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mmeagan's review against another edition
4.0
I honestly liked this book. This author is a bit of guilty pleasure of mine. Like some good junk food. I think compared to his earlier works, the author has improved.
Things I liked:
- How Carlos was processing loss. (Trying to stay in the present, referring to events and mindsets in Capital Letters, shifting between grief, anger, happiness, and contentment & how the world looked and changed depending on how he was feeling).
- The trope of being followed by a ghost/hallucination (A++ in my book, especially since he appeared in different forms and as part of the setting. I like how it's left up to interpretation whether he was real or not.)
- That Carlos kinda "lost" everything at the end (relationship & restaurant), but that's ok, because he wasn't meant to sty there, it was only a chapter of his life. It was to teach him to live life again and figure out what he wanted to do with his life and then move on and go do it).
- All the cooking & recipes at the beginning of each chapter.
- Showing how brutal a kitchen workplace can be.
- As I've said in my other reviews of his previous books: I would reread a few lines because I like the way he describes things.
-Loved the Mexican bg of the character.
- Liked the difficult relationship with his parents, the way he treated them (and how they treated him) wasn't always loving and was messy but was realistic.
Didn't like:
- A personal opinion, but I don't like 1st pov. Not that it wasn't done well in this novel, but I would still prefer 3rd pov.
- How quickly the ending wrapped up. I would have liked to see him start to go after his dreams a little before the end.
- That she messaged him at the end, it's up for interpretation, but they really shouldn't get back together imo.
Glad I read this novel and ended by year (2020) with it!
Things I liked:
- How Carlos was processing loss. (Trying to stay in the present, referring to events and mindsets in Capital Letters, shifting between grief, anger, happiness, and contentment & how the world looked and changed depending on how he was feeling).
- The trope of being followed by a ghost/hallucination (A++ in my book, especially since he appeared in different forms and as part of the setting. I like how it's left up to interpretation whether he was real or not.)
- That Carlos kinda "lost" everything at the end (relationship & restaurant), but that's ok, because he wasn't meant to sty there, it was only a chapter of his life. It was to teach him to live life again and figure out what he wanted to do with his life and then move on and go do it).
- All the cooking & recipes at the beginning of each chapter.
- Showing how brutal a kitchen workplace can be.
- As I've said in my other reviews of his previous books: I would reread a few lines because I like the way he describes things.
-Loved the Mexican bg of the character.
- Liked the difficult relationship with his parents, the way he treated them (and how they treated him) wasn't always loving and was messy but was realistic.
Didn't like:
- A personal opinion, but I don't like 1st pov. Not that it wasn't done well in this novel, but I would still prefer 3rd pov.
- How quickly the ending wrapped up. I would have liked to see him start to go after his dreams a little before the end.
- That she messaged him at the end, it's up for interpretation, but they really shouldn't get back together imo.
Glad I read this novel and ended by year (2020) with it!
brittanya's review
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
cerasparkles's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
emmaas_bookshelf's review against another edition
3.0
A wholesome story unlike any other I’ve read before. A story about loss and life and following your dreams. I felt it was a little dry and prolonged and the climax was just meh
nklosty's review against another edition
4.0
I listened to the story of Carlos. I enjoyed the budding romance that developed between Carlos and Emma. The restaurant setting was something new for me. I'm not sure what I thought about Felix 'episodes', but the story was solid. 89
indecisivesailorscout's review against another edition
4.0
It reminded me of Like Water For Chocolate in the way that it made me feel on the edge of tears the entire time I read it. But it was still very good. RTC!
girlinthepages's review against another edition
3.0
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.Many thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!
As a reader, I'd been curious about North of Happy for quite a while. I hadn't read any of Alsaid's previous work, but I had heard a lot of buzz surrounding both Let's Get Lost and Never Always Sometimes, so I was surprised that this one had seemed to fly under my radar. I'm also a HUGE fan of FoodNetwork, Chef's Table, food blogs, etc. so seeing a YA book explore a protagonist with similar interests (and a great deal more talent than I possess) was a draw as well.
While North of Happy definitely had a focus on food, it had a larger focus on family and dealing with death and grief, and I loved seeing how that manifested in the protagonist's desire to pursue a culinary career. Protagonist Carlos was different than his spontaneous older brother Felix in many ways, but they were linked by their passion for food. So when Carlos is grieving Felix, it's fitting that he's drawn to cooking, to creating, to a form of expression that provides not only a constructive outlet for his anger and grief and confusion, but also serves to soothe and comfort others. It also provided a lot of realistic insight into the not often glamorous life of working in a kitchen, from the late nights to early mornings, beginning at the bottom of the pack and increasing your status dish by dish (in Carlos' case literally, as he lands a spot as a dishwasher in a premiere restaurant on a sleepy island off the coast of Seattle).
