You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
scrollsofdragons 's review for:
The Inexplicable Logic of My Life
by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Update: Still don't like Sam but not as strongly as I disliked her before, though she's still a toxic friend. Fito, he's a sweetheart, I like that cat.
3.5 I don't know whether to wound it up to four or lower it to three. It was much better then the other book I read from him which I changed to a two and a half, rounding up to three but for this one I just can't decide. Goodreads please, I need the half stars, like now. I finally decided on three stars because the more I think about it the more I remember how much Sam was in and she is one of my most hated characters.
This book is a character study of Salvador Silva. A senior who lives with his gay Mexican adopted father and he's always been happy with that but now he's in his last year of school which comes with it's own difficult changes and then an tragedy strikes his family, and he is no longer sure of who he is and what is coming. It's him dealing with anger, stress, grief, loss, identity, moving on.
The writing. Vast improvement. The short chapters worked. There were longer paragraphs and sentences. Still some short ones but not as annoying as in his other book because they were everywhere in that. Dialogue was written less like a screen play and you could tell who was speaking. There was a little more description but not enough for such a emotional book.
There was one thing I appreciated about this book-no romance in a ya book! I can't tell you how refreshing that is. I came into this book for the father-son relationship and it delivered on that front. I enjoyed every bit of it, honestly it could have gone on and this book is 452 pages long already, yet I didn't want it to end, it wasn't fast paced or anything but I really liked the narration, reading about Sal's life and although it ended perfectly I'm just saying, I don't feel at any point that this was too long.
The best part of the novel was the sense of family, Sal's relationship with his father, and just seeing Sal's life unfold. The worst part was Sam and that there was this dramatic drama going on that was so unrealistic.
What I loved:
Sal's father was just the best. He raised his son with affection and love, and just because they are men that doesn't mean they can't show that, they hang out and they have conversations, even about serious shit and it's the sweetest thing ever. He helps his son's friends out when they need it, he brings them into his circle of affection and can you have a more perfect guy?
Family. His family are present and they are wonderful people. They swear, they cook and love food, they all show affection in their own little ways, they carry out Mexican traditions, they're accepting, they have genuine fun, good times together.
Friendship. In this, I am talking about Fito and Sal. It's hard for Fito to accept things because of his upbringing and his always beating himself up about himself and Sal is always there for him, to remind him that he's awesome, to learn to accept it's okay to receive help when you need it from a friend. And that scene when Fito breaks down after his mom dies, and Sal just holds him, oh man, that scene. When him and Sal are joking, do that one more time and i'll do to you what I did to my brother and he returns with i'm not sure that therapist is working out for you. I laughed at that, it's so something me and my friends would say.
Fito. He grew up in a family of drug addicts/dealers and he's determined to make things his way by his own hand which I admire the hell out of him for. I love how he calls cool people I like that Cat. When he doesn't get it when people are nice to him, when he smiles because Sal's father invited him to dinner, whenever he thinks negative things of himself and beats himself up about it, when he's shocked he got a present from his friends, so heartbreaking.
Sal himself. He is so adorable and easy to like. We are following his thoughts and actions and his life and he always held my interest and he's so precious to read about.
What I didn't like:
Dramatic as hell. This isn't a plot driven book, it's a character driven book, and yes I agree, it's more character then plot but damn, the plot could have been death. First the grandmother is dying of cancer which I knew someone was because the jacket mentions loss and grieving. But then Sam's mother dies in a car accident, and at that point I was like, really that had to happen? Grandmother dying of cancer isn't enough? Now we have to add another death, not to mention that this death led to Sam moving in with them which I did not like, first because I don't like Sam and secondly, I liked the father-son dynamic and I didn't want her coming in to mess with that. Then, only weeks later, what happens? Another death, this time Sal's other friend's mom dies of a drug overdose and I'm over it, just no.
It's not realistic that in the manner of two months, the main characters grandmother is dying, his best friend's mom died in a car accident and his other friend's mom died of a drug overdose. When would that ever happen? It wouldn't even happen in a soap opera. I couldn't get over how unrealistic and dramatic this book was becoming.
