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afretts's review against another edition
5.0
ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book was wonderful. I have to say I wasn't expecting all that much. I found The Syrena Legacy books to be just okay and didn't really understand why the third one was written in the first place. But Anna Banks is from my hometown and she went to my high school, so I will always be super excited to read her latest release.
The book takes place in Florida. The town is never specifically mentioned, but it's obviously a mix of Niceville and the surrounding areas (where the author is from). It was super weird to read about the Goodwill, high school, the skate park (which I live really close to and drive by several times a day!), the local mall, and a popular restaurant described. It was super cool though and almost made the book even more real to me because I could truly see what the author did when she was writing it. Very, very cool.
This isn't your typical high school romance. It delves deeper than that. Carly is the daughter of illegal immigrants who were deported, leaving her to live with her older brother, Julio. Both children work tirelessly to earn enough money to smuggle their parents and 2 siblings they have never met back over the border. Since she is always working the graveyard shift at a convenience store or studying (so she can get a scholarship) Carly has pretty much been robbed of a childhood. By chance, she meets Arden, a popular attractive schoolmate with issues and secrets of his own, and they become reluctant friends.
I adored this book. I loved how Arden slowly convinced Carly to be his friend and how they very slowly and reluctantly fell in love. The supporting characters were lovely- especially Uncle Cletus/Mr. Shackleford. It was super refreshing to read about a young romance where the characters had real issues that aren't usually written about. I don't know that I've ever read a book about immigration like this before. I loved how Carly struggled to balance her new desire to enjoy and live her own life with her need to support her family and live up to their expectations.
The book was also really unpredictable. I was surprised, multiple times, by the direction it took. I caught myself saying, "No way!" out loud several times while reading. I loved it!
It was so hard not to hate Julio and the rest of Carlotta’s family for the pressure they put on her and the way she was treated, but I did- I hated them. A lot. It was hard, I liked Carly so much that I wanted to like her family. I wanted to be able to see past all their faults and be like they love her. They just want everyone to be together. Unfortunately, as the story progressed, it became more and more clear that they were taking advantage and soon Carly’s only option would be to abandon ship. It’s like when you have a friend with a husband that’s kind of crap, but used to be good to her. They have small children so you want to see it work out, but at some point it’s just too toxic. She’s got to leave him, because even though it’s going to suck and be super sad, it’ll be better for her in the end. Carly’s family situation was truly tragic. She had no quick solutions or really any way to solve the problem. All options were terrible options. No way to fix anything without a lot of heartbreak on the way. Banks did an incredible job bringing this to life. My heart hurt so badly for Carly during any interactions with her family members or when she was being sacrificial for their benefit. I wanted to scoop her up and make it better, but really, there was no way to do so. I am not a wizard.
Every once in a while there was a line or two in this book that made me stop reading, take a deep breath, and say wow. Every once in a while Banks truly blew my mind with the words she wrote.
Also: Arden, what a babe.
Two complaints:
1) I didn't feel like I ever got a very clear picture of what the characters looked like. Arden has green eyes and Carly's hair is black, but I could never fully picture them other than that. I wish there had been more descriptive cues so I wouldn't have had to fill in the blanks myself.
2) The POV switch was painful. Why was Carly's perspective first person and Arden's third? Horrible. I hated this. The entire books should have been written in first person. The switch was so awkward. With every switch, I was taken out of the story and had to readjust to get back into it. I cannot stress enough how terrible this switch back and forth was.
Anna, I know you go to Barnes and Noble in Destin and sign copies of books there. I'll be on the lookout for a signed hardback copy of Joyride on June 2nd because this book is superb.
As always, this review is also posted to my blog: Crazy Something Maybe
This book was wonderful. I have to say I wasn't expecting all that much. I found The Syrena Legacy books to be just okay and didn't really understand why the third one was written in the first place. But Anna Banks is from my hometown and she went to my high school, so I will always be super excited to read her latest release.
The book takes place in Florida. The town is never specifically mentioned, but it's obviously a mix of Niceville and the surrounding areas (where the author is from). It was super weird to read about the Goodwill, high school, the skate park (which I live really close to and drive by several times a day!), the local mall, and a popular restaurant described. It was super cool though and almost made the book even more real to me because I could truly see what the author did when she was writing it. Very, very cool.
