apricothopeful's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Grief, Homophobia, Cancer, and Terminal illness
Minor: Death of parent, Drug abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, Bullying, Chronic illness, and Terminal illness
maikendignes's review
emotional
hopeful
- 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
This was a rollercoaster and I absolutely loved it! The prose were great, and the author had me in tears one minute, and smiling the next. Definitely exceeded my expectations considering that I’d seen a lot of mixed reviews. It’s a bit slow paced in the beginning, but it is definitely worth it in my opinion.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, and Homophobia
Moderate: Death and Drug abuse
Minor: Sexual assault
mckinnley16's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
After reading Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe I decided I needed to read Benjamin Alire Sáenz’s entire YA backlog and this was the second book of his I picked up.
A very interesting take on what makes a family. Is it the people who’s genetics you share? The people who raise you? Or the people who accept you for who you are and care for you regardless of blood? This is a book about love, loss, found families, and finding out who you are. I absolutely adored it!
A very interesting take on what makes a family. Is it the people who’s genetics you share? The people who raise you? Or the people who accept you for who you are and care for you regardless of blood? This is a book about love, loss, found families, and finding out who you are. I absolutely adored it!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Car accident, Grief, and Drug abuse
nefari_'s review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
“She knew I hated being called white boy. Even though I was technically a white boy, I was raised in a Mexican family. So I didn’t qualify as your average white boy. “
“The B word is the N-word for girls. I hate that. What kind of feminist are you, anyway? “
“One of the great things about Sam was that she didn’t throw like a girl. “
“You know, for a gay guy, my dad was pretty straight. “
“And Fito’s such a schizophrenic dork. “
These direct quotes….speak for themselves 🙃. I can’t believe this is the same author who wrote 2 of my favorite books.
“The B word is the N-word for girls. I hate that. What kind of feminist are you, anyway? “
“One of the great things about Sam was that she didn’t throw like a girl. “
“You know, for a gay guy, my dad was pretty straight. “
“And Fito’s such a schizophrenic dork. “
These direct quotes….speak for themselves 🙃. I can’t believe this is the same author who wrote 2 of my favorite books.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Chronic illness, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, and Homophobia
Minor: Animal cruelty, Ableism, Car accident, Misogyny, and Sexual assault
teatales's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
5.0
What a beautiful story about loss and grief and family and love. Benjamin Alire Sáenz's words fill me with indescribable emotion. I loved all of the characters, I loved their relationships. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. I still feel like Salvador in many ways - all this anger or fear as Vicente calls it, and nowhere to put it. No understanding of where I'm heading. Sam is so utterly herself it's enviable. Fito is such a shining light. Vicente and Mima are the best family anyone could ask for. A wonderful reminder about tenderness.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Grief, Homophobia, Misogyny, and Violence
bebidocrimes's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
slow-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
This writing style is kinda choppy, like it's mostly simple sentences, but I guess that's what makes the 450 pages feel like an easy read. Not sure the author really knows any teenagers in real life, but they don't text like that. Who shortens don't to dn't keeping the apostrophe? Besides minor nitpicky things like that, this really was a beautiful book. It was light and heartfelt, but what really hit me was being reminded of last April and everything me and my family went through while my Meemaw was in hospice. Grief really is love with nowhere to go.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Cancer, Car accident, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, and Homophobia
Minor: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, and Violence
papercraftalex's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
5.0
If you like coming of age novels wrought with emotion and metaphors, you'll love this. Benjamin Alire Saenz has a magical way with words and his characters are always so real.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Cancer, Car accident, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, and Violence
alylentz's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-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
3.0
2021 reread: I still think this is lovely and warm, but I did realize how slowly it moved this time and maybe wished there was a little more plot driving things along. I don't think I loved it quite as much as the first time, but still found it beautiful and an enjoyable reread.
I probably read this in a little over 24 hours. His style is just so readable and his stories always hook me immediately and I can't put them down. I enjoyed seeing a different kind of plot than Aristotle and Dante (which I loved so much I still think about it probably like every day) but with a lot of similar coming of age and community themes. I couldn't help comparing them, and while I do think that one was probably a better novel overall, this one is still extremely strong. At times things seem to fall into place too easily or there was something about the narration that seemed like it wasn't as natural as A&D, but overall, I got completely sucked in and couldn't predict what was going to happen. And of course, I cried at the end! Anyway, I loved this--it's a quick read that still manages to feel soulful, fresh, and honest.
I probably read this in a little over 24 hours. His style is just so readable and his stories always hook me immediately and I can't put them down. I enjoyed seeing a different kind of plot than Aristotle and Dante (which I loved so much I still think about it probably like every day) but with a lot of similar coming of age and community themes. I couldn't help comparing them, and while I do think that one was probably a better novel overall, this one is still extremely strong. At times things seem to fall into place too easily or there was something about the narration that seemed like it wasn't as natural as A&D, but overall, I got completely sucked in and couldn't predict what was going to happen. And of course, I cried at the end! Anyway, I loved this--it's a quick read that still manages to feel soulful, fresh, and honest.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cancer, Car accident, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Homophobia, Medical content, Physical abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racism, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
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