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A review by krystalmath
It's Not Like It's a Secret by Misa Sugiura
2.0
1.5 stars because the second half of the book was filled with casual (and not-so-casual) racism and homophobia that never really got addressed???
like the MC got away with just giving a half-assed apology and reading a poem in class to solve her issues with cheating and racism! plus it feels awfully hypocritical of the MC to be so concerned about her father's affair but in the same breath cheats on her gf with a boy even tho she's gay???
i get it -- high schoolers can be a mess. but it's frustrating when their egocentrism and sometimes plain shitty behavior drives contrived plot points that aren't parsed out. plus the whole bit with Sana calling Jamie's friends "thugs" was honestly so painful to read. and once again, hypocritical as she parroted anti-Mexican talking points her mom makes, which she had previously expressed disapproval of!!! also the fact that Jamie only got a little angry at her for this. girl needs to grow a backbone PLEASE.
honestly did not like a single character in this book...Jamie and Christina are okay, and Caleb didn't really anything wrong (though he's not particularly memorable and definitely needs to be in therapy or at least get a tik tok to monetize his whole Sad Boy persona).
woulda given this 1 star if it had not been for the subplot of uncovering Sana's dad's affair. hearing Sana's mom explain the complex family dynamic was actually pretty nuanced and a sweet "bonding" moment between the usually-contentious mother-daughter duo. that paired with Sana's spontaneous coming out and her mother's reaction was also kind of nice. it gave her mom a bit more depth compared to the Asian mom caricature she was for most of the book.
like the MC got away with just giving a half-assed apology and reading a poem in class to solve her issues with cheating and racism! plus it feels awfully hypocritical of the MC to be so concerned about her father's affair but in the same breath cheats on her gf with a boy even tho she's gay???
i get it -- high schoolers can be a mess. but it's frustrating when their egocentrism and sometimes plain shitty behavior drives contrived plot points that aren't parsed out. plus the whole bit with Sana calling Jamie's friends "thugs" was honestly so painful to read. and once again, hypocritical as she parroted anti-Mexican talking points her mom makes, which she had previously expressed disapproval of!!! also the fact that Jamie only got a little angry at her for this. girl needs to grow a backbone PLEASE.
honestly did not like a single character in this book...Jamie and Christina are okay, and Caleb didn't really anything wrong (though he's not particularly memorable and definitely needs to be in therapy or at least get a tik tok to monetize his whole Sad Boy persona).
woulda given this 1 star if it had not been for the subplot of uncovering Sana's dad's affair. hearing Sana's mom explain the complex family dynamic was actually pretty nuanced and a sweet "bonding" moment between the usually-contentious mother-daughter duo. that paired with Sana's spontaneous coming out and her mother's reaction was also kind of nice. it gave her mom a bit more depth compared to the Asian mom caricature she was for most of the book.