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A review by lillimoore
Love in English by Maria E. Andreu
3.0
This was a delightful YA romance, but it was also so much more than that. Ana has just moved to New Jersey from Argentina and we follow her as she navigates learning English and adapting to her life in America. I thought it was so creative and refreshing how even though this book was written in English, it included the Argentinean variation of Spanish throughout and I thought it did an amazing job of really conveying just how frustrating it is to live somewhere where you don't have all the right words, and especially how as a teenager others can treat you because of that. I loved Ana as a character and thought it was so clever of Maria E. Andreu to have this character be so interested in poetry and language in her native tongue because it added just that extra element of not only frustration for Ana when she knows she has a talent for wordsmithing and cannot demonstrate that as easily in English but also an element of elation when, as her English skills progress, she finds that talent is able to translate as well. I LOVED Altagracia and Ana's friendship with her. I also liked seeing the impact of immigrating at different times on her family and their personalities and dynamics; my heart especially broke for her mother when Ana notes that she was so loud and vibrant in Argentina but in the US she doesn't have the ability yet to be completely herself in English, and of course the relationship between Ana and her father was interesting, even if heartbreaking. I thought Neo was a great character as well but I almost wish he had just been the main interest; this book didn't need to have a love triangle in it and Harrison didn't necessarily need to be so hurt. There was still enough of a conflict during our climax with Ana and her father that adding another layer of crap to everything she was already going through just felt a little bit extra, and I truly felt terrible for Harrison. However, it was interesting to see how Ana came to the realization that she may have been idealizing him simply because he's so all-American.
Overall I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was so thematically refreshing and really would love to read more immigrant stories that touch specifically on language barriers in such a poignant way. I wish that the side characters had been a little more developed and that we would have been given a bit more information on Ana's life before moving and why specifically her family chose to make such a life-changing move, but it wasn't entirely necessary, that's just a personal preference. Highly recommend to fans of YA and especially to any teenagers or really anyone that has experienced learning English as a second language. I thought it was just so insightful on that experience.
Overall I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was so thematically refreshing and really would love to read more immigrant stories that touch specifically on language barriers in such a poignant way. I wish that the side characters had been a little more developed and that we would have been given a bit more information on Ana's life before moving and why specifically her family chose to make such a life-changing move, but it wasn't entirely necessary, that's just a personal preference. Highly recommend to fans of YA and especially to any teenagers or really anyone that has experienced learning English as a second language. I thought it was just so insightful on that experience.