This isn't your typical high school romance. It delves deeper than that. Carly is the daughter of illegal immigrants who were deported, leaving her to live with her older brother, Julio. Both children work tirelessly to earn enough money to smuggle their parents and 2 siblings they have never met back over the border. Since she is always working the graveyard shift at a convenience store or studying (so she can get a scholarship) Carly has pretty much been robbed of a childhood. By chance, she meets Arden, a popular attractive schoolmate with issues and secrets of his own, and they become reluctant friends.
I adored this book. I loved how Arden slowly convinced Carly to be his friend and how they very slowly and reluctantly fell in love. The supporting characters were lovely- especially Uncle Cletus/Mr. Shackleford. It was super refreshing to read about a young romance where the characters had real issues that aren't usually written about. I don't know that I've ever read a book about immigration like this before. I loved how Carly struggled to balance her new desire to enjoy and live her own life with her need to support her family and live up to their expectations.
The book was also really unpredictable. I was surprised, multiple times, by the direction it took. I caught myself saying, "No way!" out loud several times while reading. I loved it!
It was so hard not to hate Julio and the rest of Carlotta’s family for the pressure they put on her and the way she was treated, but I did- I hated them. A lot. It was hard, I liked Carly so much that I wanted to like her family. I wanted to be able to see past all their faults and be like they love her. They just want everyone to be together. Unfortunately, as the story progressed, it became more and more clear that they were taking advantage and soon Carly’s only option would be to abandon ship. It’s like when you have a friend with a husband that’s kind of crap, but used to be good to her. They have small children so you want to see it work out, but at some point it’s just too toxic. She’s got to leave him, because even though it’s going to suck and be super sad, it’ll be better for her in the end. Carly’s family situation was truly tragic. She had no quick solutions or really any way to solve the problem. All options were terrible options. No way to fix anything without a lot of heartbreak on the way. Banks did an incredible job bringing this to life. My heart hurt so badly for Carly during any interactions with her family members or when she was being sacrificial for their benefit. I wanted to scoop her up and make it better, but really, there was no way to do so. I am not a wizard.
Every once in a while there was a line or two in this book that made me stop reading, take a deep breath, and say wow. Every once in a while Banks truly blew my mind with the words she wrote.
Also: Arden, what a babe.
Two complaints:
1) I didn't feel like I ever got a very clear picture of what the characters looked like. Arden has green eyes and Carly's hair is black, but I could never fully picture them other than that. I wish there had been more descriptive cues so I wouldn't have had to fill in the blanks myself.
2) The POV switch was painful. Why was Carly's perspective first person and Arden's third? Horrible. I hated this. The entire books should have been written in first person. The switch was so awkward. With every switch, I was taken out of the story and had to readjust to get back into it. I cannot stress enough how terrible this switch back and forth was.
Anna, I know you go to Barnes and Noble in Destin and sign copies of books there. I'll be on the lookout for a signed hardback copy of Joyride on June 2nd because this book is superb.
As always, this review is also posted to my blog: Crazy Something Maybe
altomariali's review against another edition
2.0
2.5-3 Stars
Hmmm...
What I liked:
-that the protagonist is a young, strong Latina woman
-that it told the story of how difficult life can be, not only for immigrants (especially those undocumented), but for children of undocumented immigrants
-that it highlighted injustices within our police systems and how corrupt/prejudiced/unjust cops can be
-how absolutely unfair and broken our immigration system is and how it rips families apart
-that it discussed how mental illness can affect a family's dynamic (albeit quite briefly)
What I didn't like:
-the narration switched from first-person (Carly's perspective) and third-person (Arden's perspective)... Wtf and WHY? Did not like
-not enough expansion on many parts of the storyline
-almost zero explanation of the events leading up to the ending--and that it was tied up WAY too neatly... I'm still confused about how certain events unfolded...
-the "epilogue" was just an additional chapter and didn't answer my questions/give me any closure
-some unattractive cliches and stereotyping (esp of Latina women)
-some misogynistic/sexist undertones and language throughout the story (i.e. "He's a man, Carly, and he's doing a man's job", use of "lady balls", toooo many comments regarding Carly's "deliciously curved" figure and what Arden was thinking about it *eye roll* etc.) - I get that some of these things are a realistic depiction of a young man's thoughts and behaviors but still, like, do we need to promote that, really... ? *another eye roll*
-I'm not sure if Anna Banks was the right person to tell this story...
