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A review by sheilsyy
Here We Are Now by Jasmine Warga
2.0
I’m a little partial reading this, considering Warga’s debut novel didn’t leave a great impression on me. But since I’m trying to read as many novels as I can get my hands on, I finally took a chance. This, to me, seems a bit of an improvement from her first book, yet, somehow, I still find this lacking.
Conflicts kept arising from here and there, which sure made the plot a lot more interesting, but because they weren’t resolved properly, this book still felt underwhelming. It didn’t help that Taliah complains a lot about his father. Granted, she has all the reason to be angry after being left unacknowledged for 15 years, but I was almost done reading through the latter part of the novel and I was still seeing only minimal character growth. There were some good points her friend Harlow said to her that, surprisingly, hit you too as a reader, but I was sad to see even their friendship take a break a little sourly.
Although, I would have to say that the only character I totally related with was Tal’s mom, Lena. Her desire to reinvent herself in a foreign place speaks as loud as mine. Even her insecurities of not amounting to anything is a feeling all too familiar with me. What exactly goes through your mind when you’re young, driven, and ambitious? Yes, doubts. And doubts, Lena had them a lot. It was very inspiring to see her struggle with what she’s unsure she was capable of doing and then rise through every hesitation and work towards success and contentment. What an impressive, fine woman right there.
As much as I didn’t like Taliah’s attitude with pretty much everything and everyone, she wasn’t that bad at all. She had shining moments too, especially when music is involved. Also, what may be lacking with her relationship with her father, makes up for what she has with her mom, and it was adorable. I’d also like to give credit to Warga for writing diverse characters, which at least kept me reading even when some parts of her writing felt dry.
The romance isn’t even big on this novel but it was still cute. It was subtle, not too forceful, just right. Frankly, I liked the romance between Julian and Lena a lot more. I wanted to do a [a:Colleen Hoover|5430144|Colleen Hoover|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1464032240p2/5430144.jpg] reading spree after the first part of their story.
If you want something you can read in between breaks but can never commit to it fully, give this one a try.
Conflicts kept arising from here and there, which sure made the plot a lot more interesting, but because they weren’t resolved properly, this book still felt underwhelming. It didn’t help that Taliah complains a lot about his father. Granted, she has all the reason to be angry after being left unacknowledged for 15 years, but I was almost done reading through the latter part of the novel and I was still seeing only minimal character growth. There were some good points her friend Harlow said to her that, surprisingly, hit you too as a reader, but I was sad to see even their friendship take a break a little sourly.
Although, I would have to say that the only character I totally related with was Tal’s mom, Lena. Her desire to reinvent herself in a foreign place speaks as loud as mine. Even her insecurities of not amounting to anything is a feeling all too familiar with me. What exactly goes through your mind when you’re young, driven, and ambitious? Yes, doubts. And doubts, Lena had them a lot. It was very inspiring to see her struggle with what she’s unsure she was capable of doing and then rise through every hesitation and work towards success and contentment. What an impressive, fine woman right there.
As much as I didn’t like Taliah’s attitude with pretty much everything and everyone, she wasn’t that bad at all. She had shining moments too, especially when music is involved. Also, what may be lacking with her relationship with her father, makes up for what she has with her mom, and it was adorable. I’d also like to give credit to Warga for writing diverse characters, which at least kept me reading even when some parts of her writing felt dry.
The romance isn’t even big on this novel but it was still cute. It was subtle, not too forceful, just right. Frankly, I liked the romance between Julian and Lena a lot more. I wanted to do a [a:Colleen Hoover|5430144|Colleen Hoover|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1464032240p2/5430144.jpg] reading spree after the first part of their story.
If you want something you can read in between breaks but can never commit to it fully, give this one a try.