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CW: hate crime, murder, death. colorism, fatphobia, fatphobic comments, body shaming, eating Disorders. use of the f slur, misgendering, suicidal ideation, self-harm, blood.
Oh God yall don't know how badly I wanted to love this book. A literary fiction novel about two Dominican women fighting against gentrification. I thought this was going to be my perfect book. Sadly, I was wrong.
Let me start with the good before I start ranting.
Natera's writing stunning. She has such a way with words. I tabbed and highlighted so many quotes that I will look back on them for a long time. I was thrilled to see so much Dominican culture in this. I felt so seen within the mentions of my cultural foods and the “dichos” that are widely known in my country. I saw my family in each member of the community. That is one of the many things I appreciate about this book.
Now the not so good.
This was a mess. While the writing was great, the plot and story building was lacking. It fell into this thing that tends to happen in some debut literary fiction novels. And that is trying to tackle a lot of different topics at once. The conversation and development surrounding gentrification were interesting until we got to the last third of the book. It took me on a rollercoaster ride of events that felt so odd and took me out of the story. It felt like the author was trying to make the story take a dark turn when I didn't need to. It felt like one of those overly dramatic movies. Where the first half of it is chill with a sprinkle of drama here and there. And then, all of a sudden, a hurricane of events occurs, and you're left wondering what's going on. That is exactly how I felt. The twists were shocking in all the wrong ways. Like I said, a whole mess.
Also, there was an unnecessary amount of fatphobic comments that made me feel so uncomfortable as a fat person myself.
I will be reading whatever the author releases in the future. I think that she has the potential of writing something amazing in the future!
Thank you to Netgalley for the e-arc copy in exchange for an honest review.
CW: death, racism, colorism, sexism, misogyny, car accident, mention of miscarriage, self-harm, and homophobia.
I went into this book hoping to find a piece of myself within its pages, and thankfully I did. This is a love letter to Brown girls, particularly Brown girls from New York. I felt seen as a Dominican woman from New York. Reading bits of my culture, my upbringing, and myself were special. The writing style was excellent, I highlighted many lines that made an impact on me. I look forward to reading more by Palasi Andreades in the future.
Yet, I'm not sure if this was the book for me. I sadly didn't vibe with it. While reading it I found myself bored and wanting to be done with it. There was no real structure, characters, or plot. It felt like vignettes or short stories, things that I don't tend to like. This is why I believe that it is a me problem and not the book's fault. Clearly, it is loved by so many, sadly, I am not one of them.
Don't let my one negative review keep you from reading this. I will still recommend anyone to read this <3
Wow! I was already a huge fan of Elizabeth's spoken word poem this is based on. But wow, the poem paired with the illustrations made me love it even more.
“We are the best at swallowing amnesia in a cup of morir soñando: DIE DREAMING. Because it seems easier to do that than live in this REALITY”
That hits different.
I recommend watching her spoken word version if you liked this and viceversa.
CW: death of a parent, parental abandonment, biphobia, biphobic attacks sexual assault, rape, racism, murder, domestic abuse, mentions of suicide, and attempted suicide
I read this via audiobook and I recommend it as a way to read this story. The author has such a beautiful writing style that made me want to continue picking it up. I found myself caring for Benny and the complexities of her story. She is a queer woman that just wants her coffee shop and to be loved. Byron is such an interesting character, he is hard to like at first. But then, you can see has he develops as the story progresses.
I started loving this book up until halfway through. There were so many different characters that I just kept confusing them all. By the end of the story, I didn't remember the majority of them. The author tried to take on so many things at once that it just felt confusing by the end of it. I mean this could just be me thing. I recommend you to read it and make your own opinions.
I still really enjoyed my time reading it and would recommend it. Especially if you like messy familial dramas filled with secrets and interesting character dynamics.
CW: suicide, infidelity, statutory rape, violence, and bullying.
Wow, this book was really good and beautifully written. I would absolutely recommend it to everyone to read. It is such an important read for anyone that is struggling through life. The author takes the subject matter and writes about it with care. Especially when reading the author's note at the end.
I knew the plot twist from the beginning but honestly, it didn't take away from the experience. I was actually hoping that I was right. Eto Mori made me really care for the main character's life and well-being. And I haven't felt like this in a while.
This will definitely be a story that will stick with me for a long time.
Thank you to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for the e-arc.
This collection of poetry covers American Black history from the '50s-‘60s. Weaving powerful poetry with heartbreaking historical facts. The author brings up things that I've never known about our history. They succeed to make it accessible for a teen audience. I will definitely be giving this book to my siblings to read.
CW: racism, microaggressions, bullying, deportation, and death of a parent.
This was so wholesome yet so important and informative. I felt so connected to the characters, especially Esteban. Esteban is a Dominican kid that fears that his dad will be deported back to the Dominican republic. As a person with Dominican parents, I fear this every day. I might've cried a few times if I'm being honest.
I would recommend this book to everyone regardless of age!!
