Rating: ★★★
•Review thanks to free digital ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review•
From the multi-award-winning author of Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe comes a gorgeous new story about love, identity, and families lost and found.
Sal used to know his place with his adoptive gay father, their loving Mexican-American family, and his best friend, Samantha. But it’s senior year, and suddenly Sal is throwing punches, questioning everything, and realizing he no longer knows himself. If Sal’s not who he thought he was, who is he?
This humor-infused, warmly humane look at universal questions of belonging is a triumph.
This is the first novel I read from Benjamin Alire Saenz and since I’ve heard amazing things about one of his other works, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, I was drawn to this book. My expectations were definitely high and I was somewhat disappointed.
The Good:
- The friendship between Sal and Sam. The author did not try at any point to try to make their friendship develop into something more romantic. It shows how a boy and a girl can be friends without having it lead to a romantic relationship. I also really enjoyed that develops between Sal and Fito because here you have a straight and gay guy forming a friendship that does not lead into some unrequited love trope. This book is definitely more about friendships and it definitely appreciated in a genre which romance tends to be the centre of the plot.
- Being Mexican-American, it is nice to see my culture be represented in a book. It’s definitely refreshing to see, especially in a YA novel because this is a rare occurrence.
The Bad:
- The writing. It had its good moments and sometimes I felt Saenz was trying hard to seem deep. At times, it does get repetitive and it got kind of annoying.
- The plot. This book did not really have a plot. The story felt like it was being dragged on for almost 500 pages. I definitely think it could have been a shorter book and it could have had a bigger impact.
- I wanted more character development. Yes, life-altering events happen to these teenagers but I did not really think the characters could have been more complex.
- Sal’s anger issues are never really addressed. You do know why he has this internal anger that sometimes leads to violent tendencies but there is not really an explanation as to why.
- The easy dismissal of an attempted sexual assault. It came up for about maybe 50 pages and that was it. This event seemed very out of place and did not further the plot in any way whatsoever. So my questions is, what is the point of including this? This can definitely be triggering for someone.
- There is also the usage of the word f****t that can be triggering for some people. Just something I think people should know before they read.
Overall, I liked the message of the book but as a whole, I can’t say I fell in love with it. It was just an ok book for me. I just feel there is something lacking in this book that prevents me from giving it a higher rating.
Beauty·Books·Life 