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kellylacey's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book from start to finish. It reminded me of Judy Blume’s writing but with modern-day feels. When Ana moves with her Mother from Argentina to live her new life in America her whole life gets turned upside down. Her father left previous to create the roots of their new life. His English is very good and now he has expectations for Ana to fit in, stay on top of her grades and learn better English.
It is already tough for any student navigating the daily struggles of school, emotions, boys, girls and studying. Throw into the mix not being able to understand English and the weight of all of that is immense for Ana. What brings respite is the friends she makes in her ESL class and who is this boy in maths that makes paper birds?
Ana is a likeable strong female character and I am sure she will inspire many readers. Although she is meant to be 16 in the book I felt she and the other characters were a little younger. I really loved Neo, he was just as lost as Ana and the two complimented each other so much.
The awkward laugh out loud moments are what make this book extra special. I lived in the ’80s and as Neo and Ana experience some culture from then I was in fits of giggles.
The book is perfect escapism and hopes there are further books with these characters.
Te lo recomiendo mucho!
It is already tough for any student navigating the daily struggles of school, emotions, boys, girls and studying. Throw into the mix not being able to understand English and the weight of all of that is immense for Ana. What brings respite is the friends she makes in her ESL class and who is this boy in maths that makes paper birds?
Ana is a likeable strong female character and I am sure she will inspire many readers. Although she is meant to be 16 in the book I felt she and the other characters were a little younger. I really loved Neo, he was just as lost as Ana and the two complimented each other so much.
The awkward laugh out loud moments are what make this book extra special. I lived in the ’80s and as Neo and Ana experience some culture from then I was in fits of giggles.
The book is perfect escapism and hopes there are further books with these characters.
Te lo recomiendo mucho!
nisanre's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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? No
4.0
This book was cute and a nice palet cleanser from some of the heavier books I've been reading/listening to off and on this year. The characters were cute, the story was cute. I really liked the idea of writing a character who is learning English and the way Andreu describes the confusion that comes from navigating an entirely different world.
lt_reads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
mrsraglandreads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
gkathh's review against another edition
2.0
It’s a fine book. The story is cute but it was really predictable and I felt like I was reading a story I could have written in middle school. It was a very quick read once I actually started to read it, but it took me a little while to be interested enough to finish it.
marghebookstagram's review against another edition
4.0
Una lettura fresca, dolce, capace di indurci in riflessioni sulle nostre capacità di comunicazione senza risultare banale o scontato. Lettura consigliata per uscire dal blocco del lettore o per staccare la spina in periodi particolarmente intensi
autumn_panda's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
kelleemoye's review against another edition
4.0
Full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit/53327885
One of the things I love most about my school is the amount of diversity and the acceptance and inclusion of all in the school; we do not care where you are from or what language you speak–you are welcome with open arms! While reading Love in English, I found myself being so upset with the students and some of the teachers in Ana’s school. Why was her ethnicity and language acquisition something that anyone would find funny or bully-worthy?! But then I remember that other places are not like my school…
I also found myself connecting with Mr. T the ELL teacher! When I first started working at my school, I was intimidated with teaching ELL students because I didn’t think I would be of any help with someone learning English when it was the only language I knew. But throughout my first few years there, I began to learn that teaching ELL students is one of my favorite honors of being a teacher. My 7th year teaching, I taught a class much like Mr. T’s class, and it is one of my favorite classes I’ve ever taught. Mr. T shows how an ELL class, done correctly, can truly become home at school.
Also, as a reading teacher & librarian at a school with a large Latinx population, primarily from South America, I found that it is so hard to find books that truly reflect my students’ experiences, but Love in English is a mirror for so many of them! It made me so happy while reading because I know that Ana’s experience is one that they will connect with.
Overall, this story looks at language acquisition in a way that I have not seen in another book and it does so during a wonderful story with some amazing poetry woven throughout. I also love that the language acquisition aspect is own voices. Although this aspect is own voices, I do wish that Ana’s backstory was own voices as well to ensure authenticity of all parts of the story; however, I feel like Maria’s explanation of this choice shows it was thoughtful (though my opinion is not as valuable as a Latinx, and specifically an Argentinian).
One of the things I love most about my school is the amount of diversity and the acceptance and inclusion of all in the school; we do not care where you are from or what language you speak–you are welcome with open arms! While reading Love in English, I found myself being so upset with the students and some of the teachers in Ana’s school. Why was her ethnicity and language acquisition something that anyone would find funny or bully-worthy?! But then I remember that other places are not like my school…
I also found myself connecting with Mr. T the ELL teacher! When I first started working at my school, I was intimidated with teaching ELL students because I didn’t think I would be of any help with someone learning English when it was the only language I knew. But throughout my first few years there, I began to learn that teaching ELL students is one of my favorite honors of being a teacher. My 7th year teaching, I taught a class much like Mr. T’s class, and it is one of my favorite classes I’ve ever taught. Mr. T shows how an ELL class, done correctly, can truly become home at school.
Also, as a reading teacher & librarian at a school with a large Latinx population, primarily from South America, I found that it is so hard to find books that truly reflect my students’ experiences, but Love in English is a mirror for so many of them! It made me so happy while reading because I know that Ana’s experience is one that they will connect with.
Overall, this story looks at language acquisition in a way that I have not seen in another book and it does so during a wonderful story with some amazing poetry woven throughout. I also love that the language acquisition aspect is own voices. Although this aspect is own voices, I do wish that Ana’s backstory was own voices as well to ensure authenticity of all parts of the story; however, I feel like Maria’s explanation of this choice shows it was thoughtful (though my opinion is not as valuable as a Latinx, and specifically an Argentinian).