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A review by jenzyme
Analee, In Real Life by Janelle Milanes
4.0
I'm not really sure where I found this book - definitely on some list somewhere, and I placed a hold for it through Libby, and one day it was on my shelf to be read. That said, I had a remarkably hard time putting this book down! While I read a lot of YA, I tend to gravitate more towards SFF than "real life" fiction, but boy was I glad I didn't pass this one by! Analee's own struggles resonated with how I felt as a teenager in high school - we may have been coming from different backgrounds and encountered different challenges, but there is something about Milanes' writing that strikes a chord and makes you feel "yes - I've seen this before, I know what she's going through, yes yes yes."
Can I say how refreshing it is to read a YA romance-ish novel with a young woman of colour as the protagonist? Milanes writes really explicitly about the challenges a young Latina girl would face, especially as her father starts seriously dating a white woman and changing their home life to better "match" their new family. Also, I don't know if Milanes has a background in fanfiction, but the fake dating trope was an IMMEDIATE hook for me.
Anyway, if you are looking for a rather lighthearted but ultimately very touching book that will hook on to your brain and not let go, I recommend checking out "Analee, in Real Life."
Can I say how refreshing it is to read a YA romance-ish novel with a young woman of colour as the protagonist? Milanes writes really explicitly about the challenges a young Latina girl would face, especially as her father starts seriously dating a white woman and changing their home life to better "match" their new family. Also, I don't know if Milanes has a background in fanfiction, but the fake dating trope was an IMMEDIATE hook for me.
Anyway, if you are looking for a rather lighthearted but ultimately very touching book that will hook on to your brain and not let go, I recommend checking out "Analee, in Real Life."