My Week in Reading: Latinas Taking Over, Social Justice, and Romance Schemes

This is the week of the latinas! I have a hard time finding books with latino leads that I want to read (literary fiction is not my cup of tea) so I was lucky to read these two wonderful stories. I technically finished The Starter Ex at 12:30 a.m. on Monday but I'm still counting it. There are no rules here.

What a profound gem of a book this was. Estela is like me in the fact that we both can't speak Spanish. Estela's insecurities, whether she would admit them or not, were relatable. She has so much to learn. She went to a school she tested into and sees herself as above those who got in through the lottery. There's a recurring discussion she has with herself about the lots having a hard time keeping up, and it results in her looking inside herself to see why she thinks that way and how she doesn't want to be put into the same category as them. 

Estela can be thoughtful but also selfish and doesn't think things through. How could she not see the division she was perpetuating while white students laughed and made it like brown and black people were lesser? And I kind of understand her. I remember in high school, people called the kids who couldn't speak Spanish, and I guess just came to America, refs - as in refugees. And those people saying that were all Latinos. It was so interesting to see that played back at me when I am no longer that teenager who wouldn't question anything. Like Estela, I was mostly focused on myself. Unlike her, I don't have her poetry skills, her boldness, and thankfully, I didn't make the mistakes she did. Estela was truly a top-tier complex character. I also liked Rogelio, her love interest, because he got me thinking too. Being called El Rey Chino and struggling with being Chinese and Mexican. I didn't care for their sex scene because they are teenagers, and I am an adult. That's the only thing I skipped, and why I rated this 4.75 stars instead of 5. Otherwise, a perfect read. I would recommend this to everyone.

I have not read anything physically in so long that it was such a miracle that I started and continued to read The Starter Ex. I've read The Worst Best Man a long time ago and did not care for it at all but decided to give The Starter Ex a chance. First of all love the cover and then the premise sounded like so much fun. Being the worst girlfriend so her sister could be seen as wonderful in comparison? Trying to get your sister, a man? So many things could go wrong and they did. It was a lot of fun. 

This was dual POV which is the greatest thing you can do for me as a reader. I want to get into both the female and male leads' heads! Why wouldn't I want to know what they are both thinking? Vanessa doesn't think so highly of herself. She used to do this starter ex business for money and it's not the best way to live your life - lying all the time and making other people miserable. There was also an incident 8 years ago that made her run away from her family. She still sent home money to her parents who gave her a good life. She's actually a lot more kind-hearted than she gives herself credit for. The crux of the plot centers around guilt, not only with her but surprisingly with the male love interest, Jason. I loved both characters. Jason is jaded because his last relationship, in which he was engaged, soured. But Vanessa isn't interested in him, and she's got a bold, bright attitude. She has a spark that he can't seem to turn away from. There's a lot more I can say, like the family aspects of the story, especially Vanessa's sister Lisa and Jason's sisters Cami and Denise, were amazingly done. And the banter was fun and had me flying through the pages. I didn't love the smut scene but I always tend to skip those so no biggie. Overall, such a fun read that had two fun and kind-hearted main characters. I am so glad I gave Mia Sosa another chance. Too bad I can't read her other latest read because the main male character has my brother's name - yuck! But I am going to look out for more of her books in the future.

This was a great reading week for me! Love reading Latino books. I also started a crochet project! I finally found myself a project and started. I am almost halfway through, but honestly not sure if I am using the right yarn or measuring correctly.... worst-case scenario, I can make it into a scarf, I guess. All my plans for next weekend went kaput so I'm hoping to finish this weekend and maybe I'll go rollerskating again. 

I also read some picture books too! I don't count Storytime books, but I'll have to go back to reread one of the picture books I read for the last Storytime so I can count it. Anyway, I read Don't Eat Eustace by Lian Cho, which drew me in with its art. It was cute and funny. Eustace was sarcastic, which I loved. It reminded me of an old fairy tale about a wishing fish, although this fish didn't grant wishes. It did talk and just based on that, how would you even entertain the idea of eating him, Bear!? The other picture book I read was The Princess and the Grain of Rice by Tina Cho. Two Cho's! I did not plan that. This story is a retelling of The Princess and the Pea, but with a Korean twist. The story is based on a real Korean princess who, if you read the backmatter, had to marry a 65-year-old man as a teenager, I believe. Yuck! I still found it interesting that the author based this story on her. It's kind of nice that she didn't stray from the negative parts of history. The story itself was nice and basically tells young girls that princesses are kind. The art was phenomenal as well so all in all a great read!

I am planning on reading a middle-grade mystery. I've had it borrowed from the library for so long that it needs to happen. It's called Bubblegum Shoes: The Case of the Contraband Closet by Goldy Moldavsky. Doesn't it sound like fun? I'm also listening to Marisol Acts the Part by Elle Gonzalez Rose. Both books are... You guessed it... by Latinas! There's just something in the air that makes me want to read books that represent me, you know?