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A review by nothingforpomegranted
Love in English by Maria E. Andreu
challenging
emotional
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This was a sweet YA rom-com featuring a love triangle and lots of relevant themes. Ana and her mother have recently immigrated from Argentina to New Jersey to join her father, who has been there for a couple years preparing for their arrival. Frustrated by and curious about the idiosyncrasies of English and how to incorporate them into her poetry, Ana narrates this story. The narration shifts between English, Spanish, and “wa-wa-wa-wa.” In addition, chapters are interpolated with snippets of Ana’s poetry and English idioms. In fact, the structure was a bit confusing, especially on the audio, and I didn’t feel that the poetry added much to the story.
Beyond the language and culture details, the story focuses primarily on the relationships Ana develops. In math class, Ana meets a cute boy, Harrison, who asks for her help and quickly becomes a crush, representative of everything about her American dreams. In ESL class, Ana embraces the opportunities to explore American culture, encouraged by her teacher, who pushes her to submit poetry to a literary magazine, and Neo, a Greek boy who becomes her 80s movie watching buddy. On New Year’s Eve, Harrison invites her to a party, but when he’s kissed by another girl, she runs away and asks Neo to come pick her up, setting off a confusion of emotions as she considers what appeals to her about each of the two boys.
I like the characters and the story. It felt like a typical YA story, and the Author’s Note at the end was meaningful. I didn’t love the structure, and while the story was sweet, it was not particularly compelling.
Beyond the language and culture details, the story focuses primarily on the relationships Ana develops. In math class, Ana meets a cute boy, Harrison, who asks for her help and quickly becomes a crush, representative of everything about her American dreams. In ESL class, Ana embraces the opportunities to explore American culture, encouraged by her teacher, who pushes her to submit poetry to a literary magazine, and Neo, a Greek boy who becomes her 80s movie watching buddy. On New Year’s Eve, Harrison invites her to a party, but when he’s kissed by another girl, she runs away and asks Neo to come pick her up, setting off a confusion of emotions as she considers what appeals to her about each of the two boys.
I like the characters and the story. It felt like a typical YA story, and the Author’s Note at the end was meaningful. I didn’t love the structure, and while the story was sweet, it was not particularly compelling.