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tuckeralmengor 's review for:
This Train Is Being Held
by Ismée Williams
Many thanks to Amulet for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review
”Falling in love, it is easy. Fighting for it, that is hard.”
Gosh, you guys… there was just so much to love about this book!! Even though the romance was probably a 3.5 stars on its own, the book as a whole gets a 4 star rating because of the friendship and, best of all, latinx heritage and culture.
So, what’s this book about?
When private school student Isabelle Warren first meets Dominican-American Alex Rosario on the downtown 1 train, she remembers his green eyes and his gentlemanly behavior. He remembers her untroubled happiness, something he feels all rich kids must possess. That, and her long dancer legs. Over the course of multiple subway encounters spanning the next three years, Isabelle learns of Alex’s struggle with his father, who is hell-bent on Alex being a contender for the major leagues, despite Alex’s desire to go to college and become a poet. Alex learns about Isabelle’s unstable mother, a woman with a prejudice against Latino men. But fate—and the 1 train—throw them together when Isabelle needs Alex most. Heartfelt and evocative, this romantic drama will appeal to readers of Jenny Han and Sarah Dessen.
As you could tell by the phrase “over the next three years”, this is not a very insta-lovey novel. That said, it was anything but slow and even though three years sounds like a long, long time, it’s not. Trust me; this book will fly by. So much so that I didn’t even realize it was three years because it was so enjoyable and perfectly paced. And also because I wasn’t paying attention to the dates.
➵ Isa(belle) Warren - Isa is the definition of a privileged white girl.
Fortunately, she is pretty aware and grateful of her privilege and is almost never snooty or entitled about it. Isa is a young adult who loves to dance and hang out with her friend, Chrisy. I don’t really have anything else to say about Isa soooo… GIF:
➵ Alex Rosario - I much prefer Alex to Isa. Mainly because:
(P.S. don’t google “gay as f*ck gifs” unless you want to be treated to porn. Learned that the hard way.)
But I also loved him because he was Latino! I love me some Latino rep because, believe it or not, I am Latino. Half lation. So, I guess I’m biracial. Anyway. I also want to note that Alex’s hand were surprisingly sexy. Don’t believe me? HERE’S A QUOTE TO JUSTIFY MY ARGUMENT:
”I suck in a breath. His skin is warm under the cool gel. Very warm. The deep curve of his hand is slick. It’s so large both my fists could fit inside it. He has calluses at the base of his thumb and below his ring finger. I hover over them, tracing their shape. I slip outside of his hand and his broad knuckles flex, almost involuntarily. I circle up to his wrist, to the pound of his pulse. It matches the thrumming in my ears.”
If that’s not foreplay, I don’t know what is.
➵ Merrit - Merrit is Isa’s brother and I was definitely crushing on him. I would totally be into him if he existed in real life. I also appreciated the mental illness rep (more on that in a bit.)
I want to briefly focus on the Latino rep. Both Isa (I think) and Alex have latino heritage but it is Alex’s Dominican American family that the novel focuses on. It was super cool to see them speaking occasional Spanish, even though I couldn’t understand it. I don’t speak a lick of Spanish.
I also loved the general culture and feel of Alex’s home because it reminded me of the (sometimes awkward) family lunches we have on my dad’s side. Oh, another thing. Alex called his dad “Papi” which is something I actually do but when talking about him to really anyone, I just say my dad because it’s easier than explaining “Papi”. Also, I’m lazy.
To end, I want to discuss the mental illness representation which was just as important and meaningful as the Latino rep. Both Merrit and his mother struggle with bipolar disorder and Merrit deals with depression and, towards the end of the book,
Spoiler
suicide and suicidal ideations (Trigger Warning for that)Overall, this book was romantic, sure, but it went so much deeper than that. From Latino culture and heritage to bipolar disorder, This Train Is Being Held covers many important topics in a raw, honest, and emotional way that will have every reader switching back and forth from laughter to tears.
Bottom Line:
4.5 Stars
Age Rating: [ PG-13 ]
Content Screening (Spoilers) - Educational Value (4/5) - [Latino culture and heritage, theatre, bipolar disorder and how to deal/cope with it] ~ Positive Messages (4/5) - [Endurance and strength, friendships, being your own person] ~ Violence (3/5) - [In the climax, a character is threatened with a knife and multiple people fall onto train tracks. Many characters are injured but no one dies.] ~ Sex (3/5) - [Kissing, removal of clothing but no on page sex.] ~ Language (1/5) - [Brief and mild language] ~ Drinking/Drugs (4/5) - [Character purposely overdoses on medications]
Trigger and Content Warnings - Overdosing on drugs, Suicide Attempt, Suicidal Ideations, Depression, Bipolar disorder, Racism (always in a negative light), Violence, Loss & Harm to a loved one
Cover: 4/5 ~ Characters: 4/5 ~ Plot: 4/5
Publication Date: February 11th, 2020
Publisher: Amulet (Abrams)
Genre: Romance/Contemporary
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Super cute and fun but with a perfect amount of heavy and important topics as well. Review to come!
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latino rep!!!
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