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nerdinthelibrary's Reviews (926)
Review also posted to my blog.
Feminist Lit Feb: an #ownvoices book about an experience other than your own, a book by a female/non-binary/genderfluid black author
content warnings: loss of a loved one, murder, police brutality, gun violence, gang violence, drug addiction, racism, misogyny, mentions of homophobia
representation: black protagonist, main and side characters, gay black main and side characters, sapphic black main and side characters, f/f side relationship, m/m side relationship
“It is kinda messed up. Here my brother is, doing everything right, and nothing's coming from it. Meanwhile, Aunt Pooh’s doing everything we’ve been told not to do, and she’s giving us food when we need it. That’s how it goes though. The drug dealers in my neighborhood aren’t struggling. Everybody else is.”
Angie Thomas’ books make me want to fight, and I mean that in the best way possible. I, along with many other people, were worried that there was no way she was going to be able to live up to the phenomena that was The Hate U Give, but not only does it live up to its predecessor, in my opinion it’s even better.
The story of On the Come Up is a much smaller one than THUG. It follows Bri, a teenage girl whose dad was a rap legend in Garden Heights until he was murdered. Bri has always dreamed of being a rapper and now she doesn’t just want it; she needs it. Her mum’s just lost her job, and they weren’t exactly rolling in cash before that. Bri needs to became big not just to fulfill her dream, but also to support her family.
Bri might be one of my new all-time favourite protagonists. She has attitude, she doesn’t think everything through, she jumps to conclusions too quickly, but she also cares about her family and friends (who she considers family) so much and spends a lot of her time worried about her family’s financial situation. Her character arc is one that we’ve seen before, particularly in movies: it’s one of someone who becomes famous and loses themselves. This story is being told on a much smaller scale, as she’s really only famous in Garden Heights, but it still works really well, probably because that’s not the only thing going on.
After Bri’s dad died, her mum turned to drugs. This resulted in her and her older brother, Trey, being in the custody of their grandparents for several years. Their mother is eight years sober, but Bri still refers to her mum by her first name, Jay. Reading about their complicated relationship was amazing.
I loved seeing Bri with her two best friends, Sonny, a gay graffiti artist, and Malik, a wannabe-filmmaker who Bri has had a crush on for a while. Their friendship is tested throughout the entirety of this book and there are large stretches where they’re not talking, but they also so clearly consider each other family. They’re the kind of friends who have been that way since birth and it’s obvious.
As would be expected from an Angie Thomas book, this deals a lot with race, and it doesn’t sugarcoat any of it. The school Bri goes to has security guards who target the black and Latinx kids for ‘random’ locker searches and pat-downs; the only thing news outlets who get wind of Bri’s songs say is that they’re inciting violence; Bri’s grandmother, a black woman herself, tells Bri to talk differently when they go to store’s in predominantly white areas. This book also talks a lot about sexism, particularly within the rap industry. Bri talks about how much harder she’ll have to work to make it as a black woman, and there are several scenes of men who could help her get somewhere looking down on her because she’s a teenage girl. And it’s all handled with the ferocity of both a character and writer who are fed up with all of it.
There is also great discussions of poverty in this book. Bri’s mum is often behind on rent, they’ll get the gas and power turned off semi-regularly, they had to choose between losing the TV and losing their phones, and there’s a point in the book when they have to go to get food donations from the church. This is constant throughout the whole book and is part of the reason why Bri is so insistent on getting her big break sooner rather than later. There was one line in particular that I loved, when Malik is talking with Bri towards the end of the book and says “Lately, you only care about money. Money isn’t everything, Bri”, and she says, “That’s so easy for you to say… We didn’t have lights for a while, Malik. We’ve barely had food some days. You aren’t worried about stuff like that. I am.”
And finally, I get to talk about my favourite part of this entire book: the writing. Or, more specifically, Bri’s songs. First of all, I loved that there were many instances throughout the book when someone would say something to her that would impact her in a certain way, like the security guard calling her a “hoodlum”, and she would break down the word in her head and come up with a few lines about it. Then there’s the full songs themselves. There are only a couple printed in the book itself, including the eponymous “On the Come Up”, and they are all so incredible. I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited for a film adaptation of a book in my entire life because I can’t wait to see them being performed on the big screen (also, they better use Angie’s lyrics word-for-word because they are literally perfect).
