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gggina13's review
4.0
I really liked this one. It was so atmospheric and I loved the feeling of being emerged in another culture. Rosa is such a headstrong main character and Alex is the sweetest love interest.
rachelbookdragon's review
3.0
3.5 stars. The story of a girl struggling with the Cuban diaspora within her family and what that meant for their past and means for their future. The Santos women are known to be cursed to lose the people they love to the sea, and what does Rosa do in response? Well, she falls for a boy with a boat who makes incredible pastries. With her strong, small town community of Port Coral, she might actually get through this. Rosa is a dedicated student, trying to figure out her future and dreaming of Cuba, but when her community needs her when the marina threatens to be sold, she rallies the community to work to fundraise enough money with Spring Fest to protect the home she loves.
After meeting the author (twice, going on three times) I really wanted to love this book and be its greatest advocate, but it didn't make a lasting impression on me. The book was strongly written, with certain phrases and chapter endings I thought were brilliant. I really enjoyed reading about the nuances of Port Coral and the different characters within it. It seems like a tangible place, rooted in reality, though it is fictional. I enjoyed reading about the Santos women, whom, despite their curse, show incredible strength in the face of loss. I also really enjoyed the romance between Alex and Rosa. The scenes in the orange grove and their first date with Alex's entire family showing up for dinner were the most memorable in the book.
I'm not entirely sure what the disconnect was for me. I do think some significant moments were only shown 'off-screen' like the monetary results of Spring Fest or the death of a character, both of which should have had a lot of heightened emotion, but were dulled by it being told rather than shown. Some of the scene transitions weren't clear, like how a character got from one place to the next, and it took me out of the story. Ultimately, I just didn't connect in an impactful way with any of the characters in the story, and for me, that's key to taking a book from good to great in my mind, but that's also a highly subjective process.
I think this book does great things in speaking to the diaspora, politics in Cuba, and a girl searching for identity and direction and clarity on her family's past. I thought the magical realism and brujeria was a strong component of the story. I also loved hearing from the author about her personal journey in writing the book and how reflecting on Cuba was both incredibly difficult and fulfilling as she lived out her fantasy through Rosa. I love that the strong Latinx community has rallied around this book and amplified Rosa's voice and story and I hope this book finds many new readers.
After meeting the author (twice, going on three times) I really wanted to love this book and be its greatest advocate, but it didn't make a lasting impression on me. The book was strongly written, with certain phrases and chapter endings I thought were brilliant. I really enjoyed reading about the nuances of Port Coral and the different characters within it. It seems like a tangible place, rooted in reality, though it is fictional. I enjoyed reading about the Santos women, whom, despite their curse, show incredible strength in the face of loss. I also really enjoyed the romance between Alex and Rosa. The scenes in the orange grove and their first date with Alex's entire family showing up for dinner were the most memorable in the book.
I'm not entirely sure what the disconnect was for me. I do think some significant moments were only shown 'off-screen' like the monetary results of Spring Fest or the death of a character, both of which should have had a lot of heightened emotion, but were dulled by it being told rather than shown. Some of the scene transitions weren't clear, like how a character got from one place to the next, and it took me out of the story. Ultimately, I just didn't connect in an impactful way with any of the characters in the story, and for me, that's key to taking a book from good to great in my mind, but that's also a highly subjective process.
I think this book does great things in speaking to the diaspora, politics in Cuba, and a girl searching for identity and direction and clarity on her family's past. I thought the magical realism and brujeria was a strong component of the story. I also loved hearing from the author about her personal journey in writing the book and how reflecting on Cuba was both incredibly difficult and fulfilling as she lived out her fantasy through Rosa. I love that the strong Latinx community has rallied around this book and amplified Rosa's voice and story and I hope this book finds many new readers.
chandlerainsley's review
4.0
happy release day to this own voices excellence!
