A review by mora55
Don't Date Rosa Santos by Nina Moreno
5.0
This is a beautiful book.
I love how this book handled diaspora. Rosa's grandparents fled Cuba to Florida when her mother was a baby, and Rosa feels caught between cultures. She is conflicted as to whether she is "Cuban enough" and is homesick for a homeland she's never been to and has little chance to go to. Especially as the story progresses, the reflection on this experience is more developed and beautifully explored. This is not something I personally have experienced and can relate to on that level, but it was so well-written that even I could get a sense of Rosa's struggle and the liminal space between Cuban and American she occupies.
I also liked the relationship between Rosa, her mother, and her grandmother and how they struggle to connect and they argue frequently but also they have such a strong and specific connection. Family, both through blood and through shared experience and history, is another prevalent theme the author explores.
Rosa was a really well-developed character with a specific personality and voice, and just about everything she did felt so in-line with her character (something that is occasionally lacking in other books). She's multifaceted with flaws and hopes and defiance and loyalty and conflict. Her character arc was very well done as well, and I really connected with her and emphasized with her.
The romance wasn't actually all that bad? It was actually kind of refreshing for Rosa to practically immediately be like "yup I have a crush" and then, like, do something about it. I liked also how it was hardly the main plot of the book at all (despite the book's title) and was something to augment Rosa's struggle with her history and her future and her relationship with both her family and her culture.
I only have two minimal complaints? There were a lot of characters and I couldn't keep all of them straight and stopped trying after a while. Also, there was some small magic going on and then large magic at the end and I just didn't think it fit with the book? I see what the author was trying, but I'm not sure it entirely worked.
In summary: a really beautiful exploration of culture and diaspora and Cuban tradition and family. (Also, there's a lot of Spanish dialogue in here, and I thought that was very neat.)
I love how this book handled diaspora. Rosa's grandparents fled Cuba to Florida when her mother was a baby, and Rosa feels caught between cultures. She is conflicted as to whether she is "Cuban enough" and is homesick for a homeland she's never been to and has little chance to go to. Especially as the story progresses, the reflection on this experience is more developed and beautifully explored. This is not something I personally have experienced and can relate to on that level, but it was so well-written that even I could get a sense of Rosa's struggle and the liminal space between Cuban and American she occupies.
I also liked the relationship between Rosa, her mother, and her grandmother and how they struggle to connect and they argue frequently but also they have such a strong and specific connection. Family, both through blood and through shared experience and history, is another prevalent theme the author explores.
Rosa was a really well-developed character with a specific personality and voice, and just about everything she did felt so in-line with her character (something that is occasionally lacking in other books). She's multifaceted with flaws and hopes and defiance and loyalty and conflict. Her character arc was very well done as well, and I really connected with her and emphasized with her.
The romance wasn't actually all that bad? It was actually kind of refreshing for Rosa to practically immediately be like "yup I have a crush" and then, like, do something about it. I liked also how it was hardly the main plot of the book at all (despite the book's title) and was something to augment Rosa's struggle with her history and her future and her relationship with both her family and her culture.
I only have two minimal complaints? There were a lot of characters and I couldn't keep all of them straight and stopped trying after a while. Also, there was some small magic going on and then large magic at the end and I just didn't think it fit with the book? I see what the author was trying, but I'm not sure it entirely worked.
In summary: a really beautiful exploration of culture and diaspora and Cuban tradition and family. (Also, there's a lot of Spanish dialogue in here, and I thought that was very neat.)