Because this has only just come out I don’t know how popular my opinion is, but I think that Angie Thomas’ follow up to The Hate U Give surpasses it. I’m already excited for whatever she’s going to write next because the odds are definitely in favour of me loving it with my entire heart and soul.
Feminist Lit Feb: an #ownvoices book about an experience other than your own, a book by a female/non-binary/genderfluid black author
content warnings: loss of a loved one, murder, police brutality, gun violence, gang violence, drug addiction, racism, misogyny, mentions of homophobia
representation: black protagonist, main and side characters, gay black main and side characters, sapphic black main and side characters, f/f side relationship, m/m side relationship
“It is kinda messed up. Here my brother is, doing everything right, and nothing's coming from it. Meanwhile, Aunt Pooh’s doing everything we’ve been told not to do, and she’s giving us food when we need it. That’s how it goes though. The drug dealers in my neighborhood aren’t struggling. Everybody else is.”
Angie Thomas’ books make me want to fight, and I mean that in the best way possible. I, along with many other people, were worried that there was no way she was going to be able to live up to the phenomena that was The Hate U Give, but not only does it live up to its predecessor, in my opinion it’s even better.
The story of On the Come Up is a much smaller one than THUG. It follows Bri, a teenage girl whose dad was a rap legend in Garden Heights until he was murdered. Bri has always dreamed of being a rapper and now she doesn’t just want it; she needs it. Her mum’s just lost her job, and they weren’t exactly rolling in cash before that. Bri needs to became big not just to fulfill her dream, but also to support her family.
Bri might be one of my new all-time favourite protagonists. She has attitude, she doesn’t think everything through, she jumps to conclusions too quickly, but she also cares about her family and friends (who she considers family) so much and spends a lot of her time worried about her family’s financial situation. Her character arc is one that we’ve seen before, particularly in movies: it’s one of someone who becomes famous and loses themselves. This story is being told on a much smaller scale, as she’s really only famous in Garden Heights, but it still works really well, probably because that’s not the only thing going on.
After Bri’s dad died, her mum turned to drugs. This resulted in her and her older brother, Trey, being in the custody of their grandparents for several years. Their mother is eight years sober, but Bri still refers to her mum by her first name, Jay. Reading about their complicated relationship was amazing.
I loved seeing Bri with her two best friends, Sonny, a gay graffiti artist, and Malik, a wannabe-filmmaker who Bri has had a crush on for a while. Their friendship is tested throughout the entirety of this book and there are large stretches where they’re not talking, but they also so clearly consider each other family. They’re the kind of friends who have been that way since birth and it’s obvious.
As would be expected from an Angie Thomas book, this deals a lot with race, and it doesn’t sugarcoat any of it. The school Bri goes to has security guards who target the black and Latinx kids for ‘random’ locker searches and pat-downs; the only thing news outlets who get wind of Bri’s songs say is that they’re inciting violence; Bri’s grandmother, a black woman herself, tells Bri to talk differently when they go to store’s in predominantly white areas. This book also talks a lot about sexism, particularly within the rap industry. Bri talks about how much harder she’ll have to work to make it as a black woman, and there are several scenes of men who could help her get somewhere looking down on her because she’s a teenage girl. And it’s all handled with the ferocity of both a character and writer who are fed up with all of it.
There is also great discussions of poverty in this book. Bri’s mum is often behind on rent, they’ll get the gas and power turned off semi-regularly, they had to choose between losing the TV and losing their phones, and there’s a point in the book when they have to go to get food donations from the church. This is constant throughout the whole book and is part of the reason why Bri is so insistent on getting her big break sooner rather than later. There was one line in particular that I loved, when Malik is talking with Bri towards the end of the book and says “Lately, you only care about money. Money isn’t everything, Bri”, and she says, “That’s so easy for you to say… We didn’t have lights for a while, Malik. We’ve barely had food some days. You aren’t worried about stuff like that. I am.”
