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clovetra's review
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
i do truly adore the message of this book. the language, the ending, the story in general is quite touching.
this book was already going to be a tough one for me, as my dad passed away whilst i was a child, so i could relate a lot to the feelings in this story. reading about zoila's grief was especially hard, as although i dont remember my own grief as a child, i do remember my mums.
i loved yahaira & her story, i felt i very much related to her, esp with her anger towards life. also shout out sapphics i love herrrrrrr
now camino..... im sorry i found her insufferable. and that was probably one of my biggest issues with this book. her anger towards yahaira unfair. realistic? yes. did it also annoy me? yes! like this girl did nothing to you. its realistic but idk it felt like i had to pick a side, and i will always align with the gay bitch sorry.
i wont lie tho i didnt like camino from the beginning 🫣 she just didnt grow on me, and then was just a dumb character with her decisions. most of her plot followed her & el cero, but im sorry why didnt she just tell someone. literally at least one person. yahaira made dumb decisions sure but they were relative to grief. camino's dumb decisions were as a result of pride and idk i cant stand that shit.
the story felt rushed in a lot of places but also what do i want this is a poetry book. ofc its gonna be short. theres like 4 words on a page.
the ending was sweet, i will admit. but honestly when half the story is following camino and i dont really like her, its hard. i do overall like the story, i did find it good, god i just couldnt stand camino at all. maybe its because i decided to be number one dick rider for yahaira cuz shes sapphic & camino was angry at yahaira for like 60% of the book. idk. its 3am and all i know is that i didnt like camino. i might come back in the morning & write more but yeah. this was a book! nothing too good, but nothing too bad either. perfectly average
edit: ok im back. more proper thoughts:
- plot needed more fleshing out imo, but also im not too mad about this seeing as this is a poetry-based story
- characters felt one-dimensional
- i didn’t grow to care about anyone really except yahaira but even then i wasn’t worried for her
- predictable story
- i loved the language used but my ass had to google like half this book cuz i don’t speak spanish
- poetry itself was lovely and very relatable
i sound like i hated this book but it was perfectly average (for me)
this book was already going to be a tough one for me, as my dad passed away whilst i was a child, so i could relate a lot to the feelings in this story. reading about zoila's grief was especially hard, as although i dont remember my own grief as a child, i do remember my mums.
i loved yahaira & her story, i felt i very much related to her, esp with her anger towards life. also shout out sapphics i love herrrrrrr
now camino..... im sorry i found her insufferable. and that was probably one of my biggest issues with this book. her anger towards yahaira unfair. realistic? yes. did it also annoy me? yes! like this girl did nothing to you. its realistic but idk it felt like i had to pick a side, and i will always align with the gay bitch sorry.
i wont lie tho i didnt like camino from the beginning 🫣 she just didnt grow on me, and then was just a dumb character with her decisions. most of her plot followed her & el cero, but im sorry why didnt she just tell someone. literally at least one person. yahaira made dumb decisions sure but they were relative to grief. camino's dumb decisions were as a result of pride and idk i cant stand that shit.
the story felt rushed in a lot of places but also what do i want this is a poetry book. ofc its gonna be short. theres like 4 words on a page.
the ending was sweet, i will admit. but honestly when half the story is following camino and i dont really like her, its hard. i do overall like the story, i did find it good, god i just couldnt stand camino at all. maybe its because i decided to be number one dick rider for yahaira cuz shes sapphic & camino was angry at yahaira for like 60% of the book. idk. its 3am and all i know is that i didnt like camino. i might come back in the morning & write more but yeah. this was a book! nothing too good, but nothing too bad either. perfectly average
edit: ok im back. more proper thoughts:
- plot needed more fleshing out imo, but also im not too mad about this seeing as this is a poetry-based story
- characters felt one-dimensional
- i didn’t grow to care about anyone really except yahaira but even then i wasn’t worried for her
- predictable story
- i loved the language used but my ass had to google like half this book cuz i don’t speak spanish
- poetry itself was lovely and very relatable
i sound like i hated this book but it was perfectly average (for me)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Grief, Stalking, and Death of parent
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Pregnancy, and Classism
rorysreads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Trafficking
foreverinastory's review against another edition
emotional
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 was so good.
Rep: Dominican-American lesbian female MC, Dominican female MC, BIPOC sapphic female side character, Dominican and Dominican-American side characters.
CWs: Death of parent, sexual assault, grief, death, stalking, infidelity, sexual violence, sexual harassment, pregnancy & birth on page, sexism, violence, parental abandonment, plane crash (not on page but discussed), misogyny, racism, xenophobia. Moderate: medical content, cancer, cursing, pedophilia, rape, panic attack. Minor: Drug use, trafficking, vomit, police brutality, blood.
Rep: Dominican-American lesbian female MC, Dominican female MC, BIPOC sapphic female side character, Dominican and Dominican-American side characters.
CWs: Death of parent, sexual assault, grief, death, stalking, infidelity, sexual violence, sexual harassment, pregnancy & birth on page, sexism, violence, parental abandonment, plane crash (not on page but discussed), misogyny, racism, xenophobia. Moderate: medical content, cancer, cursing, pedophilia, rape, panic attack. Minor: Drug use, trafficking, vomit, police brutality, blood.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Cancer, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, and Medical content
Minor: Drug use, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, and Trafficking
lucystolethesky's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Xenophobia, Medical content, and Abandonment
mariakureads's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I'm a fan of Acevedo's work, but there is a beauty in listening to her narrate her work, and in this case, along with Melania Luisa Marte, it was taken to another level.
To hear both voices narrate the story of the two protagonists, who are worlds apart, yet closer than they could know, was fascinating. Each one brought out the emotion in each chapter, and with each character owning a chapter at a time, the story battled back and forth between the book, giving each one equal time and, in some cases, overlapping thoughts and words. And I do mean literally overlapping as Acevedo and Marte had stanzas in which they matched breathe and tone.
To hear both voices narrate the story of the two protagonists, who are worlds apart, yet closer than they could know, was fascinating. Each one brought out the emotion in each chapter, and with each character owning a chapter at a time, the story battled back and forth between the book, giving each one equal time and, in some cases, overlapping thoughts and words. And I do mean literally overlapping as Acevedo and Marte had stanzas in which they matched breathe and tone.
The story did have a slow build-up, but once I got past that, it was such a quick read. I enjoyed how this book sounded more of a spoken-word piece due to the stanzas and how it was narrated and produced.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Stalking