Review: Lucky Boy by Shanthi Sekaran

Lucky Boy

by Shanthi Sekaran

Source: eARC provided for review. Thank you!

My Rating: 4 stars

Goodreads/ Amazon/ TBD

Summary:

Solimar Castro Valdez is eighteen and dazed with optimism when she embarks on a perilous journey across the US/Mexican border. Weeks later she arrives on her cousin's doorstep in Berkeley, CA, dazed by first love found then lost, and pregnant. This was not the plan. But amid the uncertainty of new motherhood and her American identity, Soli learns that when you have just one precious possession, you guard it with your life. For Soli, motherhood becomes her dwelling and the boy at her breast her hearth... Kavya Reddy has always followed her heart, much to her parents' chagrin. A mostly contented chef at a UC Berkeley sorority house, the unexpected desire to have a child descends like a cyclone in Kavya's mid-thirties. When she can't get pregnant, this desire will test her marriage, it will test her sanity, and it will set Kavya and her husband, Rishi, on a collision course with Soli, when she is detained and her infant son comes under Kavya's care. As Kavya learns to be a mother--the singing, story-telling, inventor-of-the-universe kind of mother she fantasized about being--she builds her love on a fault line, her heart wrapped around someone else's child.

 ****

Lucky Boy by Shanthi Sekaran is one of the best and more inclusive books I’ve read since I started reading in English. This is not my usual read because I read mostly YA books and Lucky Boy featured Adult characters: a Mexican (and pregnant) young woman and an Indian (and long married) couple.

Lucky boy is told from the POV of Soli, a Mexican girl who leaves her quiet town looking for the American Dream and her raw and heartbreaking journey as an immigrant.
Maybe because her story is similar to many stories I know and because her town is very similar to mine (even if we live in different countries) I was instantly hooked to her POV and I found her voice to be honest and strong. And I loved the writing! Despite all the bad things happening to Soli, there was something almost magical about the way she described her everyday life.

And then, there were Kavya and Rishi. I loved them deeply too. Their story wasn’t as heartbreaking as Soli’s but it was truthful and deep. I’m not familiar with the Indian culture, so I don’t know if Shanthi Sekaran does justice to their rich traditions and culture with Kavya’s voice (and the few scenes with Rishi’s POV), but they were joyful and so lovely.

The synopsis gives away too much of the plot, just like the title. Lucky Boy is the story of a Lucky Boy, Ignacio. Soli’s son. She’s not pregnant when the book starts. She gets pregnant in her way to the US, and after some twists and turns, Ignacio ends up with Kavya and Rishi, his new foster family.
There’s so much more after that, of course, but I won’t tell anymore because of spoilers, but let me tell you this:
Lucky Boy is a story of immigrants, too. Legal and illegal immigrants. This is such an important topic and I’m so glad it exists because it made me more empathetic and sensitive toward immigrants (yes, me! A person with a lot of immigrant friends!) It made me understand how hard is their life so far away from their home, and their struggle to find a new one.

Lucky Boy is a well written and thought-provoking read. With honest, diverse and likable characters, it’s a book you’ll enjoy even if it’s not your “usual genre”. I’m so glad I did!
I hope you all give it a chance.

 

 

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Review: The Sun Is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon

The Sun Is Also A Star

by Nicola Yoon

Source: ARC provided for review. Thank you!

My rating: 5 stars

GoodReads/ Amazon/ TBD/ B&N

Summary:

Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story.

Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us.

The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?

*****

I’d love to thank Penguin Random House for the chance to read an early copy of this book. Sadly, I couldn’t read before the release date (I’ve been a little ill), but now I finally read it and I loved it.

The Sun Is Also a Star is my first book by Nicola Yoon, and it was everything I’ve been told!

I’ve never read a book like this before. The writing was beautiful and the format was unexpected. This book was probably the best diverse book I’ve read this year. The characters were so well developed and I loved every one of them.