And finally, I get to talk about my favourite part of this entire book: the writing. Or, more specifically, Bri’s songs. First of all, I loved that there were many instances throughout the book when someone would say something to her that would impact her in a certain way, like the security guard calling her a “hoodlum”, and she would break down the word in her head and come up with a few lines about it. Then there’s the full songs themselves. There are only a couple printed in the book itself, including the eponymous “On the Come Up”, and they are all so incredible. I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited for a film adaptation of a book in my entire life because I can’t wait to see them being performed on the big screen (also, they better use Angie’s lyrics word-for-word because they are literally perfect).
Because this has only just come out I don’t know how popular my opinion is, but I think that Angie Thomas’ follow up to The Hate U Give surpasses it. I’m already excited for whatever she’s going to write next because the odds are definitely in favour of me loving it with my entire heart and soul.
I completely understand that this book isn't for everyone but, God, I loved it. The story is kind of confusing as it alternates between the future, past and present, and as it switches from first and third person, but when done well I love confusing narratives and I think it was done well here. Not a single character was 100% likeable and all had major flaws that made them all beautifully human. It's incredibly crude, which only added to making it even more realistic. It's also set in Australia, written by an Australian, which always makes a book more special for me.
09/08/19: Reread for the #divinersreadalong, in the paperback version this time. Some quick reread thoughts:
- This is even better the second time
- The foreshadowing is amazing, from unexpected character introductions to hints at lore
- I love Evie O'Neill with my entire heart and soul
- Naughty John is a dramatic bitch and one of the best villains in YA, don't @ me
30/09/18: First read.
content warnings: loss of a loved one, gore, violence, murder, violence against animals, white supremacy, racism, anti-semitism, xenophobia, ableism, sexism, slut shaming, sexual assault, domestic violence
representation: black main and side characters, jewish main and side characters, gay main character, biracial (white-native american) main character, interracial f/m main relationship, black blind side character
I can't believe it's taken me so long to read this because, guys, this book is fantastic. The Diviners is set in 1926, New York, and revolves around a mystery concerning ritual sacrifices and a group of people with special abilities known as diviners.
I've seen a lot of reviews complain about the pacing and while I understand, I didn't have the same issues. I'm fairly sure that's because I listened to this on audiobook. Literally everyone who listens to the audiobooks from this series recommends them, and I'm going to add to that: January LaVoy is absolutely incredible. She's the only narrator, but she's so fantastic at giving each character a unique voice that you would swear there's a full cast.
The atmosphere of this book is incredible. Both January LaVoy's narration and Libba Bray's writing are perfect at creating a creepy, somewhat unsettling feeling throughout the entire novel, as well as making you feel as though you're in New York in 1926.
The story centres around a mystery, but it's real focus is on the characters. If you love books with great ensemble casts a la Six of Crows, then this is the book for you. There's Evie, the protagonist, a flapper who's self-absorbed and brash and wonderful; Memphis, a black boy who's into both illegal activity and poetry; Jericho, a character who I thought was going to be another Matthias Helvar but ended up being the 1920s version of a soft jock; Sam, the cocky, dickish thief who ended up making me fall in love with him, the asshole; Will, Evie's uncle who is lowkey an exposition machine and who I will likely become in ten years; Mabel, the daughter of wannabe revolutionaries who is the sweetest; Theta, aka my wife, a dancer who has big dreams and refuses to apologise for who she is; and Henry, a gay pianist who is Theta's brother, just not through blood.
I loved each and every one of these characters in their own ways, which is probably why I didn't love the ending as much as I loved the rest of the book. Towards the end, some characters (in particular Memphis, Mabel, Theta and Henry) get shoved aside so the plot can get wrapped up neatly.
The romance, as of this book, is a bit iffy with me. Memphis and Theta are making my black, dead heart very happy and I hope the next books are just them chilling and enjoying life together (that's what it's going to be and you can't convince me otherwise). I'm also excited at the prospect for whatever the future holds for Henry in terms of romance. Evie's romantic life is spoilers, so I'm just going to say that I'm not jazzed with where the book ends.
All in all, apart from a shaky ending, I really enjoyed this book and I can't wait to read Lair of Dreams.
