Letty
This book had absolutely no impact on me whatsoever. It is the book equivalent of very bland junk food, like eating an entire sleeve of saltine crackers in one sitting.
This is an odd little book. Well written but difficult to slog through. Unrealistic dialogue, but that adds to the charm. I don't know. My feelings on this book all over the place, I look like a confused dog right now.
There were so many sweet and lovely moments in this book, with such tender writing, but periodically there were long paragraphs that felt really shoehorned in and were a bit heavy handed, giving an ABC Afterschool Special vibe. Still, a highly recommended read!
I enjoyed it, but really didn't care for the trite conclusion. I feel like I've read/seen several stories where the ghosts finally team up at the end to get rid of the big bad ghost 3.5 stars
I found it slightly reminiscent of a Raold Dahl book, very clever, for youngsters with discerning taste. I recommend it for kids and adults looking for a quick read.
This was a four star read for me, but I am bumping it up to five stars in the hopes that it will cancel out some bigot's one star review.
I wanted to enjoy this a bit more because I always want to support Mexican American authors especially fellow Tejanos. Unfortunately, I thought it was a bit scattered and the tone was off. I was also hoping for more paranormal action instead of just abominable human behavior One big positive is the main character, Erasmo (my grandfather's name!), and his friend Rat. They are two lonely, abandoned souls who found each other and rely on each other to persevere. I also loved all the San Antonio references and any book that mentions chorizo and egg tacos is a-okay with me. I will be reading the sequel for sure and hopefully that one hits the spot like a chorizo an egg taco.
I woke up in the middle of the night and read the entirety of this book. It was incredibly easy to read, I devoured it, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I've already read it before. Like I wasn't surprised at all by the husband being the actual psychopath. But how many books about women being locked in attics have I read? I give it props for being one of the most easily consumable books I've ever read, but had to knock off some points for originality, I guess? I don't know, it's all a fever dream.
This book featured one of the most if not THE MOST unlikeable main characters in any book I have ever read. She had absolutely no character growth and suffered no consequences for her shitty actions. The two stars are for the bruja/curandera and hoodoo representation, but Eva is no bruja, she is a pendeja through and through
I had rated this as four stars, but upon reflection, I give it a full five. Any book that mentions the patron saint Selena receives my upmost respect.
Many of the reviews are negative because they say this book was too “woke” or was pushing an agenda. This is not why I gave it only two, maybe two and a half, stars. I gave it that rating because it is dreadfully dull.
I am kinda mad because I work at the library and I checked this book out to a patron and said, “Oh, I am reading this book too!” and he said, “How are you liking it?” I replied, “I am about half way through and I am enjoying it thus far!” Now the patron is going to come back and try to talk to me about it and I will have to say, “I didn't get it.” I don't like that.
Such a stunning cover, such a grave disappointment.
Edited to add: I gave my partner a synopsis of this novella and he said and I quote, “What the f*ck are you reading?!”
This really was a tremendous book. Wonderfully written, stark, descriptive, it is a great look into both cheerleading and all consuming friendships. It is one of my favorite reads of the year.
2.5 stars. It's a bit heavy handed, innit. Also, it was impossible to gauge the size of the dragons, like they were so big they destroyed buildings, but could also apply lipstick?
My little mind and heart are blown that I read two books in a row featuring queer Chicana main characters, the other being The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School. While I preferred TLGtCS, as it took me a while to get into this book, I loved the characters, especially appreciating their flaws and how they were allowed to make mistakes. I found this incredibly realistic. It was also nice to see a supportive friend group and family. I am from Corpus and was thrilled to see South Texas repped. Raspas y tacos para todos!
This book was fine. I did find it mildly unbelievable how much tail the 14/15 year old son pulled.
Thank you to Netgally and the publisher for this ARC
Admission by Julie Buxbaum is about Chloe Berringer. She has a charmed life, her mother is a television star, she is at an excellent school, and she was accepted into her dream college, SCC (a stand in for USC). That all falls apart when she opens her front door to find the FBI standing on her front porch ready to arrest her mother. It turns out her mother is of a college bribery scandal.
This book is very timely and ripped from the headlines. It casts a sympathetic eye towards the characters, but doesn't excuse them from their actions. I appreciate that Buxbaum gave the perspective of the child who had their life ruined by their parents' actions. Chloe had to question whether her parents thought she was stupid or less than or couldn't make it into college herself. Additionally, the side characters were interesting, particularly Chloe's best friend, Shola and her sister, Isla.
This book will surely be a popular checkout for teens and curious adults.
This book made me cry and drudged up some terribly bummer memories. I was a trainer for my school's football, baseball, and soccer teams and my story was remarkably similar to Jo's. Poor foolish high school me, luckily I too ended up with a happy ending. This is the first time I've read a YA book about this subject and I think it is an important read. Thank you to [a:Estelle Laure 8301727 Estelle Laure https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1441381343p2/8301727.jpg] for writing this book and helping me heal.