Sam. His best friend who appears constantly, like she appears as much as Sal does, and when you hate a character who is always there, it unfortunately means you like the book a little less. But I could not stand her, she is one of the most unpleasant characters ever, I don't know how liked she was.
Point one. She's a toxic friend-Sal frequently says you couldn't tell Sam not to do something and if you told her not too, she'd do it anyway. So she calls him Sally although he hates it. She never lets him decide on anything and he just lets her. He hates being called white boy because he identifies as Mexican like his family which is something really important to him, but guess what, she does it anyway.
Then there was this one situation that made me mad-he has a letter from his mom who died when he was a little kid and when he tells her that he hasn't read it yet because he's not ready she calls him an asshole, she demands to know why he isn't ready, suggests i'll read it to you then like it's your business, tells him oh i just think you're angry at your mom because she died in order for him to open it which how dare she tell him how he's feeling and thinking, then she's like will you tell me what it said when you do? how dare you ask that, what is wrong with this girl, he's mother and his letter, you have no right to it. Then she is the one who gets mad about it and after he promises her he'll let her know what it said because he dosen't know how to say no to her and tells her i'm glad we're friends. Like boy, she is the worst friend ever, how are you not seeing that?
Point Two. She pulls the mom is dead card-You know the deal: My mom is dead, therefore you cannot refuse me what I want. She is always determined things go her way and if don't, then she reminds them her mother is dead and therefore she is owed this. No, I'm sorry your mom is dead, but don't use her death as an excuse to get your way, just don't. It's an insult to your mother, every time you do that.
Point Three. She has no sense of personal space-Fito has journals and the instant she sees them, she goes to read it until Sal stops her but then later, she practically wears Fito down into her reading his personal thoughts, like he doesn't want that but she keeps going on at him until he gives up. He said no, respect his boundaries. It's his personal thoughts, why the fuck would he want you to read them? Don't pressure him because you're a nosy cow.
She does it with Sal too, he like tells her oh I wrote my college essay days ago and instead of saying well congrats, shes like and you didn't let me look at it? like not your business, you should be supporting him, not demanding things of him. Like where does she get off in thinking she is entitled to fucking everything?
Point Four. She's offensive-Calls all girls bitches, for no reason, they haven't even done anything and she calls them that. She calls Sal, her best friend, an emotional anorexic. Also, at the start she never liked Fito so she calls him an schizophrenic dork as a reason for her not liking him. I just, Sam is all shades of wrong. Not only is she saying offensive shit, she's using the offensive comment to insult.
She makes out that addicts cant ever recover, fito's like one day i hoped my mother would be a mom and she goes, that was never going to happen. How could you know that? Just shut up. He's mother dead, at least let him have hoped. My God. There's this one point where she goes dress shopping with the guys, and Fito finally has enough of her trying multiple on and is just like this one and she really likes it, and turns around and goes you are gay, like being gay has nothing to do with having an eye for dresses, okay? okay?
Point Five. Sal has to apologize to her for her slapping him-So a guy almost sexually assaults her and Sal stumbles across her talking to him and he goes on protective mode because his best friend is standing with her almost rapist ex and she turns around and slaps him. Then later, she's like he was apologizing and you shouldn't have interfered, like how the fuck was he supposed to know? she makes him feel bad for protecting her from a guy who almost raped her and she has the nerve to make him apologize? She slapped him. She should be apologizing to him.
Point Six. She asks Sal's father to adopt her. He's letting you live there, you need more really? Like what is the point? By the time the adoption progress goes through, you would be eighteen and it would be void, so like why? Then she calls him dad, he's more then fine with it, but at this point I hate Sam so everything she does is annoying. That's Sal's dad, not yours, piss off.
Stereotypical Shit. Sam is not the only one to do this with her gay/anorexic comments. Sal mentions that one thing about sam was that she didn't throw like a girl. wow, remind me, what does throwing like a girl mean? And then for a gay guy, my dad was pretty straight. Um, gay is a sexual orientation, it's not a personality. And then using Schizophrenic as a personality trait, can we stop that now?
Like I get they are throwaway comments and Sam annoyed me more because she uses an offensive comment in a mean way. Like Sal is just using the offensive comment as an observation which I'm not saying is okay but it's worse when Sam's not only just offensive but is using an offensive comment in an offensive way.