- This is even better the second time
- The foreshadowing is amazing, from unexpected character introductions to hints at lore
- I love Evie O'Neill with my entire heart and soul
- Naughty John is a dramatic bitch and one of the best villains in YA, don't @ me
30/09/18: First read.
content warnings: loss of a loved one, gore, violence, murder, violence against animals, white supremacy, racism, anti-semitism, xenophobia, ableism, sexism, slut shaming, sexual assault, domestic violence
representation: black main and side characters, jewish main and side characters, gay main character, biracial (white-native american) main character, interracial f/m main relationship, black blind side character
“The Chinese Exclusion Act was a law designed to keep more Chinese from coming here when they’d finished building our railroads. They couldn’t bring their families over. They weren’t protected by our laws they were on their own.”
“Doesn’t sound terribly American.”
“On the contrary, it’s very American.”
I can't believe it's taken me so long to read this because, guys, this book is fantastic. The Diviners is set in 1926, New York, and revolves around a mystery concerning ritual sacrifices and a group of people with special abilities known as diviners.
I've seen a lot of reviews complain about the pacing and while I understand, I didn't have the same issues. I'm fairly sure that's because I listened to this on audiobook. Literally everyone who listens to the audiobooks from this series recommends them, and I'm going to add to that: January LaVoy is absolutely incredible. She's the only narrator, but she's so fantastic at giving each character a unique voice that you would swear there's a full cast.
The atmosphere of this book is incredible. Both January LaVoy's narration and Libba Bray's writing are perfect at creating a creepy, somewhat unsettling feeling throughout the entire novel, as well as making you feel as though you're in New York in 1926.
The story centres around a mystery, but it's real focus is on the characters. If you love books with great ensemble casts a la Six of Crows, then this is the book for you. There's Evie, the protagonist, a flapper who's self-absorbed and brash and wonderful; Memphis, a black boy who's into both illegal activity and poetry; Jericho, a character who I thought was going to be another Matthias Helvar but ended up being the 1920s version of a soft jock; Sam, the cocky, dickish thief who ended up making me fall in love with him, the asshole; Will, Evie's uncle who is lowkey an exposition machine and who I will likely become in ten years; Mabel, the daughter of wannabe revolutionaries who is the sweetest; Theta, aka my wife, a dancer who has big dreams and refuses to apologise for who she is; and Henry, a gay pianist who is Theta's brother, just not through blood.
I loved each and every one of these characters in their own ways, which is probably why I didn't love the ending as much as I loved the rest of the book. Towards the end, some characters (in particular Memphis, Mabel, Theta and Henry) get shoved aside so the plot can get wrapped up neatly.
The romance, as of this book, is a bit iffy with me. Memphis and Theta are making my black, dead heart very happy and I hope the next books are just them chilling and enjoying life together (that's what it's going to be and you can't convince me otherwise). I'm also excited at the prospect for whatever the future holds for Henry in terms of romance. Evie's romantic life is spoilers, so I'm just going to say that I'm not jazzed with where the book ends.
Spoiler
I get why Evie/Jericho's happening but that doesn't mean to like it. One of my favourite romance tropes is when two characters are adamant that they're not going to fall in love, so of course I'm shipping Evie and Sam like I'm getting paid for it.All in all, apart from a shaky ending, I really enjoyed this book and I can't wait to read Lair of Dreams.
content warnings: loss of a loved one, racism, discussion of 9/11
representation: main indian characters, main hindu characters, main biracial (indian-black) character, side black characters, side indian characters, side somalian character
This book was so lovely, and the worst thing about it is that it's over. I genuinely would have read a full-length novel about each of the women portrayed in this book, that's how much I loved it and them.
The story centres around five women in the same family, spanning generations, as it explores themes of race, culture, equal rights, prejudice, femininity, and so much more. Gun to my head, I couldn't pick a favourite of the five women. I loved them all so much in different ways.
Sonia: You first meet her when she's a young teenager, a budding feminist who is moving from London to America. She's a writer who constantly fights with her mother because of their very different ways of looking at the world. Then the time skip happens and suddenly you see her as an adult through the eyes of her daughter and niece. She went against her mother's wishes and married a black man, and became a journalist who reports on injustice and advocates for equal rights.