2019 is the year of good ass latinx contemporaries
this was a lot of fun! to be honest, i requested it because of the buzz i was hearing from some of my lovely latinx friends but i didn't know much about the story going in. i think had i known what the premise was i probably wouldn't have requested it. "save our town" kind of stories usually aren't for me. but i'm glad i listened to my friends because this was great!
it's a story about a cuban american girl named rosa who's in her senior year of high school. she's trying to figure out where she fits in both in terms of her heritage and in what she wants to do. she wants to go to cuba, she wants to feel a deeper connection to her family and she wants to understand where she comes from. all of this struggle is happening internally as she tries to help her town raise enough money to keep their marina from being bought by developers. and of course there's a love story.
i really enjoyed the cuban rep in this and i really enjoyed the family relationships in this. it was messy and real and even though i'm just a whitey, i could relate to the family dynamics. i also loved the town of Port Coral where this was set. everyone knew everyone and it felt like a cuban Stars Hollow.
the only thing that i didn't absolutely love about the story was the romance. it was kind of swoony at points but it didn't grip me. i think YA contemporaries are VERY hit or miss with the romance for me so this isn't too surprising. but alex was a super sweet guy and i didn't actively root against their relationship so i'll take that as a win in my book.
overall, i loved this story and getting to know rosa and port coral. would highly recommend to everyone, it would make a good ass summer read
2019 is the year of good ass latinx contemporaries
this was a lot of fun! to be honest, i requested it because of the buzz i was hearing from some of my lovely latinx friends but i didn't know much about the story going in. i think had i known what the premise was i probably wouldn't have requested it. "save our town" kind of stories usually aren't for me. but i'm glad i listened to my friends because this was great!
it's a story about a cuban american girl named rosa who's in her senior year of high school. she's trying to figure out where she fits in both in terms of her heritage and in what she wants to do. she wants to go to cuba, she wants to feel a deeper connection to her family and she wants to understand where she comes from. all of this struggle is happening internally as she tries to help her town raise enough money to keep their marina from being bought by developers. and of course there's a love story.
i really enjoyed the cuban rep in this and i really enjoyed the family relationships in this. it was messy and real and even though i'm just a whitey, i could relate to the family dynamics. i also loved the town of Port Coral where this was set. everyone knew everyone and it felt like a cuban Stars Hollow.
the only thing that i didn't absolutely love about the story was the romance. it was kind of swoony at points but it didn't grip me. i think YA contemporaries are VERY hit or miss with the romance for me so this isn't too surprising. but alex was a super sweet guy and i didn't actively root against their relationship so i'll take that as a win in my book.
overall, i loved this story and getting to know rosa and port coral. would highly recommend to everyone, it would make a good ass summer read
blogginboutbooks's review
4.0
This is a cute rom-com with a side of family drama and a sprinkling of magical realism. The best part about it is the Cuban-American community Moreno created. It's warm, vibrant, quirky, and fun. I could feel the love between its members, even if I couldn't always keep the different townsfolk straight. The characters are fun, although Rosa gets annoying at times. Plotwise, DON'T DATE ROSA SANTOS is kind of disjointed, even frenetic at times. The whole curse thing seemed silly to me and I just wasn't convinced that it could possibly be that important to one person, let alone a whole family and community. I like that the romance between Rosa and Alex stays sweet, even if it seems a little insta-lovey. Considering all this, I can't say I loved DON'T DATE ROSA SANTOS. I liked it well enough to finish the book, but there was definitely something lacking in it for me. I'd give it somewhere between a B- and a C+.
brandypainter's review
4.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this. This has the appearance (and description) of being a simple YA contemporary YA romance, but it is actually a story about immigration and family. The heart of the book is Rosa's relationships with her mother and grandmother, the expectations on her to succeed, and the questions she carries about her life's history. The idea of the sea and the curse keeping her from the boy she wants are all wrapped up in that. It is an engaging read and Rosa is a fun, empathetic character. She is a lot like I imagine Leslie Knope from Parks and Rec would have been like in high school.
girlinthepages's review
3.0
One of my goals for 2020 is for at least 10% of the books I read to be by Latinx authors, and I'm thrilled I was able to start off the year with a cute and charming Latinx story. Don't Date Rosa Santos was as charming, quirky and colorful as the gorgeous cover suggests, and also had threads of magical realism, self-discovery and travel that I wasn't expecting.
