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lnlee78's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book but I'm not sure if "the cute teen lesbian romance we always wanted" is an accurate description for it (if that's the expectation that people had for this book, I can see why they were disappointed!). IMO, it seemed to be more about the story of a girl whose dad is unfaithful, and how that affects her as she tries to grapple with her identity (racial, sexual, etc.), relationships (with SOs, friends, parents, etc.), and sense of self.
As a bi individual, I appreciated the Asian queer rep in this book (which I thought was well-done even though it may not be "own voices"), and I esp appreciated the fact that Sana went from thinking she was straight-->considered the possibility of being lesbian and felt shame for it because of her highly traditional Asian background-->accepted herself as a lesbian+found love-->questioned whether she is lesbian or bi/tried to date a boy because of external pressures to be a "normal Asian girl"-->completely accepted herself as a lesbian/owned up to her mistakes before finally being accepted by family and friends. It was a bit messy, I know, but as someone who comes from a similar background as Sana, it felt more genuine and true to home than the "I'm confident in my queer identity" non-Asian queer stories that I've seen in YA before.
And although I acknowledge the fact that the Latinx rep might be problematic, I think the book accurately depicted the views of the Asian parents/teens I have known in my life (again, just my experience as the daughter of highly racist Asian parents who also have friends that are similarly racist). Sana's exploration of the different POC social groups in a diverse high school and how each has their own micro-aggressions against the other also rang very painfully true to me. And I appreciated the fact that Sugiura not only addressed those racist ideas as problematic but also showed how Sana learned that she herself was not "color blind" due to her own upbringing and learned to own up to her mistakes. I also SCREAMED in the scene with the white cop, since everything the white cop said to Sana to set up Asians as a "model minority" to put them apart/against other POC groups (down to the "oh (this asian country) is so clean! There are lots of good food there! People are so nice and there is no crime because there aren't any (THIS group of people)!") was something I experienced in my own life in the Bay Area (PSA to white people in case it wasn't obvious: this is also a form of racism, since it not only says Asians are 'exotic' but also pits a POC group against another.)
On a personal level, I definitely appreciated the beginning of the book, when Sana first realizes that she will NEVER fit in with her all-white friends no matter how much she thinks she does, as well as the culture shock she received when she moved to a more diverse area, in which she strangely/sadly felt like an Other, too, even among other Asians (that was me while growing up, too). The progression of her relationships with her parents as well as the conversations she has with her mother towards the end were also very emotional and important for me (I cried a LOT).
This book is messy. It confronts issues and boldly includes conversations that might make some readers uncomfortable. It contains complicated relationships and yes, there is cheating in this book. The cheating was especially painful to read, personally, but as someone who grew up with friends who had to deal with cheating fathers early on and witnessed how that messed up how THEY themselves dealt with their own personal relationships (i.e.: gave them fearful/unstable views about relationships, just like Sana's)...I felt like Sana's personal journey (and her mistakes) was sadly very accurate, in the psychological sense.
So TL;DR: this book isn't just a "sweet lesbian romance." YES, it has very cute girl-romance scenes that I adored, but this book is more of a coming-of-age story of a girl who comes from a "messy" background (b/c of her parents' backstories/views) who learns about herself, owns up to her mistakes, and pursues who/what she truly wants. And for that, this book felt incredibly important.
As a bi individual, I appreciated the Asian queer rep in this book (which I thought was well-done even though it may not be "own voices"), and I esp appreciated the fact that Sana went from thinking she was straight-->considered the possibility of being lesbian and felt shame for it because of her highly traditional Asian background-->accepted herself as a lesbian+found love-->questioned whether she is lesbian or bi/tried to date a boy because of external pressures to be a "normal Asian girl"-->completely accepted herself as a lesbian/owned up to her mistakes before finally being accepted by family and friends. It was a bit messy, I know, but as someone who comes from a similar background as Sana, it felt more genuine and true to home than the "I'm confident in my queer identity" non-Asian queer stories that I've seen in YA before.