3.5 I don't know whether to wound it up to four or lower it to three. It was much better then the other book I read from him which I changed to a two and a half, rounding up to three but for this one I just can't decide. Goodreads please, I need the half stars, like now. I finally decided on three stars because the more I think about it the more I remember how much Sam was in and she is one of my most hated characters.
This book is a character study of Salvador Silva. A senior who lives with his gay Mexican adopted father and he's always been happy with that but now he's in his last year of school which comes with it's own difficult changes and then an tragedy strikes his family, and he is no longer sure of who he is and what is coming. It's him dealing with anger, stress, grief, loss, identity, moving on.
The writing. Vast improvement. The short chapters worked. There were longer paragraphs and sentences. Still some short ones but not as annoying as in his other book because they were everywhere in that. Dialogue was written less like a screen play and you could tell who was speaking. There was a little more description but not enough for such a emotional book.
There was one thing I appreciated about this book-no romance in a ya book! I can't tell you how refreshing that is. I came into this book for the father-son relationship and it delivered on that front. I enjoyed every bit of it, honestly it could have gone on and this book is 452 pages long already, yet I didn't want it to end, it wasn't fast paced or anything but I really liked the narration, reading about Sal's life and although it ended perfectly I'm just saying, I don't feel at any point that this was too long.
The best part of the novel was the sense of family, Sal's relationship with his father, and just seeing Sal's life unfold. The worst part was Sam and that there was this dramatic drama going on that was so unrealistic.
Spoiler
What I loved:
Sal's father was just the best. He raised his son with affection and love, and just because they are men that doesn't mean they can't show that, they hang out and they have conversations, even about serious shit and it's the sweetest thing ever. He helps his son's friends out when they need it, he brings them into his circle of affection and can you have a more perfect guy?
Family. His family are present and they are wonderful people. They swear, they cook and love food, they all show affection in their own little ways, they carry out Mexican traditions, they're accepting, they have genuine fun, good times together.
Friendship. In this, I am talking about Fito and Sal. It's hard for Fito to accept things because of his upbringing and his always beating himself up about himself and Sal is always there for him, to remind him that he's awesome, to learn to accept it's okay to receive help when you need it from a friend. And that scene when Fito breaks down after his mom dies, and Sal just holds him, oh man, that scene. When him and Sal are joking, do that one more time and i'll do to you what I did to my brother and he returns with i'm not sure that therapist is working out for you. I laughed at that, it's so something me and my friends would say.
Fito. He grew up in a family of drug addicts/dealers and he's determined to make things his way by his own hand which I admire the hell out of him for. I love how he calls cool people I like that Cat. When he doesn't get it when people are nice to him, when he smiles because Sal's father invited him to dinner, whenever he thinks negative things of himself and beats himself up about it, when he's shocked he got a present from his friends, so heartbreaking.
Sal himself. He is so adorable and easy to like. We are following his thoughts and actions and his life and he always held my interest and he's so precious to read about.
What I didn't like:
Dramatic as hell. This isn't a plot driven book, it's a character driven book, and yes I agree, it's more character then plot but damn, the plot could have been death. First the grandmother is dying of cancer which I knew someone was because the jacket mentions loss and grieving. But then Sam's mother dies in a car accident, and at that point I was like, really that had to happen? Grandmother dying of cancer isn't enough? Now we have to add another death, not to mention that this death led to Sam moving in with them which I did not like, first because I don't like Sam and secondly, I liked the father-son dynamic and I didn't want her coming in to mess with that. Then, only weeks later, what happens? Another death, this time Sal's other friend's mom dies of a drug overdose and I'm over it, just no.
It's not realistic that in the manner of two months, the main characters grandmother is dying, his best friend's mom died in a car accident and his other friend's mom died of a drug overdose. When would that ever happen? It wouldn't even happen in a soap opera. I couldn't get over how unrealistic and dramatic this book was becoming.
Sam. His best friend who appears constantly, like she appears as much as Sal does, and when you hate a character who is always there, it unfortunately means you like the book a little less. But I could not stand her, she is one of the most unpleasant characters ever, I don't know how liked she was.
