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Like Water
A gorgeously written and deeply felt literary young adult novel of identity, millennial anxiety, and first love, from the widely acclaimed author of The Mystery of Hollow Places
In Savannah Espinoza’s small New Mexico hometown, kids either flee after graduation or they’re trapped there forever. Vanni never planned to get stuck—but that was before her father was diagnosed with Huntington’s disease, leaving her and her mother to care for him. Now, she doesn’t have much of a plan at all: living at home, working as a performing mermaid at a second-rate water park, distracting herself with one boy after another.
That changes the day she meets Leigh. Disillusioned with small-town life and looking for something greater, Leigh is not a “nice girl.” She is unlike anyone Vanni has met, and a friend when Vanni desperately needs one. Soon enough, Leigh is much more than a friend. But caring about another person stirs up the moat Vanni has carefully constructed around herself, and threatens to bring to the surface the questions she’s held under for so long.
With her signature stunning writing, Rebecca Podos, author of The Mystery of Hollow Places, has crafted a story of first love and of the complex ways in which the deepest parts of us are hidden, even from ourselves.
In Savannah Espinoza’s small New Mexico hometown, kids either flee after graduation or they’re trapped there forever. Vanni never planned to get stuck—but that was before her father was diagnosed with Huntington’s disease, leaving her and her mother to care for him. Now, she doesn’t have much of a plan at all: living at home, working as a performing mermaid at a second-rate water park, distracting herself with one boy after another.
That changes the day she meets Leigh. Disillusioned with small-town life and looking for something greater, Leigh is not a “nice girl.” She is unlike anyone Vanni has met, and a friend when Vanni desperately needs one. Soon enough, Leigh is much more than a friend. But caring about another person stirs up the moat Vanni has carefully constructed around herself, and threatens to bring to the surface the questions she’s held under for so long.
With her signature stunning writing, Rebecca Podos, author of The Mystery of Hollow Places, has crafted a story of first love and of the complex ways in which the deepest parts of us are hidden, even from ourselves.
320 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 17, 2017
36 people are currently reading
5049 people want to read
About the author
Rebecca Podos
15 books381 followersRebecca Podos is the Lambda Literary Award-winning author of YA and Adult novels. What If…Kitty Pryde Stole the Phoenix Force? is her latest. Homeward for a Spell, the sequel to her adult fantasy debut Homegrown Magic, co-written with Jamie Pacton, comes out next. By day, Rebecca is a Senior Agent at Neighborhood Literary. She serves as a co-director of the Communications and Fundraising Committee for Literary Agents of Change, and on the Board of Directors for QT Library, a nonprofit, queer and trans lending library based in Boston.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 233 reviews
September 8, 2020
This book made me feel very… raw. It’s a book that strips bare the outer machinations of a novel and heads straight for the emotional core of the protagonist. And it’s a book I absolutely loved.
I actually totally get why a lot of people didn’t like this book; Like Water has a fairly small amount of action and relies primarily off your connection to the characters. If you’re not one for character-driven reads, this is not going to be a book you enjoy. I promise.
Maybe my favorite part of this book is the protagonist, Vanni. She is a girl trapped in a small town and working as a mermaid and coming of age. But she's primarily dealing with fear of the future and struggling to repress that fear. Vanni’s dad has Huntington’s, and she is so scared of that future. She's also bisexual and hasn't figured it out yet. I found her such an easy narrator to connect to and I loved her.
Leigh, her love interest, is also a remarkably developed character. Leigh’s arc is both around figuring herself out and also figuring out she’s genderqueer and I love it so much, I love it so much and I’m so happy for her.
And, oh, I love the main relationship. Vanni and Leigh are two very flawed people, and their relationship is too good for this world and too pure.
This is a super character-driven, gritty, and emotionally raw story about finding love, and finding hope for a future when it seems as if there's none. I binged it in about two hours and I am so glad I did, even though it was… a year later than I planned. Lol.