This was such a deep and fast paced read. TSIAAS is narrated by Natasha and Daniel with the POVs of random secondary characters. How cool is that? I loved it because I always wonder what’s happening to all the people I don’t know. That made me fall in love with the book even more.

The Sun Is Also a Star is about destiny or coincidence. It’s about how we’re all the same, no matter the country or continent you come from.

I have to admit I was a bit doubtful about The Sun Is Also a Star because it has an insta-love. And I hate insta-love more than anything. But the author created an atmosphere so vivid and splendid that I forgot the story plays out in one day. I’ve read books like this before (like Graffiti Moon if I’m not wrong) and I loved them as well. There’s stupid insta-love and there’s sweet and meant to be-like insta-love.

So, yes, I kinda liked the insta-love. I loved the characters, the setting, the writing, the plot.

But what I liked the most was how realistic it was about the situation with immigrants.

Beware, because this is a very personal opinion.

I live in my own country. A poor country. A violent country (in fact, my country is mentioned in the book as one of the places with the highest homicide rates). I don’t have many relatives living in the US, but ALL my friends, I kid you not, live there. They are immigrants. They went because our country is ruined. They went looking for a better chance at life for their families or they kids.

One of the hardest things that Natasha portrayed in the book is that THIS (the place where they were born) is not their country anymore. Yes, they were born here and their family is here, but you know what? Something that many people don’t say is that we, the people still living in our country, are resentful of immigrants. We still love them, but there’s a tiny part of us thinking “you don’t belong here anymore.” Can you imagine how hard it is for immigrants feeling like they don’t belong here or there?

I’ve met people who almost killed themselves because they were so depressed after being deported.

The Sun Is Also a Star is not only a good written book with lovely characters and plot. It’s an important book.

So well deserved 5 stars for this one.

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Review: Girl In Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow

Girl in Pieces

by Kathleen Glasgow

Source: Provided for review. Thank you!

My Rating: 6 stars *Favorite*

GoodReads/ Amazon/ TBD/ B&N

Summary:

Charlotte Davis is in pieces. At seventeen she’s already lost more than most people lose in a lifetime. But she’s learned how to forget. The broken glass washes away the sorrow until there is nothing but calm. You don’t have to think about your father and the river. Your best friend, who is gone forever. Or your mother, who has nothing left to give you.
 Every new scar hardens Charlie’s heart just a little more, yet it still hurts so much. It hurts enough to not care anymore, which is sometimes what has to happen before you can find your way back from the edge.  

A deeply moving portrait of a teenage girl on the verge of losing herself and the journey she must take to survive in her own skin, Kathleen Glasgow’s debut is heartbreakingly real and unflinchingly honest. It’s a story you won’t be able to look away from.

******

I think I’ve said this everywhere, but here I am saying it again: GIRL IN PIECES by Kathleen Glasgow was my best surprise of this year!

I started reading this book without high expectations. I didn’t add it to Goodreads, because I never put attention to it before, but it amazed me from the first chapter. The writing of this book is raw and beautiful. I just couldn’t stop reading.

Girl in Pieces is about Charlie’s journeys to overcome her dark past. She’s probably the most broken and damaged main character I’ve met yet. Her story is heavy and painful. It was brutally honest.

There are so many things I loved about this book. It was perfection.

Writing: Beautiful, poignant, haunting.

Characters: Realistic, well developed, unforgettable.

Plot: Brutal, honest, gut-wrenching.

This book made me feel! It made me understand Charlie in a way I would never before. This book was hard to read sometimes because it’s cruel and there’s so much pain, but it was necessary. This book is POWERFUL.

All characters in this book are dealing with their own problems, just like every person in real life. Sometimes Charlie is with wrong people for the wrong reasons, like you, like me.

And just when I thought: “Finally! Something good’s about to happen” I was wrong again. There were so many things I didn’t see coming.