And although I acknowledge the fact that the Latinx rep might be problematic, I think the book accurately depicted the views of the Asian parents/teens I have known in my life (again, just my experience as the daughter of highly racist Asian parents who also have friends that are similarly racist). Sana's exploration of the different POC social groups in a diverse high school and how each has their own micro-aggressions against the other also rang very painfully true to me. And I appreciated the fact that Sugiura not only addressed those racist ideas as problematic but also showed how Sana learned that she herself was not "color blind" due to her own upbringing and learned to own up to her mistakes. I also SCREAMED in the scene with the white cop, since everything the white cop said to Sana to set up Asians as a "model minority" to put them apart/against other POC groups (down to the "oh (this asian country) is so clean! There are lots of good food there! People are so nice and there is no crime because there aren't any (THIS group of people)!") was something I experienced in my own life in the Bay Area (PSA to white people in case it wasn't obvious: this is also a form of racism, since it not only says Asians are 'exotic' but also pits a POC group against another.)
On a personal level, I definitely appreciated the beginning of the book, when Sana first realizes that she will NEVER fit in with her all-white friends no matter how much she thinks she does, as well as the culture shock she received when she moved to a more diverse area, in which she strangely/sadly felt like an Other, too, even among other Asians (that was me while growing up, too). The progression of her relationships with her parents as well as the conversations she has with her mother towards the end were also very emotional and important for me (I cried a LOT).
This book is messy. It confronts issues and boldly includes conversations that might make some readers uncomfortable. It contains complicated relationships and yes, there is cheating in this book. The cheating was especially painful to read, personally, but as someone who grew up with friends who had to deal with cheating fathers early on and witnessed how that messed up how THEY themselves dealt with their own personal relationships (i.e.: gave them fearful/unstable views about relationships, just like Sana's)...I felt like Sana's personal journey (and her mistakes) was sadly very accurate, in the psychological sense.
So TL;DR: this book isn't just a "sweet lesbian romance." YES, it has very cute girl-romance scenes that I adored, but this book is more of a coming-of-age story of a girl who comes from a "messy" background (b/c of her parents' backstories/views) who learns about herself, owns up to her mistakes, and pursues who/what she truly wants. And for that, this book felt incredibly important.
whatcandicereads's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted to like this book. In fact, I wanted to love this book. It places focus on identities that simply weren’t mentioned in my YA books when I was going through middle and high school. The first half was great. I loved the characters Sana and Jamie, but the middle is when things got rocky for me.
I’d recommend it, but only with a reminder that this *is* a YA novel and is likely intended for younger readers- many of whom may not grapple with issues of race, prejudice, and stereotyping on a regular basis. Sana is only in high school and to her credit, wasn’t confronted with harsh issues of race until later in her life, but I still don’t like the way she was allowed to be so loud and wrong about a community she knew nothing about. In my opinion, her comments about Latinx individuals were left unsettled and simply tied up with a “She said sorry and now we all forgive and forget” message. I have a lot of feelings about this- will likely revisit this review later.
I’d recommend it, but only with a reminder that this *is* a YA novel and is likely intended for younger readers- many of whom may not grapple with issues of race, prejudice, and stereotyping on a regular basis. Sana is only in high school and to her credit, wasn’t confronted with harsh issues of race until later in her life, but I still don’t like the way she was allowed to be so loud and wrong about a community she knew nothing about. In my opinion, her comments about Latinx individuals were left unsettled and simply tied up with a “She said sorry and now we all forgive and forget” message. I have a lot of feelings about this- will likely revisit this review later.
melissaverasreads's review against another edition
3.0
This was REALLY entertaining but the protagonist was not good, and there was a plot point that bothered me A LOT. I'm giving it a 3 because I was really invested in the story but maybe in the future, looking back, I was going to be like what was I thinking, this was a 2.5.
Spoiler
about cheatinglindaixchel's review against another edition
5.0
This story hit right in the feels. It was perfect. Light and sweet and genuine, the kind of books that rings true. The kind of book that feels like home.
"From which the truth breaks moist and green."
This book is going to be one for the re-reads. One that reminds me, that it's okay to be different.
This book is a literal gift. The kind of gift you cherish. The kind of gift that reminds you what it's like to feel loved.
Reread: I still love it ❤️
"From which the truth breaks moist and green."