I guess I feel like, in my opinion, stories like this are best when written by those who have experienced or witnessed events as personal and emotional as deportation (for example) firsthand. I'm not saying every book dealing with topics such as immigration, race, assault, etc. HAVE to be Own voices books, but I do think that they tend to portray a more authentic, raw depiction of the characters' stories when coming from someone who has gone through an experience similar to their characters'. I don't know, I guess I just feel that there are people better fit, in my opinion, to tell a story like Carly's than Anna Banks..?? All in all, I think it's a story that could open some peoples' eyes to what being the daughter of deported immigrants could be like and that IS important and I'm grateful for that!
Hmmm...
What I liked:
-that the protagonist is a young, strong Latina woman
-that it told the story of how difficult life can be, not only for immigrants (especially those undocumented), but for children of undocumented immigrants
-that it highlighted injustices within our police systems and how corrupt/prejudiced/unjust cops can be
-how absolutely unfair and broken our immigration system is and how it rips families apart
-that it discussed how mental illness can affect a family's dynamic (albeit quite briefly)
What I didn't like:
-the narration switched from first-person (Carly's perspective) and third-person (Arden's perspective)... Wtf and WHY? Did not like
-not enough expansion on many parts of the storyline
-almost zero explanation of the events leading up to the ending--and that it was tied up WAY too neatly... I'm still confused about how certain events unfolded...
-the "epilogue" was just an additional chapter and didn't answer my questions/give me any closure
-some unattractive cliches and stereotyping (esp of Latina women)
-some misogynistic/sexist undertones and language throughout the story (i.e. "He's a man, Carly, and he's doing a man's job", use of "lady balls", toooo many comments regarding Carly's "deliciously curved" figure and what Arden was thinking about it *eye roll* etc.) - I get that some of these things are a realistic depiction of a young man's thoughts and behaviors but still, like, do we need to promote that, really... ? *another eye roll*
-I'm not sure if Anna Banks was the right person to tell this story...
I guess I feel like, in my opinion, stories like this are best when written by those who have experienced or witnessed events as personal and emotional as deportation (for example) firsthand. I'm not saying every book dealing with topics such as immigration, race, assault, etc. HAVE to be Own voices books, but I do think that they tend to portray a more authentic, raw depiction of the characters' stories when coming from someone who has gone through an experience similar to their characters'. I don't know, I guess I just feel that there are people better fit, in my opinion, to tell a story like Carly's than Anna Banks..?? All in all, I think it's a story that could open some peoples' eyes to what being the daughter of deported immigrants could be like and that IS important and I'm grateful for that!
akristinab's review against another edition
4.0
This book was pretty interesting. It was hard to predict, which is always nice. Worth reading.
synergysel's review against another edition
4.0
This book surprised me, in a good way. It was am interesting take on immigration and what some families honestly do have to deal with. I appreciated the fact that Carly was a Mexican American girl who was just that. A girl. I don't know how many times Ive cringed reading a book that throws in way too many stereotypical situations, token Hispanic friend or even some of the phrasing. I wish the whole sheriff situation had of had a bit more depth to it, even Arden and Carly's escapades were a little bland. The ending was a little abrupt but I enjoyed it. Arden was great and Carly never made her way to that annoying stage that some leads do when they are trying so hard to not fall for the cute guy.
trisha_thomas's review against another edition
4.0
"Do I have you, Carly?" he says softly. "Do I have you like you have me?"
What a wonderful story. It's a love story but it's also a story about family - and how much a young girl should take on in order to save her family.
Carly is not your typical teenage girl. From the outside, she's a quiet "please don't see me" Junior in high school. She's got a secret, a reason she doesn't want to be seen. She works nights - long nights where she does her homework - at convenience story. that's nothing, her brother Julio juggles 2 jobs. All to save their money. Save and save and save.
but one night, at that store, a chance encounter happens. And suddenly, Carly isn't the girl that isn't seen anymore.
Because Arden sees her, and he can't stop looking at her.
I think my favorite part of the story was Arden. He's adorable in his aloof and completely silly way. He's all over the place, trying to figure Carly out. I love how loyal and spunky Carly was, not willing to let even her brother continue to push her around. This was a wonderful story. And that line above...... I held my breath when he said it ;)
What a wonderful story. It's a love story but it's also a story about family - and how much a young girl should take on in order to save her family.
