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A review by heykellyjensen
What Can(t) Wait by Ashley Hope Pérez
2.0
More books like this need to be written. It's a story of a Latina girl who struggles like hell to follow her dream of getting an education with the reality of life -- she's got a mom and dad who need her support around the house, as well as a sister and niece who live with a less-than-stellar husband/father. What's sort of noteworthy is that it makes the points about the challenges of life as a minority without being a story about a minority character. Mari is Mari, which is the key. She's sympathetic and her challenges authentic.
However, the writing is quite weak. The passage of time is an issue in the book, too, as it's a little lopsided, leaving some issues unresolved/weakly resolved. More than that though, aside from Marisa, the characters aren't all that well developed. This is especially true in the case of her best friend. I'd have liked a lot more about the family and about the brother in law here. Tightening the characters would have added another layer of immediacy and power to Mari herself. She could have used it just a bit more, given some of the weak points. I thought the real turning point came with a letter to her teacher and the teacher's response; but as much as the teacher wanted to be Mari's advocate, well, it doesn't happen. This needed a little more pushing and pursuing because it was REALLY the moment Marisa herself changed and started to realize she was her own person. But..it doesn't.
I think this would appeal to some reluctant readers, especially those looking to read a story that they can so easily relate to.
However, the writing is quite weak. The passage of time is an issue in the book, too, as it's a little lopsided, leaving some issues unresolved/weakly resolved. More than that though, aside from Marisa, the characters aren't all that well developed. This is especially true in the case of her best friend. I'd have liked a lot more about the family and about the brother in law here. Tightening the characters would have added another layer of immediacy and power to Mari herself. She could have used it just a bit more, given some of the weak points. I thought the real turning point came with a letter to her teacher and the teacher's response; but as much as the teacher wanted to be Mari's advocate, well, it doesn't happen. This needed a little more pushing and pursuing because it was REALLY the moment Marisa herself changed and started to realize she was her own person. But..it doesn't.
I think this would appeal to some reluctant readers, especially those looking to read a story that they can so easily relate to.