I don’t think I have enough words to describe how wonderful was this book, but I do think it’s a necessary read. Kathleen Glasgow’s debut is one of my favorite pieces of literature of this year. I  would never forget it.

Girl In Pieces is a beautiful book with messed up characters learning from their mistakes. It’s heartbreakingly captivating and hey, there’s a word I learned just to describe this book: spellbound.

I loved it. I highly recommend it to everyone. 

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Review: Holding Up The Universe by Jennifer Niven

Holding Up The Universe

by Jennifer Niven

My Rating: 4 stars

Source: ARC provided for review. Thank you!

GoodReads/ Amazon/ TBD

Summary:

Everyone thinks they know Libby Strout, the girl once dubbed “America’s Fattest Teen.” But no one’s taken the time to look past her weight to get to know who she really is. Following her mom’s death, she’s been picking up the pieces in the privacy of her home, dealing with her heartbroken father and her own grief. Now, Libby’s ready: for high school, for new friends, for love, and for EVERY POSSIBILITY LIFE HAS TO OFFER. In that moment, I know the part I want to play here at MVB High. I want to be the girl who can do anything. 

Everyone thinks they know Jack Masselin, too. Yes, he’s got swagger, but he’s also mastered the impossible art of giving people what they want, of fitting in. What no one knows is that Jack has a newly acquired secret: he can’t recognize faces. Even his own brothers are strangers to him. He’s the guy who can re-engineer and rebuild anything in new and bad-ass ways, but he can’t understand what’s going on with the inner workings of his brain. So he tells himself to play it cool: Be charming. Be hilarious. Don’t get too close to anyone.  

Until he meets Libby. When the two get tangled up in a cruel high school game—which lands them in group counseling and community service—Libby and Jack are both pissed, and then surprised. Because the more time they spend together, the less alone they feel. . . . Because sometimes when you meet someone, it changes the world, theirs and yours.

 ****

Jennifer Niven is one of the nicest authors out there. All The Bright Places is one of my favorite books. Ever.

So, when I heard about her new book I was dying to read it. I couldn’t wait. Thankfully I got an ARC (thanks so much PRH Global!) and I couldn’t be happier.

Jennifer Niven once again delivers a brilliant and poignant story about finding yourself, second chances and the wonderful magic of falling in love for the first time.

The story starts with a letter from Jack to someone writing about his biggest secret: he has prosopagnosia, a condition that makes it impossible for him to recognize faces. It’s fair to say that the book caught me right away; I couldn’t wait to know how that condition was portrayed and how Jack was dealing with it.

Then, there’s Libby. She’s going back to school for the first time after some years. After she received the title of: “American’s Fattest Teen.”

I know some people have issues with the summary of this book, but let me tell you this: Holding Up The Universe is respectful and realistic in every sense. Before judging, ask yourself this: Have any of this happened to you? Because yeah, I was fat when I was a kid, I wasn’t bullied cruelty, but my worst enemy was me. So, I can totally relate to Libby.

Jack and Libby are lovable characters. Their stories are heartbreaking and their journey is tough, but they have bright spirits and the attitude every person should have.

I don’t even know how to explain how good this book made me feel. And that’s the best thing. It. Made. Me. Feel.

Empathy, respect, delight, admiration, camaraderie, understanding.

I loved how Jennifer Niven created such a diverse cast of characters and how each one of them was unique in their own way.

I loved how the love story developed. Slow and sweet. There was no need to rush things and the author did a great job portraying their emotions and fears. I, personally, don’t think the plot focused only in their love story.

Holding Up The Universe made me realize how much we can hurt people even without meaning to.

This book is about being seen and finding courage. It has such a positive message. I wish every teen out there can read it and realize they are WANTED.

Jack and Libby are one of those larger-than-life characters I’ll never forget.

I highly recommend this book to everyone. Thanks God, it doesn’t have a heartbreaking ending, but one full of cheerfulness and hope.

If you want a smile on your face, then go ahead and read this book.

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