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I actually totally get why a lot of people didn’t like this book; Like Water has a fairly small amount of action and relies primarily off your connection to the characters. If you’re not one for character-driven reads, this is not going to be a book you enjoy. I promise.
Maybe my favorite part of this book is the protagonist, Vanni. She is a girl trapped in a small town and working as a mermaid and coming of age. But she's primarily dealing with fear of the future and struggling to repress that fear. Vanni’s dad has Huntington’s, and she is so scared of that future. She's also bisexual and hasn't figured it out yet. I found her such an easy narrator to connect to and I loved her.
Leigh, her love interest, is also a remarkably developed character. Leigh’s arc is both around figuring herself out and also figuring out she’s genderqueer and I love it so much, I love it so much and I’m so happy for her.
I'm thinking that I just want one thing to be good and right, because one good, right thing can be enough.
And, oh, I love the main relationship. Vanni and Leigh are two very flawed people, and their relationship is too good for this world and too pure.
This is a super character-driven, gritty, and emotionally raw story about finding love, and finding hope for a future when it seems as if there's none. I binged it in about two hours and I am so glad I did, even though it was… a year later than I planned. Lol.
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July 8, 2018
4.5* Like Water is the kind of book that’s equally as heartbreaking as it is heartwarming. It’s a gorgeous story of grief, identity, growing up, falling in love, family, friendships and discovering who you are amongst all these things. I’d not heard anything about this going into it but I adored it. I loved the easy, comfortable writing style and found myself flying through it within two sittings. I warmed to diverse and complex characters instantly and thought the layered relationships and plot were superb. I loved how inclusive the cast of characters was, with the main character being a Latina girl, who although never totally confirms her label, discusses the possibility being bi and a love interest who identifies as genderqueer and a lesbian. I adored Savannah’s body positivity and her sarcastic sense of humour and thought her narrative of discovering herself, whilst also feeling lost within herself and her life was incredibly powerful and I’m sure relatable to a lot of people in many ways. Like Water is something I would without a doubt recommend if you’re looking for a book with depth, love, drama, complex characters and relationships, humour and diversity in terms of sexuality, gender, body and ethnicity. And if after all of this you’re still not convinced, the protagonist works as a mermaid. Yeah, there’s the icing on the wonderful bookish cake we all deserve.
TW: homophobia, biphobia, ableism (challenged on page)
TW: homophobia, biphobia, ableism (challenged on page)
November 14, 2017
I adored the characters and the first half of this novel, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t bored to tears by the end. I’m mega bummed. :(
January 2, 2018
If you asked me to describe this book in a word, I would use the word "Fine"... You'll see the word quite a bit in this review and that's not a good thing. This was quite an average book, its not quite memorable or outstanding in any way. Soon it will fall into the pile of books that I have read but can't really remember.
The good things:
- Vanni. I liked Vanni (more so at the start when she was quite troubled, pessimistic and conflicted).
- I liked how there were bits of Spanish in the book, even though I couldn't understand everything... Yikes this list was shorter than I thought it would be.
The average things:
- Some of the secondary characters were quite nice but they just didn't stand out enough. I thought that Vanni was the only fleshed out character.
- The writing. It was fine but the majority of it didn't really stand out to me.
- The story. It was just fine. The ending was also just quite lacklustre and it felt rushed to me.
- The way in which sexuality and gender was dealt with. I thought it was glossed over (the gender element more than the sexuality element) but overall, it was fine.
The bad:
- Leigh. I didn't really like Leigh for a bunch of reasons.
- The romance. It wasn't for me. I didn't think they were a great match and I felt no spark or anything remotely sparky between them.
I would not recommend this book but I would probably be open to reading something else by Rebecca Podos in the future.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The boys may have changed, and some were good and some were clumsy and some were nothing, but every time was basically the same. A pond where all of my fears sank to the bottom, into a dark, frozen junkyard, and for a while the only thing left above the surface was me, and my lips, and his hands, and our skin."
The good things:
- Vanni. I liked Vanni (more so at the start when she was quite troubled, pessimistic and conflicted).
- I liked how there were bits of Spanish in the book, even though I couldn't understand everything... Yikes this list was shorter than I thought it would be.
The average things:
- Some of the secondary characters were quite nice but they just didn't stand out enough. I thought that Vanni was the only fleshed out character.
- The writing. It was fine but the majority of it didn't really stand out to me.
- The story. It was just fine. The ending was also just quite lacklustre and it felt rushed to me.
- The way in which sexuality and gender was dealt with. I thought it was glossed over (the gender element more than the sexuality element) but overall, it was fine.
The bad:
- Leigh. I didn't really like Leigh for a bunch of reasons.
- The romance. It wasn't for me. I didn't think they were a great match and I felt no spark or anything remotely sparky between them.
I would not recommend this book but I would probably be open to reading something else by Rebecca Podos in the future.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The boys may have changed, and some were good and some were clumsy and some were nothing, but every time was basically the same. A pond where all of my fears sank to the bottom, into a dark, frozen junkyard, and for a while the only thing left above the surface was me, and my lips, and his hands, and our skin."
April 24, 2020
Read for O.W.L.s Magical Readathon Charms prompt: Lumos, read a book with a white cover
5/5 stars
Like Water is the exact type of contemporary that attracts me; hard-hitting topics, a focus on family and/or coming of age, all against the highly atmospheric backdrop of (preferably) a small town... Even though I knew from the synopsis that this could be one of them, Like Water exceeded all my expectations, and can only say that I adored this book. As with many of the books that I adore, I'm going to struggle putting my thoughts to paper a lot more that I would with book I didn't like as much, so please excuse any further ramblings.
I often keep banging on and on about needing more good books about chronic illness or taking care of a loved one with an illness, and I finally found one that I want to add to that list! Like Water was all I could ask for in this regard. It nails it with the dilemma's and conflicting feelings that come with the situations, as well as the strain that "not-knowing" puts on a person.
As if that wasn't enough greatness for one book, this is only the beginning. I have a lot of respect for Rebecca Podos managing to fit in so many potentially loaded subjects (sexual identity, mental illness, coming of age, Hispanic culture, etc.), yet pulling it all off so seamlessly.
I can't tell what the rest of the year might bring, but I feel there's a good chance Like Water makes it to my favourites of 2020.
If you were on the fence, let this be the little push you needed!
5/5 stars
Like Water is the exact type of contemporary that attracts me; hard-hitting topics, a focus on family and/or coming of age, all against the highly atmospheric backdrop of (preferably) a small town... Even though I knew from the synopsis that this could be one of them, Like Water exceeded all my expectations, and can only say that I adored this book. As with many of the books that I adore, I'm going to struggle putting my thoughts to paper a lot more that I would with book I didn't like as much, so please excuse any further ramblings.
I often keep banging on and on about needing more good books about chronic illness or taking care of a loved one with an illness, and I finally found one that I want to add to that list! Like Water was all I could ask for in this regard. It nails it with the dilemma's and conflicting feelings that come with the situations, as well as the strain that "not-knowing" puts on a person.
As if that wasn't enough greatness for one book, this is only the beginning. I have a lot of respect for Rebecca Podos managing to fit in so many potentially loaded subjects (sexual identity, mental illness, coming of age, Hispanic culture, etc.), yet pulling it all off so seamlessly.
I can't tell what the rest of the year might bring, but I feel there's a good chance Like Water makes it to my favourites of 2020.
If you were on the fence, let this be the little push you needed!
October 11, 2017
About: Like Water is a young adult fiction written by Rebecca Podos. It will be published on 10/17/17 by Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins, 320 pages. The genres are young adult, GLBT, contemporary, queer, and fiction. This book is intended for readers ages 14 and up, grades 9 and up.