The story takes place in the charming Florida town of Port Coral, where Rosa lives with her abuela Mimi, who's raised her from a young age while her wanderlust mother travels across the US. Though Rosa was born in Florida, the shadow of Cuba and a family curse looms over her constantly and defines her life, luck, and dreams, and thus Rosa lives her life by two core principles: She must never fall in love with a boy with a boat, and she must somehow get to Cuba to discover her familial roots. Rosa navigates these goals with the precision of any Type-A teenager (I can definitely relate) and she must learn how to deal with the unknown when both cardinal rules she's tried to abide by so long deteriorate early on in the story.
Rosa's story is one that I think many, many biracial Latinx readers will identify with, as she struggles to claim her Cuban identity while also balancing her own American born experiences and never quite feeling Latin enough. From Rosa's self-conscious use of her Spanish to her wariness about her family's beliefs and superstitions, as a half-Latinx myself I felt Rosa's unique sense of isolation and delicate identity so personally. Rosa is set on majoring in Latin American studies and her mom at one point calls her out, telling her she doesn't have to major in being Latina in order to basically embrace her culture and identity, and it was such a powerful and semi-alarming moment, because I (and I'm sure many others) know what it feels like to constantly feel like you're needing to prove you're connected to a culture that you've only experienced second hand or through an American-born lens. The biracial space is such a tenuous one and I'm so glad that there are so many wonderful books being written about it in YA fiction lately (another strong one that comes to mind is Patron Saints of Nothing).
Magical Realism is a longstanding tradition in Latinx literature and I'm so glad to have gotten to experience it in this novel in such a potent way. From the curse that everyone feels follows the Santos women to Mimi's rituals and products she creates to cleanse, heal and soothe it was wonderful to see magical realism, and magic, acknowledged by the contemporary cast in a way that interacts with their everyday life, and not just in a fantastical way that only readers will pick up on because it's happening in the background of the characters lives for the sake of plot. This sense of and interaction with magical realism also helped bring to life Port Coral as a living, breathing character in the story and I could taste the pastelitos on my tongue and smell the scent of Mimi's weekend ritualistic cleaning of their home. I also loved how these magical beliefs and traditions were accepted by the other community members without question or disdain, from the other teens to the viejitos (whom I adored because the fact that they're little old men who are total gossips complete with a shared social media account that was like Gossip Girl lite was HILARIOUS and so accurate).
Though there were many wonderful things about this story that I enjoyed, at times it was also slow to me and I felt myself losing interest, particularly in the middle. I think this can somewhat be attributed to my personal preference and taste as a reader now, as high-school set YA can sometimes bore me, and I typically prefer more mature protagonists (Rosa was pretty immature in a lot of ways which is totally believable for her situation, but could be a little frustrating at times). I also wasn't a fan of the whole save-the-town-and-plan-a-festival-slash-wedding premise as it got a little confusing at times and introduced a lot of characters, and I wish more of the book had been focused on Rosa and her family's backstory and interactions. The romance was fine- nothing to write home about- but I see how it was actually necessary for the plot here given the curse of the Santos women.
I was surprised to find that the plot of the book moved far past what I expected, with a pretty big twist happening about 3/4 the way through and really propelling the last part of the novel in a (positive) direction I was not expecting. It pushed past the sort of "happily ever after" vibe I was anticipating and added a lot more depth to the story, and I'm glad the author made the decision to go the direction she did with the ending (can't say more without spoilers!)
Overall: Don't Date Rosa Santos is a charming, magic story of family, self-identity and magical realism that will fully immerse readers in its setting and unique tone. It's the type of diversity one hopes for in the reading experience, feeling completely authentic yet accessible and relatable to so many different experiences. It gives me a lot of hope for the Latinx space in YA literature and I can't wait to read more by this author in the future!This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages
The story takes place in the charming Florida town of Port Coral, where Rosa lives with her abuela Mimi, who's raised her from a young age while her wanderlust mother travels across the US. Though Rosa was born in Florida, the shadow of Cuba and a family curse looms over her constantly and defines her life, luck, and dreams, and thus Rosa lives her life by two core principles: She must never fall in love with a boy with a boat, and she must somehow get to Cuba to discover her familial roots. Rosa navigates these goals with the precision of any Type-A teenager (I can definitely relate) and she must learn how to deal with the unknown when both cardinal rules she's tried to abide by so long deteriorate early on in the story.
