A review by agent_bex
This Is Why They Hate Us by Aaron H. Aceves

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

2.75

This book had such potential and I was very excited for it, but I feel the author tried to talk about a lot of things instead of focusing on a specific few important details. I found this book on TikTok, where it was very heavily pushed as a queer Palestinian romance, and the main Palestinian character was barely even in the story. There were portions of the story I found wonderful - the mentorship between Enrique and his teacher, the highlight on mental health, and Enrique's relationship with his parents (which was so well done I wished they were more the focus of the story). The ending, while predictable, was sweet, and I enjoyed the overall premise of the book and majority of the authors writing. I just felt it fell flat in a lot of ways, and wasn't the story advertised on social media. 
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