Carlos' story is also one of travel and self exploration, as he leaves his birthplace of Mexico City to chase an obscure dream in the Pacific Northwest after seeing a thriving and innovative restaurant featured on TV. I am always a huge fan of novels that portray protagonist navigating two cultures and sharing in their unique experiences, and North of Happy was no exception. There's a touch of magical realism in the writing that's likely born from the protagonist/author's Latinx roots, in the way Felix manifests to Carlos in the everyday elements of his life, from animals passing by to the soap suds on the dishes he scrubs for twelve hours a day. Rather than be a commentary on mental illness, it feels like a natural part of the storytelling, a device to portray just how insular Carlos' world has become since the death of his beloved older brother, and how it fogs the way he interacts with the rest of the world.
While I loved the unique storytelling, small island setting and of course the food descriptions (especially how each chapter started with a recipe!) there were some elements of the novel that didn't impress me as much. There's a romance between Carlos and a girl he meets on the island which has its sweet moments, but ultimately felt distracting to the larger overall themes happening with grief, coming of age, career goals, etc. The book also ended on what I felt was a rather melancholy, unfair tone, that negated a lot of the work that Carlos had done over one mistake, which made me frustrated as a reader since I had spent so much time rooting for him throughout his journey.
Overall: As a foodie, North of Happy was an incredible read and one that I'd love to recommend to anyone who finds themselves watching cooking shows or chef documentaries, whether for wish-fulfillment or for practice. It captured the culture of that world incredibly well. However, the story ultimately ended in a way that was unsatisfying and I hoped for more for the protagonist. However, I definitely see myself trying more of Adi Alsaid's books in the future and would love to learn more about his own background and relationship with food/cooking, as its an element I've seen so rarely explored in YA!This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages
As a reader, I'd been curious about North of Happy for quite a while. I hadn't read any of Alsaid's previous work, but I had heard a lot of buzz surrounding both Let's Get Lost and Never Always Sometimes, so I was surprised that this one had seemed to fly under my radar. I'm also a HUGE fan of FoodNetwork, Chef's Table, food blogs, etc. so seeing a YA book explore a protagonist with similar interests (and a great deal more talent than I possess) was a draw as well.
While North of Happy definitely had a focus on food, it had a larger focus on family and dealing with death and grief, and I loved seeing how that manifested in the protagonist's desire to pursue a culinary career. Protagonist Carlos was different than his spontaneous older brother Felix in many ways, but they were linked by their passion for food. So when Carlos is grieving Felix, it's fitting that he's drawn to cooking, to creating, to a form of expression that provides not only a constructive outlet for his anger and grief and confusion, but also serves to soothe and comfort others. It also provided a lot of realistic insight into the not often glamorous life of working in a kitchen, from the late nights to early mornings, beginning at the bottom of the pack and increasing your status dish by dish (in Carlos' case literally, as he lands a spot as a dishwasher in a premiere restaurant on a sleepy island off the coast of Seattle).
Carlos' story is also one of travel and self exploration, as he leaves his birthplace of Mexico City to chase an obscure dream in the Pacific Northwest after seeing a thriving and innovative restaurant featured on TV. I am always a huge fan of novels that portray protagonist navigating two cultures and sharing in their unique experiences, and North of Happy was no exception. There's a touch of magical realism in the writing that's likely born from the protagonist/author's Latinx roots, in the way Felix manifests to Carlos in the everyday elements of his life, from animals passing by to the soap suds on the dishes he scrubs for twelve hours a day. Rather than be a commentary on mental illness, it feels like a natural part of the storytelling, a device to portray just how insular Carlos' world has become since the death of his beloved older brother, and how it fogs the way he interacts with the rest of the world.
While I loved the unique storytelling, small island setting and of course the food descriptions (especially how each chapter started with a recipe!) there were some elements of the novel that didn't impress me as much. There's a romance between Carlos and a girl he meets on the island which has its sweet moments, but ultimately felt distracting to the larger overall themes happening with grief, coming of age, career goals, etc. The book also ended on what I felt was a rather melancholy, unfair tone, that negated a lot of the work that Carlos had done over one mistake, which made me frustrated as a reader since I had spent so much time rooting for him throughout his journey.
Overall: As a foodie, North of Happy was an incredible read and one that I'd love to recommend to anyone who finds themselves watching cooking shows or chef documentaries, whether for wish-fulfillment or for practice. It captured the culture of that world incredibly well. However, the story ultimately ended in a way that was unsatisfying and I hoped for more for the protagonist. However, I definitely see myself trying more of Adi Alsaid's books in the future and would love to learn more about his own background and relationship with food/cooking, as its an element I've seen so rarely explored in YA!This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages