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A review by ylmpastmidnight
The Right Side of Reckless by Whitney D. Grandison
4.0
**Review will be posted on my blog on 6/28/21**
**3.5 STARS**
I Liked:
*Guillermo is the “bad boy”. I really liked watching Guillermo grow and do his best to turn his life around after what happened in his past. I grew up with male cousins with bad tempers who got into lots of fights at school and out of school. There were a few times I thought Guillermo was going to fall into his bad habits but he really came out inspiring others, which is really nice to see.
*Regan is the “good girl”, who listens to her parents, has the mostly popular athlete at school as her boyfriend but she’s basically pleasing everyone else. It takes Guillermo’s friendship to help her realize the things others want for her, isn’t what she wants for herself. It was cool to see her grow from that and stand up for what she wants in the end.
*Malika is an awesome best friend to Regan. I like how she was straight up with her about Troy and she said one thing in the book that I was thinking myself, where she told Regan she didn’t need a guy to be happy. True. As for Guillermo and his friendships, it was a goal his therapist gave him and I think he really did well befriending different types of people like Avery who was awkward and shy, Jenaya who had a bad reputation and Rav, the soccer player. It was a big turn around from the kinds of friends he had in the past.
*I liked seeing Regan and Guillermo’s relationships with their parents. Regan’s parents are more supportive but she really had to speak up for herself. Guillermo’s parents are wary of him but eventually they see he is really trying to do the right thing.
*Regan and Guillermo have chemistry and like Regan says, he asks for permission and what SHE wants. I can see why Regan falls for him!
Random Notes:
*Triggers: family pressures, violence
*Story was slow in some parts especially with the Troy/Regan/Guillermo triangle.
Troy is a star athlete and on the outside, he and Regan have the perfect relationship. But in their relationship it definitely isn’t perfect. I wasn’t invested in their relationship from just the way he treats her from the beginning and wished they would just break up since we know Guillermo is who she wants. But their relationship drama drags on, I get that Regan wasn’t someone who stood up for herself though…until Troy messes up. It isn’t an easy thing to break up sometimes, especially when families are invested in the relationship too!
Final Thoughts:
The main message I got from this story is that people can change and that’s a great message. I love that Guillermo really had a lot of ground to make up for his mistakes, but he does it for his family and for himself. On the other side, Regan finally figures out what she wants because someone (Guillermo) finally asks her what she wants. That’s important too – as parents, we want the best for our child and even want to lay the path out for them but we have to listen to what they want also. And lastly, the message of consent is so relevant as well. I think this is a story many young adults can learn from!
**3.5 STARS**
I Liked:
*Guillermo is the “bad boy”. I really liked watching Guillermo grow and do his best to turn his life around after what happened in his past. I grew up with male cousins with bad tempers who got into lots of fights at school and out of school. There were a few times I thought Guillermo was going to fall into his bad habits but he really came out inspiring others, which is really nice to see.
*Regan is the “good girl”, who listens to her parents, has the mostly popular athlete at school as her boyfriend but she’s basically pleasing everyone else. It takes Guillermo’s friendship to help her realize the things others want for her, isn’t what she wants for herself. It was cool to see her grow from that and stand up for what she wants in the end.
*Malika is an awesome best friend to Regan. I like how she was straight up with her about Troy and she said one thing in the book that I was thinking myself, where she told Regan she didn’t need a guy to be happy. True. As for Guillermo and his friendships, it was a goal his therapist gave him and I think he really did well befriending different types of people like Avery who was awkward and shy, Jenaya who had a bad reputation and Rav, the soccer player. It was a big turn around from the kinds of friends he had in the past.
*I liked seeing Regan and Guillermo’s relationships with their parents. Regan’s parents are more supportive but she really had to speak up for herself. Guillermo’s parents are wary of him but eventually they see he is really trying to do the right thing.
*Regan and Guillermo have chemistry and like Regan says, he asks for permission and what SHE wants. I can see why Regan falls for him!
Random Notes:
*Triggers: family pressures, violence
*Story was slow in some parts especially with the Troy/Regan/Guillermo triangle.
Troy is a star athlete and on the outside, he and Regan have the perfect relationship. But in their relationship it definitely isn’t perfect. I wasn’t invested in their relationship from just the way he treats her from the beginning and wished they would just break up since we know Guillermo is who she wants. But their relationship drama drags on, I get that Regan wasn’t someone who stood up for herself though…until Troy messes up. It isn’t an easy thing to break up sometimes, especially when families are invested in the relationship too!
Final Thoughts:
The main message I got from this story is that people can change and that’s a great message. I love that Guillermo really had a lot of ground to make up for his mistakes, but he does it for his family and for himself. On the other side, Regan finally figures out what she wants because someone (Guillermo) finally asks her what she wants. That’s important too – as parents, we want the best for our child and even want to lay the path out for them but we have to listen to what they want also. And lastly, the message of consent is so relevant as well. I think this is a story many young adults can learn from!