Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Yerba Buena by Nina LaCour

97 reviews

swampgrandma's review against another edition

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slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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cheye13's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Something about this read a little young to me. Maybe it was because we started with one of the characters at 14, maybe because we don't get the full "reveal" of Sara's home life until so late, I'm not quite sure.

And it's not strictly a romance, so it makes sense the story focused more on other elements of both women's journeys, but I didn't feel a connection between them at all. It read as though they were the only queer women in the vicinity (i.e. in the book), so they may as well date.

It was a decent story, and very well written, but I didn't find that it offered anything exceptionally unique.
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storyskein's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

This is the perfect book to start with a cup of coffee on a Saturday morning and finish with a glass of wine in the evening.  Even though Yerba Buena is deeply emotional, the deceptively simple prose draws the reader along. The prose, by the way, is probably my favorite part: a masterclass in sensual efficiency.

Yerba Buena deals with heavy, complicated issues, but the tenderness and vulnerability with which LaCour draws Sara and Emilie makes the book feel almost gentle at times. That's not to say that the trauma isn't dealt with--it is. The reader is left with no doubt the events that have shaped these women, and yet, LaCour balances the harrowing with the ultimately hopeful. 

 
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your_true_shelf's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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rachbake's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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booksandbesitos's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Nina Lacour is my favorite author and I had really high expectations for this. I loved the storytelling and the dual points of view. It took me a long time to get through it because the content is pretty heavy, especially for Sarah’s story. The ending was a little surprising, not bad just not what I was expecting. But I think that in this book it’s more  closure than endings. Overall I really liked it, I think I’ll definitely reread it in one go now that I got through it the first time.
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rayannotates's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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livinlereve's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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lolajh's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

WOW. What a truly beautiful read. Nina is such a talented writer and I’d love to see more adult fiction like this from her because this was beautiful. The emotional journey of Sara recovering from her trauma and Emilie finding stability and their relationship making the both of them better people was just beautiful. Hard to get through some parts (I feel like the s.a. did not have to be that graphic to get its point across), but a lovely ending that made it all worth it. Loved the characters, loved the story, just a truly lovely book.
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lalesbianlune's review against another edition

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emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

To me, Yerba Buena is less a romance and more a story of family, connection, and persevering to find oneself. The romance between Sara and Emilie was lovely, but it allowed the book to explore how two people from different backgrounds and trauma may come together - with all the emotions and failures and successes that may entail. I enjoyed the nonlinear/multiple perspective style but it did often feel unbalanced. Some of the early plot with Sara also felt a little overdone, but overall I appreciated it this book.

“She recognized a love letter when she saw one.”
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