her opinion and stick by Jasmine's side. She was vocal when Jasmine was wrong, she spoke up when she felt abandoned by Jasmine, and even was honest about her love for Dylan. It was an amazing friendship that really grew from one another.
Another character worth mentioning is Mason. Now he was hated, but he was misunderstood. After going to Harvard, then Stanford, then USC, the lack of stability was definitely getting to him. He was mean and annoying, as he was always trying to ruin Royce and Jasmine's relationship. He leaked the private bill to the press, and he hooked up with Kayla to create a rift. His shining moment was when he came to Jasmine's house looking for Kayla. He was drunk and started fighting Royce. Royce took every punch knowing he was messed up and needed help. The Blakely family had their flaws, but it was good to see them get Mason the help he needed.
Now unto my favorite part of the story-line, the immigration issue. Being in America, immigration is a major policy that presidential candidates have debated on. With the presidency of Donald Trump approaching, there is definitely going to be stricter policies on immigration. It felt extremely real watching how anxious Jasmine's family was when hearing about the immigration bill. The flaws of undocumented immigration is with families that have already established a life here do we kick them out or do we let them become citizens faster??
When I'm in America, I feel like an outcast because my family hasn't been here for hundreds of years, and in Africa, i'm just "the American." It's hard knowing you really don't have a home either place you go. This book exploits the stereotypes of all "illegals" being Latinos. With Jasmine's family being from another region, it really exposed this whole "Mexicans are criminals" stereotypes. Jasmine discusses how they say undocumented are "criminals" and "drug lords." Placing individuals into one box hurts our society by creating racial tensions and turmoil that could be avoided if we had an open mind.
Anyways, just reading this book reminded me of the process my mom took to become a citizen in this country. The hours of studying for the citizenship test, the day my mom became a citizen, and missing school wrecking my 2.5 years of perfect attendance. This country is built on immigrants. My favorite part of this book was any Millie scene just because she was such an inspiring figure of what she can do for our nation, and I loved that Jasmine got her scholarship. The quotes before every chapter were so motivating and a good reason to close this book review.
"The truth is, immigrants tend to be more American than people born here."-Chuck Palahniuk, CHOKE
"I take issue with many people's description of people being illegal immigrants. There aren't any illegal human beings as far as I'm concerned."-Dennis Kucinich
"You can waste your lives drawing lines. Or you can live your life crossing them"-Shonda Rhimes
"I look forward to an America which will not be afraid of grace and beauty"- John F. Kennedy
"If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun"-Katherine Hepburn
"A woman is like a tea bag--you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water" Eleanor Roosevelt
---------------------------------
I really enjoyed this book. I read this book for 4 hours straight, and this book was so different. This book follows a girl named Jasmine, and she just discovered that she is an undocumented immigrant. She is the valedictorian at her school, cheer captain, and dreams of going to Stanford. She starts to believe her dreams aren't possible anymore, but, then, she meets Royce who teaches her how to let loose and have fun in the moment. I have personal connections to this story, so this will be my first personal book review to date.
*ALL SPOILERS AHEAD*
Alright let's get this out of the way. Royce and Jasmine. They gave me the feels from day one. When they met at the hospital, I was take aback by their interaction which did feel insta-lovey at times. Royce says this cheesy pick-up line, and they see each other in Washington D.C. He brings her to the roof, and they explore DC together which got me awweing all day. I visited D.C. when I was 10, so it was like living through that memory.
There were so many fights for the DUMBEST reasons that got me upset like I know you guys are different (economic status wise) but you don't need all this extra drama. It just droned on and on and made me so sad. In the long run, though, their relationship taught them a lot about one another. With Royce becoming upfront with his dreams to be a journalist, and Jasmine wanting to go into politics was inspiring. Jasmine evolved from the beginning to the end with not being obsessed with studying every weekend and learning how to be a better friend to Kayla. When the spoiler came with Royce proposing to Jasmine I wasn't surprised AT ALL. I knew that plan would commence when dealing with someone getting deported. I'm extremely happy when Jasmine came to her senses and said no.
Alright, so now the side characters. I really enjoyed Kayla and she was a refreshing voice to the plot. She had struggles of her own but never failed to express her opinion and stick by Jasmine's side. She was vocal when Jasmine was wrong, she spoke up when she felt abandoned by Jasmine, and even was honest about her love for Dylan. It was an amazing friendship that really grew from one another.
Another character worth mentioning is Mason. Now he was hated, but he was misunderstood. After going to Harvard, then Stanford, then USC, the lack of stability was definitely getting to him. He was mean and annoying, as he was always trying to ruin Royce and Jasmine's relationship. He leaked the private bill to the press, and he hooked up with Kayla to create a rift. His shining moment was when he came to Jasmine's house looking for Kayla. He was drunk and started fighting Royce. Royce took every punch knowing he was messed up and needed help. The Blakely family had their flaws, but it was good to see them get Mason the help he needed.
Now unto my favorite part of the story-line, the immigration issue. Being in America, immigration is a major policy that presidential candidates have debated on. With the presidency of Donald Trump approaching, there is definitely going to be stricter policies on immigration. It felt extremely real watching how anxious Jasmine's family was when hearing about the immigration bill. The flaws of undocumented immigration is with families that have already established a life here do we kick them out or do we let them become citizens faster??
When I'm in America, I feel like an outcast because my family hasn't been here for hundreds of years, and in Africa, i'm just "the American." It's hard knowing you really don't have a home either place you go. This book exploits the stereotypes of all "illegals" being Latinos. With Jasmine's family being from another region, it really exposed this whole "Mexicans are criminals" stereotypes. Jasmine discusses how they say undocumented are "criminals" and "drug lords." Placing individuals into one box hurts our society by creating racial tensions and turmoil that could be avoided if we had an open mind.
Anyways, just reading this book reminded me of the process my mom took to become a citizen in this country. The hours of studying for the citizenship test, the day my mom became a citizen, and missing school wrecking my 2.5 years of perfect attendance. This country is built on immigrants. My favorite part of this book was any Millie scene just because she was such an inspiring figure of what she can do for our nation, and I loved that Jasmine got her scholarship. The quotes before every chapter were so motivating and a good reason to close this book review.
"The truth is, immigrants tend to be more American than people born here."-Chuck Palahniuk, CHOKE
"I take issue with many people's description of people being illegal immigrants. There aren't any illegal human beings as far as I'm concerned."-Dennis Kucinich
"You can waste your lives drawing lines. Or you can live your life crossing them"-Shonda Rhimes
"I look forward to an America which will not be afraid of grace and beauty"- John F. Kennedy
"If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun"-Katherine Hepburn
"A woman is like a tea bag--you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water" Eleanor Roosevelt