Reviews

Yerba Buena by Nina LaCour

mloe97's review against another edition

4.0

This book didn’t do anything groundbreaking in my opinion, but I still really enjoyed it. A beautifully written coming-of-age story about two women learning to overcome their brokenness and find/love themselves, all while their lives are intersecting.
The beginning is a bit upsetting — lots of trigger warnings.
For a character-driven story, the pace was mostly good and what I expected it to be.

alyssiatsmith's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

peeled_grape's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

5.0

The beginning really hooked me (bad choice of words?). Sooooo good

ladybird4prez's review against another edition

LaCour was an author I read back when I only knew a handful of queer books. It’s been years since then but I immediately recognized her voice. There’s a heavy air of melancholy throughout the book and somewhat of a sense of remove from the characters even as you follow them through their lives and their trauma. We get the story of two women, Emilie and Sara, and follow their own separate stories until eventually their paths cross. 

This was baby’s return to lit fic (it’s me. I’m baby) and I’m honestly not sure how to rate it. Lit fic was my go to genre for years but I don’t know how I feel about the almost meandering plot, melancholy, and distant relationship to the characters now. I do like that it’s just a glimpse into these characters’ lives and that it felt realistic, but I think maybe now I prefer a deeper look into them to really form a connection. It was poignant and there were some beautiful lines but I was left with this feeling that I just wanted a little more.

clairemat's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

4.5 stars. 

Oh this book this book this book. So tenderly written. Devastating, meant as a high compliment. This book was not what I expected at all. Much deeper and heavier than I imagined. 

I see myself in so much of Sara’s and Emilie’s thoughts and emotions. This story is in my heart. 

And the way LaCour writes about queer love. Wow. She’s just so talented. At first I was a little weary about what depth there would be when I read that her previous stories had been YA, but she did an amazing job with this book. When Emilie came in to sit at the bar I was squealing and kicking my feet. 

There were so many quotes I wanted to annotate, but it just felt too special to pull myself out of the story and pick up a pencil. I must reread and annotate then. 

I highly highly recommend this book to all.

indihannajones0224's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

sofiaflowers's review against another edition

3.75

It was good!  Kinda intense ngl.  Idk I didn't love it but I think I was expecting something else.  None of the characters were that important to me idk.

laurenseeto's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

supercorp93's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

bie's review against another edition

3.0

maybe listening to the audiobook made this seem less special, but it still hit close to home sometimes so we're good