My Experience: I started reading Like Water on 10/9/17 and finished it on 10/11/17. I like diving into this book blindly and discovering the surprises within the pages. I love the cover of this book! The humor is great! It’s not the usual banter/bickering I’m used to, but the general conversational and narrative humor. I like that the characters aren’t perfect. They have problems they deal with that can be relatable to readers. This book has swear words in English and in Spanish because the main character is bilingual. This book is not sad despite the health problems, romance troubles, and limited future plans opportunities. It’s not very depressing either because when teens are bored, they dare each other to do crazy things.
This book is told in the first person point of view following Savannah (aka Vanni) Espinoza, a recent graduate at El Trampero High School. This story takes place in El Trampero (The Trapper) but everyone calls it La Trampa (The Trap), a small town in New Mexico where Vanni works at her family restaurant called Sylvia’s. The norms of growing up in a small town is wanting to get out and Vanni has plans to go away to college. Her plan was cut short when her father suddenly was diagnosed with Huntington’s, a no-cure disease that turns off what he was able to do for himself into having others to take care of him. Additionally, it’s also a disease that’s genetically passed down from one generation to the next and Vanni feels like her future is slipping away. She’s numb on what to do with her life, whether take the test to know if she inherits the disease or continue to live in a haze waiting for the disease to come. She takes reckless paths with different guys to fix the numbness. All that is changed when she gotten to know Leigh Clemente. Vanni has only been with guys, but somehow Vanni started to notice the little things in Leigh. Leigh becomes one good thing in Vanni’s life but Leigh has her own troubles and Vanni’s wants might be out of reach again.
This book is well written. I like the Spanish vocabularies embedded into the story. With my two years of Spanish lessons way back in the days, I was able to understand a few words here and there but it would’ve been great if there were more translation within the story. I haven’t read a book that talks about mermaids performing at water parks and it’s refreshing to read something new for a change. I like Lucas’ love for his sister Leigh by finding her a friend and taking her to see the meteor shower. I like the bluntness of this book. Vanni speaks bluntly about how she feels and what goes on around her. This book is a good read and I do recommend everyone to read it.
Pro: cover, humor, diversity, hereditary disease, family, friendship, fast paced, discovering oneself
Con: lack of translation for Spanish sentences
I rate it 4 stars!
***Disclaimer: Many thanks to the author Rebecca Podos, publisher Balzer + Bray, and Edelweiss for the opportunity to read and review. Please be assured that my opinions are honest.
xoxo,
Jasmine
My Experience: I started reading Like Water on 10/9/17 and finished it on 10/11/17. I like diving into this book blindly and discovering the surprises within the pages. I love the cover of this book! The humor is great! It’s not the usual banter/bickering I’m used to, but the general conversational and narrative humor. I like that the characters aren’t perfect. They have problems they deal with that can be relatable to readers. This book has swear words in English and in Spanish because the main character is bilingual. This book is not sad despite the health problems, romance troubles, and limited future plans opportunities. It’s not very depressing either because when teens are bored, they dare each other to do crazy things.
This book is told in the first person point of view following Savannah (aka Vanni) Espinoza, a recent graduate at El Trampero High School. This story takes place in El Trampero (The Trapper) but everyone calls it La Trampa (The Trap), a small town in New Mexico where Vanni works at her family restaurant called Sylvia’s. The norms of growing up in a small town is wanting to get out and Vanni has plans to go away to college. Her plan was cut short when her father suddenly was diagnosed with Huntington’s, a no-cure disease that turns off what he was able to do for himself into having others to take care of him. Additionally, it’s also a disease that’s genetically passed down from one generation to the next and Vanni feels like her future is slipping away. She’s numb on what to do with her life, whether take the test to know if she inherits the disease or continue to live in a haze waiting for the disease to come. She takes reckless paths with different guys to fix the numbness. All that is changed when she gotten to know Leigh Clemente. Vanni has only been with guys, but somehow Vanni started to notice the little things in Leigh. Leigh becomes one good thing in Vanni’s life but Leigh has her own troubles and Vanni’s wants might be out of reach again.