Rosa's story is one that I think many, many biracial Latinx readers will identify with, as she struggles to claim her Cuban identity while also balancing her own American born experiences and never quite feeling Latin enough. From Rosa's self-conscious use of her Spanish to her wariness about her family's beliefs and superstitions, as a half-Latinx myself I felt Rosa's unique sense of isolation and delicate identity so personally. Rosa is set on majoring in Latin American studies and her mom at one point calls her out, telling her she doesn't have to major in being Latina in order to basically embrace her culture and identity, and it was such a powerful and semi-alarming moment, because I (and I'm sure many others) know what it feels like to constantly feel like you're needing to prove you're connected to a culture that you've only experienced second hand or through an American-born lens. The biracial space is such a tenuous one and I'm so glad that there are so many wonderful books being written about it in YA fiction lately (another strong one that comes to mind is Patron Saints of Nothing).
Magical Realism is a longstanding tradition in Latinx literature and I'm so glad to have gotten to experience it in this novel in such a potent way. From the curse that everyone feels follows the Santos women to Mimi's rituals and products she creates to cleanse, heal and soothe it was wonderful to see magical realism, and magic, acknowledged by the contemporary cast in a way that interacts with their everyday life, and not just in a fantastical way that only readers will pick up on because it's happening in the background of the characters lives for the sake of plot. This sense of and interaction with magical realism also helped bring to life Port Coral as a living, breathing character in the story and I could taste the pastelitos on my tongue and smell the scent of Mimi's weekend ritualistic cleaning of their home. I also loved how these magical beliefs and traditions were accepted by the other community members without question or disdain, from the other teens to the viejitos (whom I adored because the fact that they're little old men who are total gossips complete with a shared social media account that was like Gossip Girl lite was HILARIOUS and so accurate).
Though there were many wonderful things about this story that I enjoyed, at times it was also slow to me and I felt myself losing interest, particularly in the middle. I think this can somewhat be attributed to my personal preference and taste as a reader now, as high-school set YA can sometimes bore me, and I typically prefer more mature protagonists (Rosa was pretty immature in a lot of ways which is totally believable for her situation, but could be a little frustrating at times). I also wasn't a fan of the whole save-the-town-and-plan-a-festival-slash-wedding premise as it got a little confusing at times and introduced a lot of characters, and I wish more of the book had been focused on Rosa and her family's backstory and interactions. The romance was fine- nothing to write home about- but I see how it was actually necessary for the plot here given the curse of the Santos women.
I was surprised to find that the plot of the book moved far past what I expected, with a pretty big twist happening about 3/4 the way through and really propelling the last part of the novel in a (positive) direction I was not expecting. It pushed past the sort of "happily ever after" vibe I was anticipating and added a lot more depth to the story, and I'm glad the author made the decision to go the direction she did with the ending (can't say more without spoilers!)
Overall: Don't Date Rosa Santos is a charming, magic story of family, self-identity and magical realism that will fully immerse readers in its setting and unique tone. It's the type of diversity one hopes for in the reading experience, feeling completely authentic yet accessible and relatable to so many different experiences. It gives me a lot of hope for the Latinx space in YA literature and I can't wait to read more by this author in the future!This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages
thenextgenlibrarian's review
4.0
“I would have my own stories from the island that, for so long, had been an heirloom I couldn't touch.”
pjewel's review
4.0
4.5 stars.
not just a beautiful story with powerful loveable dynamic characters but brimming with
magical words that left me searching for my own.
packed with emotion. with heart.
contending for favorite book I’ve read this year.
not just a beautiful story with powerful loveable dynamic characters but brimming with
magical words that left me searching for my own.
packed with emotion. with heart.
contending for favorite book I’ve read this year.