Tara: Sonia's older sister, you meet Tara in her final year of high school. She's not good at school and dreams of being an actress, being a fantastic actor after spending her whole life transforming into first an English and then American girl. She ends up marrying an Indian man her parents set up for her and has a daughter, becoming a famous Bollywood actress in the time skip.
Chantal: Being the daughter of an Indian woman and black man, Chantal doesn't quite know where she fits in terms of race, something which isn't helped by her two grandmother's constantly trying to claim her as one or the other. She's also incredibly athletic and intelligent, easily the most American of all the women in the story. After growing up there her entire life, she has very few ties to her heritage.
Anna: After being raised in India with her well-off parents, Anna is forced to move to America for her final years of high school. Incredibly in touch with her culture, she doesn't adapt to America the way the other women in her family did, and finds it hard to handle things like changing in the locker room. She's also a fierce debater, as far left politically as you can get, and has a love of fashion and making clothes.
Ranee: There are very few instances throughout the book where you see Ranee through her eyes; the rest of the time, you either see her as Sonia and Tara's Ma, or as Chantal and Anna's Didu. Her character development was easily my favourite. She starts off as a stereotypical strict Indian mother, but you see her bond with her daughters and granddaughters in ways you would never expect, and you see her overcome her prejudices. Ending the book on a chapter of hers was such a perfect way to end.
One big theme throughout this book is critique, specifically critiquing culture, both Indian and American. There is a lot of discussion of colourism in India, relating mostly to the light Tara and dark Sonia. This also goes along with Ranee's racism, as she cannot accept that Sonia has fallen in love with a black man for many years. There is also a very heavy critique of American culture as well, particularly from Anna who is both incredibly left and grew up in India so she is less blind to the flaws as her cousin and aunt. The aftermath of 9/11 in particular holds the biggest criticism of America, relating specifically to a Somalian friend of Chantal and Anna who wears a headscarf that some men tried to rip off her and who has been spat at in the streets.
This book strangely made me feel very at home, and I would highly recommend everyone read it.
representation: main indian characters, main hindu characters, main biracial (indian-black) character, side black characters, side indian characters, side somalian character
This book was so lovely, and the worst thing about it is that it's over. I genuinely would have read a full-length novel about each of the women portrayed in this book, that's how much I loved it and them.
The story centres around five women in the same family, spanning generations, as it explores themes of race, culture, equal rights, prejudice, femininity, and so much more. Gun to my head, I couldn't pick a favourite of the five women. I loved them all so much in different ways.
Sonia: You first meet her when she's a young teenager, a budding feminist who is moving from London to America. She's a writer who constantly fights with her mother because of their very different ways of looking at the world. Then the time skip happens and suddenly you see her as an adult through the eyes of her daughter and niece. She went against her mother's wishes and married a black man, and became a journalist who reports on injustice and advocates for equal rights.
Tara: Sonia's older sister, you meet Tara in her final year of high school. She's not good at school and dreams of being an actress, being a fantastic actor after spending her whole life transforming into first an English and then American girl. She ends up marrying an Indian man her parents set up for her and has a daughter, becoming a famous Bollywood actress in the time skip.
Chantal: Being the daughter of an Indian woman and black man, Chantal doesn't quite know where she fits in terms of race, something which isn't helped by her two grandmother's constantly trying to claim her as one or the other. She's also incredibly athletic and intelligent, easily the most American of all the women in the story. After growing up there her entire life, she has very few ties to her heritage.
Anna: After being raised in India with her well-off parents, Anna is forced to move to America for her final years of high school. Incredibly in touch with her culture, she doesn't adapt to America the way the other women in her family did, and finds it hard to handle things like changing in the locker room. She's also a fierce debater, as far left politically as you can get, and has a love of fashion and making clothes.
Ranee: There are very few instances throughout the book where you see Ranee through her eyes; the rest of the time, you either see her as Sonia and Tara's Ma, or as Chantal and Anna's Didu. Her character development was easily my favourite. She starts off as a stereotypical strict Indian mother, but you see her bond with her daughters and granddaughters in ways you would never expect, and you see her overcome her prejudices. Ending the book on a chapter of hers was such a perfect way to end.