Point one. She's a toxic friend-Sal frequently says you couldn't tell Sam not to do something and if you told her not too, she'd do it anyway. So she calls him Sally although he hates it. She never lets him decide on anything and he just lets her. He hates being called white boy because he identifies as Mexican like his family which is something really important to him, but guess what, she does it anyway.
Then there was this one situation that made me mad-he has a letter from his mom who died when he was a little kid and when he tells her that he hasn't read it yet because he's not ready she calls him an asshole, she demands to know why he isn't ready, suggests i'll read it to you then like it's your business, tells him oh i just think you're angry at your mom because she died in order for him to open it which how dare she tell him how he's feeling and thinking, then she's like will you tell me what it said when you do? how dare you ask that, what is wrong with this girl, he's mother and his letter, you have no right to it. Then she is the one who gets mad about it and after he promises her he'll let her know what it said because he dosen't know how to say no to her and tells her i'm glad we're friends. Like boy, she is the worst friend ever, how are you not seeing that?
Point Two. She pulls the mom is dead card-You know the deal: My mom is dead, therefore you cannot refuse me what I want. She is always determined things go her way and if don't, then she reminds them her mother is dead and therefore she is owed this. No, I'm sorry your mom is dead, but don't use her death as an excuse to get your way, just don't. It's an insult to your mother, every time you do that.
Point Three. She has no sense of personal space-Fito has journals and the instant she sees them, she goes to read it until Sal stops her but then later, she practically wears Fito down into her reading his personal thoughts, like he doesn't want that but she keeps going on at him until he gives up. He said no, respect his boundaries. It's his personal thoughts, why the fuck would he want you to read them? Don't pressure him because you're a nosy cow.
She does it with Sal too, he like tells her oh I wrote my college essay days ago and instead of saying well congrats, shes like and you didn't let me look at it? like not your business, you should be supporting him, not demanding things of him. Like where does she get off in thinking she is entitled to fucking everything?
Point Four. She's offensive-Calls all girls bitches, for no reason, they haven't even done anything and she calls them that. She calls Sal, her best friend, an emotional anorexic. Also, at the start she never liked Fito so she calls him an schizophrenic dork as a reason for her not liking him. I just, Sam is all shades of wrong. Not only is she saying offensive shit, she's using the offensive comment to insult.
She makes out that addicts cant ever recover, fito's like one day i hoped my mother would be a mom and she goes, that was never going to happen. How could you know that? Just shut up. He's mother dead, at least let him have hoped. My God. There's this one point where she goes dress shopping with the guys, and Fito finally has enough of her trying multiple on and is just like this one and she really likes it, and turns around and goes you are gay, like being gay has nothing to do with having an eye for dresses, okay? okay?
Point Five. Sal has to apologize to her for her slapping him-So a guy almost sexually assaults her and Sal stumbles across her talking to him and he goes on protective mode because his best friend is standing with her almost rapist ex and she turns around and slaps him. Then later, she's like he was apologizing and you shouldn't have interfered, like how the fuck was he supposed to know? she makes him feel bad for protecting her from a guy who almost raped her and she has the nerve to make him apologize? She slapped him. She should be apologizing to him.
Point Six. She asks Sal's father to adopt her. He's letting you live there, you need more really? Like what is the point? By the time the adoption progress goes through, you would be eighteen and it would be void, so like why? Then she calls him dad, he's more then fine with it, but at this point I hate Sam so everything she does is annoying. That's Sal's dad, not yours, piss off.
Stereotypical Shit. Sam is not the only one to do this with her gay/anorexic comments. Sal mentions that one thing about sam was that she didn't throw like a girl. wow, remind me, what does throwing like a girl mean? And then for a gay guy, my dad was pretty straight. Um, gay is a sexual orientation, it's not a personality. And then using Schizophrenic as a personality trait, can we stop that now?
Like I get they are throwaway comments and Sam annoyed me more because she uses an offensive comment in a mean way. Like Sal is just using the offensive comment as an observation which I'm not saying is okay but it's worse when Sam's not only just offensive but is using an offensive comment in an offensive way.