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saradallapalma's reviews
801 reviews
The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
4.0
4/5 ⭐️
I read Everything Everything before this one but this is certainly better.
The story follows two characters, Natasha and Daniel: they spend the day together even if Natasha is going to be deported the same night.
What I liked:
• The characters where really a surprise for me: Natasha was cynical and Daniel a constant daydreamer. In most books, the roles are reversed but I really loved how the two of them were built.
I also enjoyed the secondary characters, in particular the one we never had a point of view like Charlie but also the parents of Daniel (yeah, they had points of view I know!)
• The plot was easy: they met very randomly and they kinda fall in love. It was nice and easy and I appreciate very much simply because there was more to that. I feel the plot was not as important as the characters and I loved that. Many things happened but they happen so we can know the characters better. Loved that.
• The setting has a special place in my heart because I’ve been to New York and I didn’t enjoyed my staying. However, reading about all these places I’ve been and also I’ve not been is fantastic. I think I have enjoyed NY by paper so much better.
• The culture in the book is very important: Daniel is Korean and Natasha is Jamaican. I have little knowledge of both cultures and places however the book give such an interesting insight to both.
We got to know even little facts about the cultures and even if some things are slightly stereotypical, I didn’t mind that much because I was hooked into the story.
What I didn’t like:
— The romance was okay but I felt, going to the end of the book, that was too much. I felt like the character of Natasha was a little ruined because of this.
— The epilogue: I’m just gonna say was too much fairy taley however it was perfect for the book.
I read Everything Everything before this one but this is certainly better.
The story follows two characters, Natasha and Daniel: they spend the day together even if Natasha is going to be deported the same night.
What I liked:
• The characters where really a surprise for me: Natasha was cynical and Daniel a constant daydreamer. In most books, the roles are reversed but I really loved how the two of them were built.
I also enjoyed the secondary characters, in particular the one we never had a point of view like Charlie but also the parents of Daniel (yeah, they had points of view I know!)
• The plot was easy: they met very randomly and they kinda fall in love. It was nice and easy and I appreciate very much simply because there was more to that. I feel the plot was not as important as the characters and I loved that. Many things happened but they happen so we can know the characters better. Loved that.
• The setting has a special place in my heart because I’ve been to New York and I didn’t enjoyed my staying. However, reading about all these places I’ve been and also I’ve not been is fantastic. I think I have enjoyed NY by paper so much better.
• The culture in the book is very important: Daniel is Korean and Natasha is Jamaican. I have little knowledge of both cultures and places however the book give such an interesting insight to both.
We got to know even little facts about the cultures and even if some things are slightly stereotypical, I didn’t mind that much because I was hooked into the story.
What I didn’t like:
— The romance was okay but I felt, going to the end of the book, that was too much. I felt like the character of Natasha was a little ruined because of this.
— The epilogue: I’m just gonna say was too much fairy taley however it was perfect for the book.
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
4.0
4.5/5 ⭐️
I first read this book when I was 14 I think. I remember that the book store seller gave us the dvd’s movie as well as the book for a little extra. I was thrilled!
I read the book and then so the movie with my mom: she cried.
I remember being shocked reading the book and discovering Melinda’s secret: it was the first book that talked about themes like this. I was 14 when my best friend at the time told me she had been through the same. I was shocked but I gave her the book. She said “This is my life.”
I think this book is an excellent example of someone living with a big burden, a big secret. Melinda’s is big enough that make her depress. The sad thing is that no one around her can understand her.
I’m glad people have started talking about this issue more because people like Melinda, like my friend can feel safe to talk about it before something worst happens.
This book for me, a non victim but still an advocate for speaking up, means a lot. It was one of my favorite books when I was younger and it still holds a great place in my heart.
This should be read in school so things like what happen to Melinda won’t happen.
I first read this book when I was 14 I think. I remember that the book store seller gave us the dvd’s movie as well as the book for a little extra. I was thrilled!
