A review by revri
Indivisible by Daniel Aleman

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

OVERALL RATING: 8.29/10 -> 4.25 stars on StoryGraph. 
 
Characters: 9 
I think Mateo was a good choice for both the protagonist and the storyteller roles and it felt like I was really in his mind and live through the same adversities as him. Although his character development isn’t always consistent or strong, the way the author didn’t hide any of his flaws makes the story touching and sympathetic to me. 
 
Setting/Theme: 9 
The book does a wonderful job of directly depicting and criticizing the then-real-life immigration crisis through the perspective of the immigrants. Furthermore, Mateo’s self-identity crisis of not feeling American or Mexican was also a though-provocative and welcomed addition to the story being told. 
 
If I have to point out one area of improvement, it would be the love story between Mateo and Adam. I’m glad that the author did not fall into the trap of spending too much time on their relationship and straying far away from the core of the book. But still, their love connection is a bit undeveloped and deserves more care so that it doesn’t feel too unnecessary and irrelevant. 
 
Writing Style: 8 
The story is told through the lens of Mateo, which makes the story rich in intrapersonal communication aspect. I also loved how the culture gets integrated into the book in a way that isn’t too overwhelming or underrepresented. 
 
However, a complaint of mine was that the author relied on terms like “holding breath”, “knot in my throat” or “stomach twisted” a bit too much to capture high-tension moments, which made it a bit repetitive and ineffective. 
 
Plot: 6 
I have a contrasting feeling about each of the 2 parts. The first part of the book hit it out of the park for me as it perfectly invites the reader to learn about Mateo’s family situation and his struggle while steadily building up to the climax. Unfortunately, the book fumbled slightly with the second part especially towards the end because of how everything was resolved so passively and incredulously. I foresaw the open ending but the execution just made the whole book feel like a fever dream and left me a bit unsatisfied. 
 
Intrigue: 8 
Since I had a much more favorable view towards the first half, it’s not a surprise that I was more gravitated toward that part than the writing later down the line. The latter part isn’t a dead weight because it still has its captivating charm but the problem is that it doesn’t leave a strong impact on me like I expected coming from the first part. 
 
Logic: 8 
Not to say that miracles couldn’t happen in real life but I feel like the ending is a bit too good to be true for me.
Like how coincidentally someone wants to buy the bodega right when they need money the most, or how Jorge and Amy could move out to a much better house and why didn’t they move sooner if they could afford to do that?
 
 
Enjoyment: 10 
Despite some shortcomings, I still relished my time spent on this book and it was an eye-opening experience, one that left me with much food for thought.