Carly is not your typical teenage girl. From the outside, she's a quiet "please don't see me" Junior in high school. She's got a secret, a reason she doesn't want to be seen. She works nights - long nights where she does her homework - at convenience story. that's nothing, her brother Julio juggles 2 jobs. All to save their money. Save and save and save.
but one night, at that store, a chance encounter happens. And suddenly, Carly isn't the girl that isn't seen anymore.
Because Arden sees her, and he can't stop looking at her.
I think my favorite part of the story was Arden. He's adorable in his aloof and completely silly way. He's all over the place, trying to figure Carly out. I love how loyal and spunky Carly was, not willing to let even her brother continue to push her around. This was a wonderful story. And that line above...... I held my breath when he said it ;)
maggiemaggio's review against another edition
3.0
I picked up Joyride (which I literally us typed as "Joyread") because I thought it would be a sweet romance with a serious side story about illegal immigration. And that wasn't what it was at all. Which was ok because the illegal immigration story, which was very much of the focus of the book, ended up being pretty stellar and romance ended up not being stellar.
Let's get the worst part of this book out of the way first. The story is about Carly, an American citizen and high school senior whose parents were deported back to Mexico a few years before and Arden, a white guy who is also a senior in high school who's always been the cool football player and whose father is the sheriff of the town known for taking a hardline in immigration. I was not even a little bit a fan of the romance in this book and I blame 80% of that on the fact that the story was told in chapters alternating between Carly and Arden's perspectives. Which I don't love, but which was made so much worse by the fact that Carly's were in the first-person POV and Arden's were in the third-person POV. Carly's POV was fine, but Arden's third-person one somehow made him seem less like a real person and more like a cheesy idiot. I was probably never going to like the romance in this story, but the POVs made it so much worse.
And why wasn't I going to love the romance? It just didn't work. Carly is very focused on doing well in school and getting to go to college. She spends all of her time not in school or studying working to help her brother save money to sneak her parents and younger siblings back into the US. That is Carly's entire life. She has no friends or boyfriends and has zero other interests. Arden, although we never really get to see it, we're just told it, is the ultra-popular golden boy who, after a chance run in with Carly, takes an interest in her and recruits her to do these pranks with him (I'm not even going to go into the pranks because they were so stupid and unnecessary). And then his whole life is Carly. He has no other friends or previous girlfriends or anything. It was just so unbelievable.
Ok, enough of that. At this point you're probably wondering what I actually liked about the story. I liked Carly and her situation, well I didn't like her situation, but I thought it was an important story and one that was told beautifully. Carly is very much trying to do the right thing for her family, which she's always been taught is the most important thing in life, while still being true to herself. She lives with her older brother who works several jobs and has no life to try to bring their parents back to the States. Carly not only expects a lot from herself, her family expects a lot from her and they don't necessarily understand why she wants to do well in school and go to college. Carly's pain and inner conflict really came through as did the injustice of her situation.
As a rule I don't tend to enjoy menacing stories or storylines, but in this situation the storyline with the sinister guy Carly's brother pays to smuggle their family back into the US worked. The guy was terrible and scary, but he was terrible and scary in a very real way that did a great job at highlighting how completely broken the immigration system in this country really is.
Bottom Line: Joyride ending up being a lot more serious and a lot less fun than I expected. I didn't think a story about illegal immigration would be a riot, but I did expect the romance and the prank aspect of the story to help lighten things up. But the romance and prank storylines both fell flat and I could have done without either of them. This book really shined when it dealt with the broken immigration system and how Carly handled the guilt and pressure around trying to reunite her family while living her own life. If you're looking for a story about illegal immigration give this a read, but if you're looking for a romance or high school story skip over this.
I received an electronic review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley (thank you!). All opinions are my own.
This review first appeared on my blog.