This book is well written. I like the Spanish vocabularies embedded into the story. With my two years of Spanish lessons way back in the days, I was able to understand a few words here and there but it would’ve been great if there were more translation within the story. I haven’t read a book that talks about mermaids performing at water parks and it’s refreshing to read something new for a change. I like Lucas’ love for his sister Leigh by finding her a friend and taking her to see the meteor shower. I like the bluntness of this book. Vanni speaks bluntly about how she feels and what goes on around her. This book is a good read and I do recommend everyone to read it.
Pro: cover, humor, diversity, hereditary disease, family, friendship, fast paced, discovering oneself
Con: lack of translation for Spanish sentences
I rate it 4 stars!
***Disclaimer: Many thanks to the author Rebecca Podos, publisher Balzer + Bray, and Edelweiss for the opportunity to read and review. Please be assured that my opinions are honest.
xoxo,
Jasmine
October 9, 2017
(I received an advance copy of this book for free. Thanks to HarperCollins and Edelweiss.)
This was a contemporary story about a girl who unexpectedly fell for another girl.
Savannah was a bit of a risk taker, and she liked to spend time with boys, none of whom were her boyfriend, just as a way to pass time really.
The storyline in this was about Savannah meeting a new guy called Lucas, and after spending time with him and his sister realising that it was his sister Leigh who she liked, which was a bit surprising to her as she had always liked boys. We also got a storyline about Savannah’s father who had Huntingdon’s disease, which Savannah was afraid she would also inherit.
The ending to this was okay, but the book felt like it was missing something for me.
6 out of 10
This was a contemporary story about a girl who unexpectedly fell for another girl.
Savannah was a bit of a risk taker, and she liked to spend time with boys, none of whom were her boyfriend, just as a way to pass time really.
The storyline in this was about Savannah meeting a new guy called Lucas, and after spending time with him and his sister realising that it was his sister Leigh who she liked, which was a bit surprising to her as she had always liked boys. We also got a storyline about Savannah’s father who had Huntingdon’s disease, which Savannah was afraid she would also inherit.
The ending to this was okay, but the book felt like it was missing something for me.
6 out of 10
July 4, 2018
Full review originally posted on my blog:
Word Wonders
CW: Sick parent, hereditary disease, anxiety, biphobia, homophobia, ableist slur (challenged on page), drunk driving.
I’m going to be honest here… what caught my eye about this book is its cover, it’s ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS. Then I checked the synopsis and added it to my TBR. Then a friend of mine couldn’t shut up about it and made me want to read it desperately. and I finally got it for my birthday and dropped everything and read it right away (or a few days later, same difference). And I gotta say, it’s an amazing book. I loved it so much. Especially the characters, and the themes, and the ending.
The writing is gripping, it’s fairly simple, down to earth and straight to the point but still emotionally loaded with some incredible quotes that take you by the feels. It’s just so… real. I loved the swearing, I loved the language switch (between English and spanish) that is seemless in the dialogue, eventhough spanish isn’t my forte, I could relate to that as someone who’s multilingual and grew up using more than one language in one sentence.
The book is very much character driven in a sense where it’s all about characters exploring their identities, finding themselves, screwing up and owning up to it, especially the MC and her love interest. The only reason this was a four star read for me instead of five is that it took a little while to get fully immersed in the story, I felt like for a little over a third not much happened, but once I did, it was stellar, the second half of the book deserves a million stars. I loved the way it discussed identity, especially when it comes to gender and sexuality as well as being scared of what the future holds and really not knowing what to do with yourself. It was all so natural and casual.
Between the first and second chapter there is a three and a half years gap which served as a before and after of Savannah’s personality and behaviour and I think that was really well done because it had a lot of impact in showing instead of telling how drastic the change was, how big of a rift was created in her life in a few years and helped build up to her character development throughout the rest of the book.