This book is going to be one for the re-reads. One that reminds me, that it's okay to be different.
This book is a literal gift. The kind of gift you cherish. The kind of gift that reminds you what it's like to feel loved.
Reread: I still love it ❤️
sweetrosegirl76's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not really sure how I feel about the book. Did I like it? Did I hate it? I feel like the answer to both of those questions is a no. I think I'm just not a big fan of contemporary books, it was kind of hard to figure out the plot I'm really not here for journey I want plot that goes with it. I did appreciate the poems in the book because I feel like sometimes I don't really understand poetry I like to hear other people's interpretation of it. In terms of character development I think yes sana is becoming more of herself and I'm here for it but I don't know it was a very easy read but kind of boring? These are just my initial thoughts maybe I'll make an addition in the future? Maybe this book just wasn't meant for me and that's okay.
The book goes pretty quickly. The scenes that aren't really important are glossed over and mentioned in a few sentences what the character does. If a scene is important, then of course it goes into more detail but the events in between read faster than any other book I've ever read because they're just very short sentences to let you know that something happened but they don't really go into detail about it. I don't hate that but it is different from most books I've read I can't remember a book having it be so obvious like that? Not sure how to explain this very well. I'm also not sure why it throws me off? It's almost like it rushes through to get to the part she wants to talk about. It feels so obvious, it feels kind of like my writing which I always thought was not acceptable because of how I skim through things that aren't important. I thought that skimming meant that you were not a good writer but I can see that that's not true when I read this book.
The book goes pretty quickly. The scenes that aren't really important are glossed over and mentioned in a few sentences what the character does. If a scene is important, then of course it goes into more detail but the events in between read faster than any other book I've ever read because they're just very short sentences to let you know that something happened but they don't really go into detail about it. I don't hate that but it is different from most books I've read I can't remember a book having it be so obvious like that? Not sure how to explain this very well. I'm also not sure why it throws me off? It's almost like it rushes through to get to the part she wants to talk about. It feels so obvious, it feels kind of like my writing which I always thought was not acceptable because of how I skim through things that aren't important. I thought that skimming meant that you were not a good writer but I can see that that's not true when I read this book.
lydiastorytime's review against another edition
5.0
A beautiful and cute story! I loved that the author took us on the mental and physical journey of the main character. this book had honest and interesting conversations about race and culture. I loved the ideas of what gaman means and looks like. I loved the poetry and introspection.
lsparrow's review against another edition
3.0
a YA romance - perhaps the not the most original although I loved the alternate look at family/monogomy/marriage which redeemed the story for me. I find the narrative of relationship breakdown due to lack of openness a plot twist that I am so over. Perhaps it is so common but I find it so annoying. It is worse than plan old miss understanding - the assumptions and lack of communication and jumping to conclusions feels so avoidable.
theycallmelech's review against another edition
3.0
Right, so this was actually really cute and I felt it represented Japanese culture pretty well to an 'outsider' like me, especially how the family's uncommunicative ways affect Sana. But at the same time it annoyed me endlessly how she kept thinking her answers instead of saying them out loud, which is not a Japanese thing, but absolutely a YA thing. Also, I'm getting real tired of the whole 'if the author writes that something is funny, this book now has comedy' in YA. Like, No? Most of the time people are just boring and the author just wants it to look like they're having a good time, not feel.
Now to the plot. There were several WTF moments for me, like when Sana is super racist towards Jamie's friends and she's just like "It'll be fine" and they continue to 'heart eyes' at each other. Also that poem was great and all but it doesn't fix Sana's racism. And why would you just kiss people - Caleb - if you aren't good at showing affection, mostly physically. Who just goes around kissing people to see what happens, when you know you're a lesbian!?
Now to the plot. There were several WTF moments for me, like when Sana is super racist towards Jamie's friends and she's just like "It'll be fine" and they continue to 'heart eyes' at each other. Also that poem was great and all but it doesn't fix Sana's racism. And why would you just kiss people - Caleb - if you aren't good at showing affection, mostly physically. Who just goes around kissing people to see what happens, when you know you're a lesbian!?
percyvale's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars! Not a fan of the romance or MC, but the other characters and issues faced were well written and complex.