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A review by jademrosas
Yerba Buena by Nina LaCour
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book. THIS BOOK. This is definitely one of my favorite books of the year. I was super hesitant to give it a try but I immediately fell in love from the first page. Nina LaCour writes with language that transcends print and page. It immerses the reader in sensations of touch, taste, and smell so much so that you might find yourself lingering on these details just to stay in the moment longer.
Before you begin this book, I would like to give fair warning that it is not the romance that it claims to be. A lot of the focus is on our main characters, Sarah and Emilie, and their individual stories that bring them together - and pull them apart. Sarah is a woman running from a past that frightens her, who's torn between what's she scared of and what she loves. Emilie is a woman who seeks to define herself and move forward while feeling the need to remain in place or keep the peace due to family dynamics from the past. Do not let that deter you from reading this book though. Ultimately, Yerba Buena paints an intimate picture of the human experience, our fallibility and our desire to move continuously forward, even as we continue to be knocked down. Though we may find some of the choices or mistakes Sarah or Emilie make frustrating, I think we can also find ourselves in them. In fact, you may relate to the many areas this book explores such as broken family dynamics, drug addiction, death of a loved one, the desire to be loved, and to find ourselves. I personally felt more connected to Emilie and her experiences (like changing her undergrad major 5 times) that made me feel seen in a way I never have before. At times, I felt myself weeping over the same issues that plagued Emilie and then rooting for her as I saw her move on, expand, heal. While I didn't feel as connected to Sarah, I still appreciated the arc of her storyline and felt a weight lifted off my shoulders, even if momentarily, as we neared the end.
While I don't think this is a romance novel in the traditional sense, I would say that I greatly appreciate it in this form. It showcased the love between Emilie and Sarah as tender and imperfect, yet still so rewarding. There's yearning and it's sapphic, I mean... what more could you want? Much of Yerba Buena is written in small, impactful snippets of time. It's through these snippets that the reader gets to see the blossoming love of two young women up until its bittersweet ending.
I did knock half a star off my rating because I found that, even though the book moves relatively quickly through time, it felt like a slow read. It's less than 300 pages overall but with how much is contained within these pages, I do wish it was slightly longer so that we could see more development or discussion in some areas. I also believe this book requires some suspension of disbelief overall, which occasionally pulled me out of the story. Thankfully, the best parts of the book completely outweigh its less-than-best parts.
A beautiful and well-done book. I cannot honestly say enough how much I enjoyed it. If you like Normal People or Conversations with Friends then I think you'll find yourself at home in Yerba Buena. Also, maybe I'm crazy but the storyline and the quick fragments of time reminds me a bit of A Marriage Story with Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansen. Finally, if you love star-crossed lovers, complicated characters, beautiful imagery, you'll love Yerba Buena.
Before you begin this book, I would like to give fair warning that it is not the romance that it claims to be. A lot of the focus is on our main characters, Sarah and Emilie, and their individual stories that bring them together - and pull them apart. Sarah is a woman running from a past that frightens her, who's torn between what's she scared of and what she loves. Emilie is a woman who seeks to define herself and move forward while feeling the need to remain in place or keep the peace due to family dynamics from the past. Do not let that deter you from reading this book though. Ultimately, Yerba Buena paints an intimate picture of the human experience, our fallibility and our desire to move continuously forward, even as we continue to be knocked down. Though we may find some of the choices or mistakes Sarah or Emilie make frustrating, I think we can also find ourselves in them. In fact, you may relate to the many areas this book explores such as broken family dynamics, drug addiction, death of a loved one, the desire to be loved, and to find ourselves. I personally felt more connected to Emilie and her experiences (like changing her undergrad major 5 times) that made me feel seen in a way I never have before. At times, I felt myself weeping over the same issues that plagued Emilie and then rooting for her as I saw her move on, expand, heal. While I didn't feel as connected to Sarah, I still appreciated the arc of her storyline and felt a weight lifted off my shoulders, even if momentarily, as we neared the end.
While I don't think this is a romance novel in the traditional sense, I would say that I greatly appreciate it in this form. It showcased the love between Emilie and Sarah as tender and imperfect, yet still so rewarding. There's yearning and it's sapphic, I mean... what more could you want? Much of Yerba Buena is written in small, impactful snippets of time. It's through these snippets that the reader gets to see the blossoming love of two young women up until its bittersweet ending.
I did knock half a star off my rating because I found that, even though the book moves relatively quickly through time, it felt like a slow read. It's less than 300 pages overall but with how much is contained within these pages, I do wish it was slightly longer so that we could see more development or discussion in some areas. I also believe this book requires some suspension of disbelief overall, which occasionally pulled me out of the story. Thankfully, the best parts of the book completely outweigh its less-than-best parts.
A beautiful and well-done book. I cannot honestly say enough how much I enjoyed it. If you like Normal People or Conversations with Friends then I think you'll find yourself at home in Yerba Buena. Also, maybe I'm crazy but the storyline and the quick fragments of time reminds me a bit of A Marriage Story with Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansen. Finally, if you love star-crossed lovers, complicated characters, beautiful imagery, you'll love Yerba Buena.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol