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ashylibrarian 's review for:
The Summer of Jordi Perez (and the Best Burger in Los Angeles)
by Amy Spalding
2.75/5 (audiobook)
This book...I first discovered this book about a year ago while working at my University's library, and I was instantly drawn in by the cover, and the title (the burger addition really caught my eye). I had high hopes for this read going into it this year, but I have to say I was not super impressed. Was it a good sappy, contemporary, young adult, romance read? Sure. But I felt like it kept dragging on about the same plot lines without much development.
One example of this is the idea of body image and the discussion of plus size women. This is an extremely important topic, and I was so excited that a book was going to discuss it and break down stereotypes, but I felt that it kind of got lost amidst the blossoming romance and battle for the dream job. The blog that Abby created, Plus Style, had a lot of potential to grow and I was really interested in learning what she was going to do with it, but, after finishing the story, I feel like it was kept hidden from not only the other characters but also the reader.
With that being said, I do like the self-acceptance from Abby's character. It is made know that Abby is conscious of her size, mostly seeming to be due to her mother's scrutiny, but she does not feel like any less of a person because of it. This is also supported by her super fun fashion sense with lots of bright colors and fruit! She breaks many of the stereotypes placed on plus sized women by society, and I applaud Amy Spalding for demonstrating that within a character instead of using it as a character flaw/weakness.
The other big thing that got me, though, was...Abby. Her character was super bubble and chatty, which are great personality traits to have, but the extent to which she would over-talk in a situation started to annoy me about halfway through the book. I am not sure if this was due to my listening to the audiobook and the way the narrator read it or if I would have felt just the same had I read the physical book. Either way, I found myself becoming distracted with Abby's internal and external dialogue almost every time she spoke.
All of this aside, to go against everything I just said, if you are looking for a cute, mostly light read, I would recommend giving this book a chance. It is a cute love story and makes you feel the feels at times. :)
This book...I first discovered this book about a year ago while working at my University's library, and I was instantly drawn in by the cover, and the title (the burger addition really caught my eye). I had high hopes for this read going into it this year, but I have to say I was not super impressed. Was it a good sappy, contemporary, young adult, romance read? Sure. But I felt like it kept dragging on about the same plot lines without much development.
One example of this is the idea of body image and the discussion of plus size women. This is an extremely important topic, and I was so excited that a book was going to discuss it and break down stereotypes, but I felt that it kind of got lost amidst the blossoming romance and battle for the dream job. The blog that Abby created, Plus Style, had a lot of potential to grow and I was really interested in learning what she was going to do with it, but, after finishing the story, I feel like it was kept hidden from not only the other characters but also the reader.
With that being said, I do like the self-acceptance from Abby's character. It is made know that Abby is conscious of her size, mostly seeming to be due to her mother's scrutiny, but she does not feel like any less of a person because of it. This is also supported by her super fun fashion sense with lots of bright colors and fruit! She breaks many of the stereotypes placed on plus sized women by society, and I applaud Amy Spalding for demonstrating that within a character instead of using it as a character flaw/weakness.
The other big thing that got me, though, was...Abby. Her character was super bubble and chatty, which are great personality traits to have, but the extent to which she would over-talk in a situation started to annoy me about halfway through the book. I am not sure if this was due to my listening to the audiobook and the way the narrator read it or if I would have felt just the same had I read the physical book. Either way, I found myself becoming distracted with Abby's internal and external dialogue almost every time she spoke.
All of this aside, to go against everything I just said, if you are looking for a cute, mostly light read, I would recommend giving this book a chance. It is a cute love story and makes you feel the feels at times. :)