i was expecting something a bit more fun after reading the synopsis, and while this book has moments, it was also really heavy and internal at times. once i figured that out, i was able to process everything a lot better. rafie is GOING THROUGH IT, and he's not a very likeable character for most of the story - although he is definitely very interesting. i liked the school mariachi plotline and characters a lot! i love rey! i think there's a lot that JGV does really well here, and the book is so colorful and alive. i struggled a bit with how much was thrown at us and the characters in the last 60 pages and the writing at times felt overly flowery. not fully committed to my star rating at this point