A review by naturally
Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

emotional hopeful reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

now that i've completed TJR's big three (evelyn hugo, daisy jones, malibu rising) i've come to the conclusions that there is a huge difference in quality in how they write white characters vs characters of colour. caucasian chaos is what TJR is a lot better at. there's nothing wrong with sticking to the rivers and the lakes that we're used to.

the rivas are a great family. the moments between the siblings were so tender and heartfelt. the ordering of the timeline (interweaving past and present) was fab. it was nice to finally put a face to the name re: nick riva - because he was referenced in the other books in the TJR literary universe.

to me, nina was the stand out character of the book. her arc really spoke to me as an eldest daughter and sister - she had to grow up so fast because of her circumstances; the weight of that was depicted v well.
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