Let's get the worst part of this book out of the way first. The story is about Carly, an American citizen and high school senior whose parents were deported back to Mexico a few years before and Arden, a white guy who is also a senior in high school who's always been the cool football player and whose father is the sheriff of the town known for taking a hardline in immigration. I was not even a little bit a fan of the romance in this book and I blame 80% of that on the fact that the story was told in chapters alternating between Carly and Arden's perspectives. Which I don't love, but which was made so much worse by the fact that Carly's were in the first-person POV and Arden's were in the third-person POV. Carly's POV was fine, but Arden's third-person one somehow made him seem less like a real person and more like a cheesy idiot. I was probably never going to like the romance in this story, but the POVs made it so much worse.
And why wasn't I going to love the romance? It just didn't work. Carly is very focused on doing well in school and getting to go to college. She spends all of her time not in school or studying working to help her brother save money to sneak her parents and younger siblings back into the US. That is Carly's entire life. She has no friends or boyfriends and has zero other interests. Arden, although we never really get to see it, we're just told it, is the ultra-popular golden boy who, after a chance run in with Carly, takes an interest in her and recruits her to do these pranks with him (I'm not even going to go into the pranks because they were so stupid and unnecessary). And then his whole life is Carly. He has no other friends or previous girlfriends or anything. It was just so unbelievable.
Ok, enough of that. At this point you're probably wondering what I actually liked about the story. I liked Carly and her situation, well I didn't like her situation, but I thought it was an important story and one that was told beautifully. Carly is very much trying to do the right thing for her family, which she's always been taught is the most important thing in life, while still being true to herself. She lives with her older brother who works several jobs and has no life to try to bring their parents back to the States. Carly not only expects a lot from herself, her family expects a lot from her and they don't necessarily understand why she wants to do well in school and go to college. Carly's pain and inner conflict really came through as did the injustice of her situation.
As a rule I don't tend to enjoy menacing stories or storylines, but in this situation the storyline with the sinister guy Carly's brother pays to smuggle their family back into the US worked. The guy was terrible and scary, but he was terrible and scary in a very real way that did a great job at highlighting how completely broken the immigration system in this country really is.
Bottom Line: Joyride ending up being a lot more serious and a lot less fun than I expected. I didn't think a story about illegal immigration would be a riot, but I did expect the romance and the prank aspect of the story to help lighten things up. But the romance and prank storylines both fell flat and I could have done without either of them. This book really shined when it dealt with the broken immigration system and how Carly handled the guilt and pressure around trying to reunite her family while living her own life. If you're looking for a story about illegal immigration give this a read, but if you're looking for a romance or high school story skip over this.
I received an electronic review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley (thank you!). All opinions are my own.
This review first appeared on my blog.
kstring's review against another edition
5.0
I am in love with this book. I couldn't get enough! Everything in this book is very believable and I loved seeing the progression of each character throughout the book. I loved it so much I bought it before I had even finished it haha...
Anyway, this is a very cute story about two very different teens falling in love (and not in a cheesy way) and trying to deal with the past. Gosh, I just really liked it. The writing style is amazing--I actually was looking into other books by this author just because I like the style so much only to find out I've already read her other series (which I also enjoyed).
I don't know what to say except it's a very cute little story that I would gladly pick up and read again. I enjoyed every moment I was sucked into this book and lived the lives of the characters. I felt what they felt and saw what they saw.
10/10 would recommend
Anyway, this is a very cute story about two very different teens falling in love (and not in a cheesy way) and trying to deal with the past. Gosh, I just really liked it. The writing style is amazing--I actually was looking into other books by this author just because I like the style so much only to find out I've already read her other series (which I also enjoyed).
I don't know what to say except it's a very cute little story that I would gladly pick up and read again. I enjoyed every moment I was sucked into this book and lived the lives of the characters. I felt what they felt and saw what they saw.
10/10 would recommend
scrollsofdragons's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this so much, could not put it down around about the 3rd quarter mark. While I feel it wrapped up well and the ending is not what I had a problem with, more that I felt some scenes that should have been prominent were just missing.
Like with her brother, they have this massive disagreement and that's shown but them making up weren't. And talking about the ending, like it went from this climax scene and the next chapter, it's told to us what happened because of it instead of shown. And other moments that were cut. I don't see why this book was so short, because being so it couldn't completely hit the mark.
Like with her brother, they have this massive disagreement and that's shown but them making up weren't. And talking about the ending, like it went from this climax scene and the next chapter, it's told to us what happened because of it instead of shown. And other moments that were cut. I don't see why this book was so short, because being so it couldn't completely hit the mark.
theaudioauditor's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0