One big theme throughout this book is critique, specifically critiquing culture, both Indian and American. There is a lot of discussion of colourism in India, relating mostly to the light Tara and dark Sonia. This also goes along with Ranee's racism, as she cannot accept that Sonia has fallen in love with a black man for many years. There is also a very heavy critique of American culture as well, particularly from Anna who is both incredibly left and grew up in India so she is less blind to the flaws as her cousin and aunt. The aftermath of 9/11 in particular holds the biggest criticism of America, relating specifically to a Somalian friend of Chantal and Anna who wears a headscarf that some men tried to rip off her and who has been spat at in the streets.
This book strangely made me feel very at home, and I would highly recommend everyone read it.
Patrick Ness is officially the gold star for all YA.
This book was so freaking good . I love anything that pokes fun at the "chosen one" trope and this book did it in a really interesting way. The characters, as usual, were fabulous, fleshed-out human beings who you could imagine being real. This applied to the side characters as well as the mains.
Also, d i v e r s i t y! Well written female characters, multiple poc, a character with an eating disorder, a character with ocd and anxiety, lgbt+ characters, characters that don't fit traditional beauty standards, Y E S.
Friendships! Sibling relationships! Complicated parent-child relationships! Romances! It's all there and it's all great.
A super minor thing, but therapy and medication are present in this book and are seen as positive things!! It's never made fun of and it's shown to help the characters!! There was a part when it looked like it was going to use the "magic heals disabilities" trope but then it completely subverted it!
I love this book, bye.
This book was so freaking good . I love anything that pokes fun at the "chosen one" trope and this book did it in a really interesting way. The characters, as usual, were fabulous, fleshed-out human beings who you could imagine being real. This applied to the side characters as well as the mains.
Also, d i v e r s i t y! Well written female characters, multiple poc, a character with an eating disorder, a character with ocd and anxiety, lgbt+ characters, characters that don't fit traditional beauty standards, Y E S.
Friendships! Sibling relationships! Complicated parent-child relationships! Romances! It's all there and it's all great.
A super minor thing, but therapy and medication are present in this book and are seen as positive things!! It's never made fun of and it's shown to help the characters!! There was a part when it looked like it was going to use the "magic heals disabilities" trope but then it completely subverted it!
I love this book, bye.
I'm giving it the same rating as the first book, but if I could I would make the rating higher because this is honestly everything I wanted in a sequel (even if it did tear my heart into itty bitty pieces and light them on fire) and the entirety of chapter six is quite possibly the greatest thing I've ever read
content warnings: racism, misogyny, harassment, bullying
representation: indian-american main and side characters, indian side characters, side interracial m/f relationship, bi/pan side character
“She wept for her hardheadedness, and for a world that couldn’t just let her be both, a woman in love and a woman with a career, without flares of guilt and self-doubt seeping in and wrecking havoc. No one she knew had balanced both. There was either work or love. Wanting both felt like a huge ask, it felt like wishing for hot ice cream or a bitter sugar cube.”
Review can also be found on my blog
Oh my GOD, you were all so hard on this. I have two theories for so many 1/2 star reviews. 1) You guys were expecting something other than a slightly-cheesy romcom, or 2) Racism. Keeping in mind that when I say that, I don't mean "you hate indian people", I mean "this female indian-american protagonist didn't act the way you expected". FOR THE RECORD, I'm not saying that every single 1/2 star review is for either of those reasons, but judging by the multiple I've read that seems to be the theme.
I'm going to literally just address the complaints because I think most of them are bullshit:
I thought this would be about a girl at STEM camp, not so much romance. Yeah, no shit, it's a fucking romance. That is the genre. This is where the "you didn't know this was a romcom" thing comes in, because I think a lot of people genuinely thought this was going to be something other than a feel-good, romantic contemporary.
Dimple is a bitch, e.g. the iced coffee scene. This is, no offence, the stupidest criticism I've ever read in my entire life. The way the scene plays out is that Dimple is sitting at Starbucks by herself, enjoying her coffee, and then Rishi goes up to her and says "hello, my future wife". Dimple hasn't been made aware of the future-arranged-marriage thing and just thinks he's a weirdo. He then says "I can't wait to spend the rest of our lives together". So Dimple (who is a girl, by herself, who has been approached by a boy she doesn't know who made creepy, romantic comments) throws her iced coffee at him and runs. I'm not blaming Rishi for this, he didn't know that Dimple didn't know, but I definitely don't think Dimple was unjustified in her actions.
Dimple is abusive. Yeah, I don't see this. People cite the fact that she punches him several times, leaving out that each time is a light, friendly punch that people give their friends, because she does it when they're more-or-less strangers, friends, and friends with sexual tension.
Dimple hates other women and slut shames them. No she doesn't. She mentions several times that she doesn't like wearing make-up and doesn't care about her clothes, but that is always specifically in relation to the expectations her mother and culture places upon her. She also makes comments about other girls' wardrobes, but never is a deprecating way. The closest she gets is when she describes Celia and Isabelle's costumes for the talent show, and then she's specifically talking about how uncomfortable they look and how obvious it is that the guys decided on the costumes.
Again, I genuinely don't understand why people hate this book with such a passion. I thought it was fun and cute, with endearing characters, good banter, and an adorable romance. That scene towards the start when they're taking pictures with the polaroid? 💕💕💕 If you're looking for a light romcom with some slightly deeper themes of misogyny and racism, I would definitely recommend this.
representation: indian-american main and side characters, indian side characters, side interracial m/f relationship, bi/pan side character
“She wept for her hardheadedness, and for a world that couldn’t just let her be both, a woman in love and a woman with a career, without flares of guilt and self-doubt seeping in and wrecking havoc. No one she knew had balanced both. There was either work or love. Wanting both felt like a huge ask, it felt like wishing for hot ice cream or a bitter sugar cube.”
Review can also be found on my blog
Oh my GOD, you were all so hard on this. I have two theories for so many 1/2 star reviews. 1) You guys were expecting something other than a slightly-cheesy romcom, or 2) Racism. Keeping in mind that when I say that, I don't mean "you hate indian people", I mean "this female indian-american protagonist didn't act the way you expected". FOR THE RECORD, I'm not saying that every single 1/2 star review is for either of those reasons, but judging by the multiple I've read that seems to be the theme.
I'm going to literally just address the complaints because I think most of them are bullshit:
I thought this would be about a girl at STEM camp, not so much romance. Yeah, no shit, it's a fucking romance. That is the genre. This is where the "you didn't know this was a romcom" thing comes in, because I think a lot of people genuinely thought this was going to be something other than a feel-good, romantic contemporary.
Dimple is a bitch, e.g. the iced coffee scene. This is, no offence, the stupidest criticism I've ever read in my entire life. The way the scene plays out is that Dimple is sitting at Starbucks by herself, enjoying her coffee, and then Rishi goes up to her and says "hello, my future wife". Dimple hasn't been made aware of the future-arranged-marriage thing and just thinks he's a weirdo. He then says "I can't wait to spend the rest of our lives together". So Dimple (who is a girl, by herself, who has been approached by a boy she doesn't know who made creepy, romantic comments) throws her iced coffee at him and runs. I'm not blaming Rishi for this, he didn't know that Dimple didn't know, but I definitely don't think Dimple was unjustified in her actions.
Dimple is abusive. Yeah, I don't see this. People cite the fact that she punches him several times, leaving out that each time is a light, friendly punch that people give their friends, because she does it when they're more-or-less strangers, friends, and friends with sexual tension.
Dimple hates other women and slut shames them. No she doesn't. She mentions several times that she doesn't like wearing make-up and doesn't care about her clothes, but that is always specifically in relation to the expectations her mother and culture places upon her. She also makes comments about other girls' wardrobes, but never is a deprecating way. The closest she gets is when she describes Celia and Isabelle's costumes for the talent show, and then she's specifically talking about how uncomfortable they look and how obvious it is that the guys decided on the costumes.
Again, I genuinely don't understand why people hate this book with such a passion. I thought it was fun and cute, with endearing characters, good banter, and an adorable romance. That scene towards the start when they're taking pictures with the polaroid? 💕💕💕 If you're looking for a light romcom with some slightly deeper themes of misogyny and racism, I would definitely recommend this.
I'm not going to lie, I was expecting to give this book no more than two stars but here we are.
