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A review by wenwanzhao
This Time Will Be Different by Misa Sugiura
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Asian-American protagonist. Flower Shop. Fighting against racist history. There was too much to love going into this book. While I tend to dislike books written in first-person, I thought that the voice of the main character was realistic and relatable. The dialogue was crazily real to me. Teenagers do in fact talk like that. I tend to be a fan of books with a more contemporary of low-stake plot line, and This Time Will Be Different drew a good balance between interesting enough to read and low-key enough not to be too dramatic.
CJ was such an interesting character to get into the perspective of. It's rare that YA main characters get written cynically in a readable way. She did have a blunt and harsh personality, but she was clearly affected by more romantic and whimsical views. She admitted her mistakes and grew throughout the novel. It was captivating to see her inner growth and the change in her opinions.
My favourite thing about this book was definitely the relationships between CJ and her mother and aunt. Seeing strong female relationships that were so different and affected her in such different ways was important to me. There were many themes in her relationship with her mother that i felt kinship towards. When she thought her mother was disappointed in her, regretted having her, or had never been proud of her, I felt as though I was looking into a mirror. It honestly made me tear up a bit.
I am a lover of romance, and the slow-burn between CJ and Owen was sweet. It was nice to see them bond and get to know each other over time rather contrasted against her superficial and fast-moving crush on the popular guy. It never overshadowed the overarching plot, and had a nice resolution.
Overall. Five stars. 10/10. I teared up multiple times. History lessons. Good stuff.
CJ was such an interesting character to get into the perspective of. It's rare that YA main characters get written cynically in a readable way. She did have a blunt and harsh personality, but she was clearly affected by more romantic and whimsical views. She admitted her mistakes and grew throughout the novel. It was captivating to see her inner growth and the change in her opinions.
My favourite thing about this book was definitely the relationships between CJ and her mother and aunt. Seeing strong female relationships that were so different and affected her in such different ways was important to me. There were many themes in her relationship with her mother that i felt kinship towards. When she thought her mother was disappointed in her, regretted having her, or had never been proud of her, I felt as though I was looking into a mirror. It honestly made me tear up a bit.
I am a lover of romance, and the slow-burn between CJ and Owen was sweet. It was nice to see them bond and get to know each other over time rather contrasted against her superficial and fast-moving crush on the popular guy. It never overshadowed the overarching plot, and had a nice resolution.
Overall. Five stars. 10/10. I teared up multiple times. History lessons. Good stuff.
Content Warnings
Minor: Homophobia