I read the book and then so the movie with my mom: she cried.
I remember being shocked reading the book and discovering Melinda’s secret: it was the first book that talked about themes like this. I was 14 when my best friend at the time told me she had been through the same. I was shocked but I gave her the book. She said “This is my life.”
I think this book is an excellent example of someone living with a big burden, a big secret. Melinda’s is big enough that make her depress. The sad thing is that no one around her can understand her.
I’m glad people have started talking about this issue more because people like Melinda, like my friend can feel safe to talk about it before something worst happens.
This book for me, a non victim but still an advocate for speaking up, means a lot. It was one of my favorite books when I was younger and it still holds a great place in my heart.
This should be read in school so things like what happen to Melinda won’t happen.
All for One by Melissa de la Cruz
2.0
2/5 🌟 (I skipped the epilogue because I was too angry)
As well as many people, I started to understand better the life of Ham and Eliza with the musical Hamilton. I also discovered this trilogy because I began to love so much their love story and I did love the first two books in the series, even tho I’m not a romance lover.
Let’s start with the positives: I love the writing style. I think the author is capable of writing in a historic manner however I also found it too detailed on things I don’t personally care about. At the same time, however, I know those things are important for the setting.
I also loved the new characters such as Emma, Drayton, John and Betty but at some points they felt too present for me to care.
Let’s go with the negatives. Since book 2 I though the timeline was handled badly: I personally would have finished the second book with Philip’s born. But no, the dear author had to mess up so bad the dates to the point that the finale doesn’t make any sense! She mixed up so many things (best of wife’s and best of women but Alex doesn’t die? really) and I found it so annoying! Also, a lot of the incredible things Alex and Eliza do are not mentioned in the book (apart the epilogue!): I would basically have planned the trilogy very differently.
The worst of this book are the main characters.
Eliza Hamilton, my favorite character in the musical, in here became a snobbish rich woman. She has a huge heart towards the poor but not for the other people in her life? It’s so out-of-character if we think about her in the previous books.
Alexander Hamilton, on the other hand, it’s just so flat. Even someone who doesn’t know about the Reynolds scandal would have guessed that Alex would have betrayed Eliza but there was no real meaning. There was no reason.
Burr was so disappointing. We barely see him and his character is destroyed by the plot and the timeline changes.
I would recommend the trilogy? Maybe just the first two books?
As well as many people, I started to understand better the life of Ham and Eliza with the musical Hamilton. I also discovered this trilogy because I began to love so much their love story and I did love the first two books in the series, even tho I’m not a romance lover.
Let’s start with the positives: I love the writing style. I think the author is capable of writing in a historic manner however I also found it too detailed on things I don’t personally care about. At the same time, however, I know those things are important for the setting.
I also loved the new characters such as Emma, Drayton, John and Betty but at some points they felt too present for me to care.
Let’s go with the negatives. Since book 2 I though the timeline was handled badly: I personally would have finished the second book with Philip’s born. But no, the dear author had to mess up so bad the dates to the point that the finale doesn’t make any sense! She mixed up so many things (best of wife’s and best of women but Alex doesn’t die? really) and I found it so annoying! Also, a lot of the incredible things Alex and Eliza do are not mentioned in the book (apart the epilogue!): I would basically have planned the trilogy very differently.
The worst of this book are the main characters.
Eliza Hamilton, my favorite character in the musical, in here became a snobbish rich woman. She has a huge heart towards the poor but not for the other people in her life? It’s so out-of-character if we think about her in the previous books.
Alexander Hamilton, on the other hand, it’s just so flat. Even someone who doesn’t know about the Reynolds scandal would have guessed that Alex would have betrayed Eliza but there was no real meaning. There was no reason.
Burr was so disappointing. We barely see him and his character is destroyed by the plot and the timeline changes.
I would recommend the trilogy? Maybe just the first two books?