mcdermottcecelia's reviews
327 reviews

Wow. This book blew me away. Nina LaCour has blown it out of the park with her adult debut Yerba Buena. This story follows two young women as they move from their teens to early adult years and feels like a sort of snapshot into their lives. The characters are well developed and you can really feel connected with them through the artful storytelling. The worldbuilding and setting descriptions were written beautifully, and I could really picture the scenes despite not having been to that part of the country. This book was basically a recipe for a book I normally wouldn't like and then it turned out to be what I expect will be one of my top reads of 2022. This story was so impactful without being traumatic (though you should definitely review the trigger warnings before reading) as you experience the triumphs and tribulations of Sara and Emilie's lives. While this novel has been pitched as a romance novel, it reads more as a literary fiction book with a romance subplot. The romance is not the purpose of the novel, but you can appreciate the story much more when you set your expectations around that going into it. For fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid's Malibu Rising, Yerba Buena is a must-read. Truly phenomenal. Give this a read!

I received an ARC of this book through a giveaway from the Flatiron Books and @readbyfin on TikTok.

Jasmine Zumideh Needs a Win by Susan Azim Boyer is a fresh young adult novel that follows Jasmine's campaign for Senior Class President as she races to win the seat in an effort to get accepted into her dream school, NYU. This novel is quick, witty, and engaging as you connect with the storyline while also exploring Jasmine's identity as an Iranian-American in 1979 given the current events of the moment. It talks through themes including relationship conflicts, complex identities, and just how much you're willing to sacrifice to achieve your goals.

I originally was interested in this book because I've worked in politics and was pretty engaged with that starting in high school. I used to be engaged in politics in high school including student-led campaigning, so this book was immediately something I knew I wanted to hear more about. From there, I was able to connect with the characters and find myself fully immersed in Eisenhower High's student life. For fans of Netflix's The Politician, this is a great choice to get you into reading. I also really enjoyed the timing of this novel and that the author intentionally positioned this in 1979 versus opting for a contemporary storyline. It was a really accessible way to learn about historical moments through the eyes of students without feeling too disconnected from present-day interests. At times, it definitely feels like it's a young adult novel, but that was to be expected and that's what it's marketed as anyhow. It does use a lot of dialogue to move the story forward, but it wasn't distractingly reliant on back-and-forth conversations to progress. My one main area of critique is it would've been nice to have a bit more background/context and worldbuilding set-up in the early pages to help better connect with Jasmine earlier on, but the author ultimately makes up for this as you keep reading. I also think because I have a background in politics, some of the lines about "you have to do x to win" or "y is going to be a critical voting bloc" felt a little too cheesy and non-essential for actual campaign strategy, but that's just me getting into the weeds. Overall, it's an enjoyable, quick read, and it's worth picking up!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!