Reviews

Shine On, Luz Véliz! by Rebecca Balcárcel

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ipushbooks's review

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emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

pib003's review

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4.0

I love Luz! Her emotional processes are so relatable, and her passion is admirable. There were a few plotlines within the story that I wish were explored more deeply (e.g. Skyler and her dad, Luz's relationship with her father) but on the whole this was a fabulous read. I could barely put it down!

raven18's review

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4.0

[9.25 stars ⭐️.] This.. was really good. I loved Luz and Solana’s relationship, I liked how Luz grew to like Solana, and I liked the coding aspect of the book since I think anything technology related is interesting.

ljrinaldi's review

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4.0

This appears to be a story about learning to find your path, after your path is taken from you.

Luz has been injured playing soccer, a sport she has loved and played since she could walk. So to go from being a soccer girl to a non-soccer girl. It was how she connected with her father, as he coached the team.

So, that is the basic premise. But the story does not stop there. In finding what Luz wants to do instead, she discovers robotics, and finds that if she wants to take the class with her grade level, she has to hustle, and learn everything she can about it, with the help of a former engineer neighbor.

Then, a surprise comes in. And since it would be a spoiler to throw that in, I'm just going to say it came out of left field, and added more to this story, and how Luz reacted to it.

Good story. I thought it was just going to be one theme, but it turned out to be more.

Thanks to Edelweiss for making this book available for an honest review.

imstephtacular's review

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emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective 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

4.25

Content Warnings

thatbookwhisperer's review

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4.0

Rating: 4/5
Genre: Middle Grade Fiction
Synopsis: Shine on Luz Véliz follows the story of Luz as she’s dealing with the aftermath of her knee injury. She’s used to being a star on the soccer field but now that she can’t, she misses her families cheering and excitement. When she discovers she has a knack for coding and all things computers she is eager to make something good enough to showcase at the school robotics show. But a new edition to the family and troubles with her programming will cause halts along the way.

Pros:
- I loved the relationship between Luz and Solana, I really liked how it developed and there were many cute moments between the two of them
-Mr.Mac was such a fun character who really added to the plot and the overall story
-I enjoyed getting to see Luz fall in love with coding and it was nice to have some girls in stem representation

Cons:
-at times I found the character of Luz to be annoying, however most of this was changed through her character arc

Something else that really stood out to me was the way the book talked about injuries/being injured. As someone who is currently injured and has been dealing with injury for the past 10 or so months here are some quotes that hit me hard:

“So now I don’t carry around the prop of an Injured Person, but the damage is still there.”
-page 20

“The pain makes me tear up again, not because it hurts, but because I can’t get past it. I can’t seem to leave the injury behind. It’s always there, reminding me that I can’t be special, that I can’t be a star, that no one will ever cheer for me now.”
-page 209