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A review by chloe_liese
Ramón and Julieta by Alana Quintana Albertson
5.0
Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the review copy; all opinions are my own!
What a beautifully immersive story. RAMÓN AND JULIETA explored themes of identity, gentrification, heritage, community, & forgiveness, and love, in such an effortlessly readable way. With sharp, on-point parallels to Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet, RAMÓN AND JULIETA brought to life a truly high-stakes, emotional love story between two people from such disparate worlds whose hearts could not be more alike. Both hard-workers, fighters, and impassioned people, Julieta and Ramón connect swiftly in this story yet quickly realize their families are enemies, their parents once impassioned lovers, and their businesses are now at odds.
Inspired by Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, this story hits many parallels to the original: an instant connection, outside forces keeping them apart, a longstanding grudge between families, & a hard-fought journey to be together. Just swap out the Montagues & Capulets for the Montez & Campos families, their enmity forged over heartbreak & a stolen taco recipe, tensions along fault lines of wealth, privilege, & community, set in the vivid backdrop of San Diego’s La Jolla & Barrio Logan.
While I enjoyed Ramón & Julieta’s instant & effortless chemistry (sometimes you just need a couple who immediately knows they’re attracted to each other, they’d be good together, & wants each other reallll bad), what swept me away was this rich, vibrant world Alana gives us in Barrio Logan: the depth with which she immersed her reader in its Mexican-American culture, language, food, history, pain & passion, struggles & resilience.
I also deeply appreciated how this romance showed the real struggle Julieta and the community living in Barrio Logan faced, and how thoroughly it explored Ramón's conviction and identity as a member of the Mexican-American community to use his immense privilege to right wrongs and to fight for Barrio Logan.
If I had to pick a favorite part, it was that first Día de los Muertos, when Ramón saw straight to Julieta's heart; when he found her a candle, a light, tequila and glasses, pencil and paper, and he brought not only his guitarrón but his heart and supported her need to honor her father and his life. It was such a loving, intimate, caring gesture, and I think it did such an incredible job of foreshadowing how deeply they belonged together, how much sense they made, the happily ever after they could have.
Thankfully, one way this story departs quite drastically from its Shakespearean inspiration, is these star-crossed lovers get that happily ever after, after all.
What a beautifully immersive story. RAMÓN AND JULIETA explored themes of identity, gentrification, heritage, community, & forgiveness, and love, in such an effortlessly readable way. With sharp, on-point parallels to Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet, RAMÓN AND JULIETA brought to life a truly high-stakes, emotional love story between two people from such disparate worlds whose hearts could not be more alike. Both hard-workers, fighters, and impassioned people, Julieta and Ramón connect swiftly in this story yet quickly realize their families are enemies, their parents once impassioned lovers, and their businesses are now at odds.
Inspired by Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, this story hits many parallels to the original: an instant connection, outside forces keeping them apart, a longstanding grudge between families, & a hard-fought journey to be together. Just swap out the Montagues & Capulets for the Montez & Campos families, their enmity forged over heartbreak & a stolen taco recipe, tensions along fault lines of wealth, privilege, & community, set in the vivid backdrop of San Diego’s La Jolla & Barrio Logan.
While I enjoyed Ramón & Julieta’s instant & effortless chemistry (sometimes you just need a couple who immediately knows they’re attracted to each other, they’d be good together, & wants each other reallll bad), what swept me away was this rich, vibrant world Alana gives us in Barrio Logan: the depth with which she immersed her reader in its Mexican-American culture, language, food, history, pain & passion, struggles & resilience.
I also deeply appreciated how this romance showed the real struggle Julieta and the community living in Barrio Logan faced, and how thoroughly it explored Ramón's conviction and identity as a member of the Mexican-American community to use his immense privilege to right wrongs and to fight for Barrio Logan.
If I had to pick a favorite part, it was that first Día de los Muertos, when Ramón saw straight to Julieta's heart; when he found her a candle, a light, tequila and glasses, pencil and paper, and he brought not only his guitarrón but his heart and supported her need to honor her father and his life. It was such a loving, intimate, caring gesture, and I think it did such an incredible job of foreshadowing how deeply they belonged together, how much sense they made, the happily ever after they could have.
Thankfully, one way this story departs quite drastically from its Shakespearean inspiration, is these star-crossed lovers get that happily ever after, after all.