As you know from the synopsis, Savannah’s dad has Huntington’s disease and what I liked most is that it wasn’t made about Savannah, it wasn’t made to make her and the reader some wild realisation about how you should take life by the horns or whatever. What was about Savannah is the numbing fear she experienced for most of the book about having the gene coding for the disease in her DNA as well, which makes her drop all her life plans, all she can think about is whether or not she has it, too scared to think about what her future might look like.
My favourite part of this novel is hands down the characters. They’re just so… real, that’s the first word that comes to mind when I think about them, it has some of the most authentic characters I’ve read in a while.
Savannah, or Vanni like everyone calls her, is Latina (Mexican if I’m not mistaken) and she isn’t your typical likeable character but you STILL fall in love with her. She’s hard on the outside but soft and mushy on the inside. She’s a no strings attached kind of girl, literally too scared of the future to make any kind of comittement to anyone or anything. No boyfriends, no friends, no plans, no Nothing. She’s essentially just existing. It got to a point where she has isolated herself so much that contact with people her age has become awkward and strained and that is just an experience I never really read about in a book? And I loved it here. Vanni also starts questioning her sexuality throughout the book and that was done so freaking well in my opinion, Leigh helped her figure it out but it was ultimately up to her which label fit her best and she ended up settling on bisexual. Not a spoiler. Sexuality is never a spoiler.
Leigh, her love interest, is genderqueer, which is only revealed towards the end of the book but that too wasn’t a big deal, it wasn’t some big reveal, just a lowkey conversation between her and Savannah. Leigh uses she/her pronouns for the whole book but they are said not to fit anymore by the end but that people can keep referring to her that way while she figures out pronouns that fit her better. Leigh is a wild one, snarky and hard to crack, has anger managements issues and breaks pretty much every kind of rule set for her. The only people Leigh has a soft spot for are her brother Lucas –who is a precious bean- with whom she has a complicated but ultimately loving relationship, and later on Savannah.
Both characters go through tremendous character development of their own, both in different, small as well as big, ways but helping each other with their own growth, pushing each other, fucking up but ultimately being there for each other when they really need it.
All in all, I would highly HIGHLY recommend Like Water. It’s a coming of age story that deals with important topics, one last thing I want to touch upon that I really appreciated about it is how it shows a bisexual person dating outside the binary, it pushes against the stigma that bi people are transphobic, date only men and women and so on and so forth.
CW: Sick parent, hereditary disease, anxiety, biphobia, homophobia, ableist slur (challenged on page), drunk driving.
I’m going to be honest here… what caught my eye about this book is its cover, it’s ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS. Then I checked the synopsis and added it to my TBR. Then a friend of mine couldn’t shut up about it and made me want to read it desperately. and I finally got it for my birthday and dropped everything and read it right away (or a few days later, same difference). And I gotta say, it’s an amazing book. I loved it so much. Especially the characters, and the themes, and the ending.
The writing is gripping, it’s fairly simple, down to earth and straight to the point but still emotionally loaded with some incredible quotes that take you by the feels. It’s just so… real. I loved the swearing, I loved the language switch (between English and spanish) that is seemless in the dialogue, eventhough spanish isn’t my forte, I could relate to that as someone who’s multilingual and grew up using more than one language in one sentence.
The book is very much character driven in a sense where it’s all about characters exploring their identities, finding themselves, screwing up and owning up to it, especially the MC and her love interest. The only reason this was a four star read for me instead of five is that it took a little while to get fully immersed in the story, I felt like for a little over a third not much happened, but once I did, it was stellar, the second half of the book deserves a million stars. I loved the way it discussed identity, especially when it comes to gender and sexuality as well as being scared of what the future holds and really not knowing what to do with yourself. It was all so natural and casual.
Between the first and second chapter there is a three and a half years gap which served as a before and after of Savannah’s personality and behaviour and I think that was really well done because it had a lot of impact in showing instead of telling how drastic the change was, how big of a rift was created in her life in a few years and helped build up to her character development throughout the rest of the book.
