Reviews tagging 'Death'

Yerba Buena: A Novel by Nina LaCour

221 reviews

annaks17's review against another edition

emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Tender and deeply emotional. I was not expecting it to be quite so heavy. Stunning prose. It did take me a bit of time to settle into the two storylines and how everyone was connected.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Sexual content

Minor: Drug use

daralexandria's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, and Death of parent

seventhswan's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-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? Yes

3.25

I loved both of the main characters in this book. From their first introduction, Sara and Emilie felt extremely real and multifaceted, as did their family members (I also particularly liked Colette and Spencer, and think the exploration of sibling relationships throughout the book was strong). I also enjoyed the plot, once the first few chapters were out the way. I wish the story would have started with Sara and Emilie as adults, and delved into their backstories later on, rather than opening with lengthy infodumps about their traumatic childhoods. These were so dark, particularly in Sara's case, that the amount of detailed telling didn't match the rest of the story and had a Jacqueline Wilson-esque feel about them.

I'm glad I pushed through the opening chapters because I did like the rest of the story - I found the central romance enticing and believable, thought the setting really came to life, and was pleased by the ending, which was conclusive without being too neat. Unfortunately, I *hated* the writing style. I can't explain exactly what was so off-putting about it, and I suspect it's a matter of personal preference rather than anything technically wrong with it, but it has made me not want to read another of LaCour's novels despite enjoying the storyline.

I would recommend this book to fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid; it reminded me of Malibu Rising especially. If it weren't for the opening, this would be a fun summer-book-club style read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, and Alcohol

emily_kathman's review against another edition

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, and Sexual assault

madysen's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Death of parent

juliamakena's review against another edition

Disturbing

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Terminal illness, and Death of parent

Minor: Vomit

ameliesbookshelf's review against another edition

dark 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Death, Sexual assault, and Death of parent

Minor: Drug abuse and Drug use

The beginning of the book tackles many difficult and triggering topics, it was quite a lot

siobhanward's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted 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? It's complicated

3.0

This was one of those books that definitely had potential but the execution just fell flat. The connection between the past and present-day plots felt really disjointed for most of the book, and I just didn't get the Emilie/Sara relationship. There was no build up, and in a book with so much background, insta-love made no sense. I just don't quite get what LaCour was going for with this one - it seemed like she had great ideas for her characters and then just kind of plopped them into a romance plot and hoped she could make it work. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Death of parent

emily98griffin's review against another edition

reflective slow-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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, and Death of parent

aurorareads_'s review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

Ahh so much pain in this book that sometimes it made it hard to read. But truly life hits you that way sometimes and I think the way both main characters dealt with life and its challenges was realistic. Frustrating at times but realistic. 

In their universe I hope they find ways to heal together and live a happy life forever. 

Side note: I want to try Sara’s cocktails 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, and Sexual assault