There are so many great things about this book and here's a few of them:
- The characters. Natasha and Daniel are so endearing in different ways while also being flawed in a way that makes them feel like real people. The many supporting characters are the same, which is incredible because a lot of them you only know for a few pages.
- The way race was handled. I expected it to be good but I didn't expect it to be incredible. It's never a driving force for the story but it's also never forgotten. I especially loved the look at how people of colour can be racist.
- Natasha and Daniel's relationship, while being really unrealistic, was so incredibly sweet I couldn't help but fall in love with it.
- S C I E N C E! Despite not being a big fan of the subject in school, I love reading about it in books, and reading about Natasha's passion for it was one of my favourite parts of her chapters.
- The relationships the leads have with their parents was so interesting and realistic. Their parents aren't their best friends or their worst enemies; they're somewhere in between and it was done beautifully.
- I'm not gonna lie, I teared up a little while reading the epilogue. A true testament to how much these characters ended up meaning to me.
- My biggest praise is the writing. Nicola Yoon has a wonderful writing style that feels like a mash-up of many contemporary writers in the best way possible. It's fluffy, straight-to-the-point and poetic all at once, while never coming across as stupid or pretentious. She can write teenagers as the minors they are while still knowing that they're intelligent human beings. There are many points of view throughout the book, primarily Natasha and Daniel's but also multiple side characters, and each of these points of view was written in a slightly different way. If it hadn't been marked whose perspective it was, I'm confident I could have figured it out just by a brief inner monologue.
I completely get why people think this book is pretty meh. It has insta-love to the max and doesn't appear to have much going on. But I surprisingly loved it and definitely want to pick up more of Nicola Yoon's future works (I'm not going to read Everything, Everything though because I know the shitty twist and it's put me off)
There are so many great things about this book and here's a few of them:
- The characters. Natasha and Daniel are so endearing in different ways while also being flawed in a way that makes them feel like real people. The many supporting characters are the same, which is incredible because a lot of them you only know for a few pages.
- The way race was handled. I expected it to be good but I didn't expect it to be incredible. It's never a driving force for the story but it's also never forgotten. I especially loved the look at how people of colour can be racist.
- Natasha and Daniel's relationship, while being really unrealistic, was so incredibly sweet I couldn't help but fall in love with it.
- S C I E N C E! Despite not being a big fan of the subject in school, I love reading about it in books, and reading about Natasha's passion for it was one of my favourite parts of her chapters.
- The relationships the leads have with their parents was so interesting and realistic. Their parents aren't their best friends or their worst enemies; they're somewhere in between and it was done beautifully.
- I'm not gonna lie, I teared up a little while reading the epilogue. A true testament to how much these characters ended up meaning to me.
- My biggest praise is the writing. Nicola Yoon has a wonderful writing style that feels like a mash-up of many contemporary writers in the best way possible. It's fluffy, straight-to-the-point and poetic all at once, while never coming across as stupid or pretentious. She can write teenagers as the minors they are while still knowing that they're intelligent human beings. There are many points of view throughout the book, primarily Natasha and Daniel's but also multiple side characters, and each of these points of view was written in a slightly different way. If it hadn't been marked whose perspective it was, I'm confident I could have figured it out just by a brief inner monologue.
I completely get why people think this book is pretty meh. It has insta-love to the max and doesn't appear to have much going on. But I surprisingly loved it and definitely want to pick up more of Nicola Yoon's future works (I'm not going to read Everything, Everything though because I know the shitty twist and it's put me off)
2018 pride reads #6
lgbt+ rep: main f/f romance, main & side wlw
This book is the cutest!! I loved literally everything about it, from the plot to the writing to the characters to the romance, so I don't feel like there's much I can say. I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to read about a cute f/f romance.
(random tangent: at the end, aka the romantic climax that every good romcom has, the song Happy Together came into my head because that's the song that plays at the romantic climax of Imagine Me & You .)
lgbt+ rep: main f/f romance, main & side wlw
This book is the cutest!! I loved literally everything about it, from the plot to the writing to the characters to the romance, so I don't feel like there's much I can say. I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to read about a cute f/f romance.
(random tangent: at the end, aka the romantic climax that every good romcom has, the song Happy Together came into my head because that's the song that plays at the romantic climax of Imagine Me & You .)