2021: a good but not a great #ownvoices novel.

More specifically, it's a novel-in-verse. I did not know that going into it, so I was a little taken aback when the audiobook started and sounded like a spoken word poem. This wasn't a drawback, just unexpected.

Overall, Acevedo kept the plot pretty light and surface level. Sure, we know the major moments, such as their father's funeral happening both in New York City and in the Dominican Republic. But there is so much time that is guiltlessly skipped over. For example, after the two sisters meet for the first time, there is about 24 hours in between when we next hear from them. WHAT DID THEY DO DURING THAT TIME?! Tell me!!

The novel also does not dive as deeply into the girls' grief over the death of their father. Maybe this is reflective of the relationship that each daughter had with him, but I think this was a bit of a missed opportunity. It's there, but as soon as Acevedo dips her toe into their feelings, *poof* we move on to the next stanza.

There's quite a bit of Spanish in this book, which as a rusty Spanish speaker, I really enjoyed. Looking over most of the reviews here, it doesn't look like it would be difficult to navigate even if you don't know Spanish. I loved how much it added to my experience, but I certainly don't think you'd miss any plot points without it.