As you know from the synopsis, Savannah’s dad has Huntington’s disease and what I liked most is that it wasn’t made about Savannah, it wasn’t made to make her and the reader some wild realisation about how you should take life by the horns or whatever. What was about Savannah is the numbing fear she experienced for most of the book about having the gene coding for the disease in her DNA as well, which makes her drop all her life plans, all she can think about is whether or not she has it, too scared to think about what her future might look like.
My favourite part of this novel is hands down the characters. They’re just so… real, that’s the first word that comes to mind when I think about them, it has some of the most authentic characters I’ve read in a while.
Savannah, or Vanni like everyone calls her, is Latina (Mexican if I’m not mistaken) and she isn’t your typical likeable character but you STILL fall in love with her. She’s hard on the outside but soft and mushy on the inside. She’s a no strings attached kind of girl, literally too scared of the future to make any kind of comittement to anyone or anything. No boyfriends, no friends, no plans, no Nothing. She’s essentially just existing. It got to a point where she has isolated herself so much that contact with people her age has become awkward and strained and that is just an experience I never really read about in a book? And I loved it here. Vanni also starts questioning her sexuality throughout the book and that was done so freaking well in my opinion, Leigh helped her figure it out but it was ultimately up to her which label fit her best and she ended up settling on bisexual. Not a spoiler. Sexuality is never a spoiler.
Leigh, her love interest, is genderqueer, which is only revealed towards the end of the book but that too wasn’t a big deal, it wasn’t some big reveal, just a lowkey conversation between her and Savannah. Leigh uses she/her pronouns for the whole book but they are said not to fit anymore by the end but that people can keep referring to her that way while she figures out pronouns that fit her better. Leigh is a wild one, snarky and hard to crack, has anger managements issues and breaks pretty much every kind of rule set for her. The only people Leigh has a soft spot for are her brother Lucas –who is a precious bean- with whom she has a complicated but ultimately loving relationship, and later on Savannah.
Both characters go through tremendous character development of their own, both in different, small as well as big, ways but helping each other with their own growth, pushing each other, fucking up but ultimately being there for each other when they really need it.
All in all, I would highly HIGHLY recommend Like Water. It’s a coming of age story that deals with important topics, one last thing I want to touch upon that I really appreciated about it is how it shows a bisexual person dating outside the binary, it pushes against the stigma that bi people are transphobic, date only men and women and so on and so forth.
August 21, 2020
rep: bi latina mc, genderqueer lesbian li, latino side character with the huntington's disease, latinx side characters
so maybe im in love with this book & the wonderfully intense sapphic romance btwn two flawed, beautiful characters, so what
so maybe im in love with this book & the wonderfully intense sapphic romance btwn two flawed, beautiful characters, so what
June 20, 2019
♦
Video Review
♦
4.5 stars. This was so, so beautiful. I didn't know much about this story going into it but I knew the main character, Vanni, would fall in love with a girl for the first time. Do I need more to want to read a book? Hell no. Did I get way more from this book than just that? Hell yeah.
The story is so wonderful. While it's short-ish, Podos was able to pack so many things into this novel. The romance is really just a small part. It's more so about self-discovery, not just when it comes to sexual orientation, but so many other aspects.
It deals with different friendship dynamics (strangers-to-friends but also falling out of a friendship and finding your way back into it) and also a lot of family dynamics and how her Dad's disease influences him and the relationship he has with his daughter and wife and what a genetic disease means for Vanni's future.
Lots of other issues get discussed in this novel, even gender identity and Vanni's love interest comes out as genderqueer later in the novel, so this actually features a f/gq romance!
The romance is a strangers-to-friends-to-lovers romance that was lovely to see develop. It felt very natural and is not over the top at all.
I think one of my favourite parts of this story was when Vanni realizes she wants to be with Leigh, there's no big fuss about it. She's not spending half the book being like “omg what now, am I gay”. Obviously there's a little bit of confusion going on and Vanni talks about it with Leigh, regarding labels etc, but I'm just sick of stories making this such a big thing. For me most of the thoughts Vanni is going through felt more like “oh god, do I LIKE my friend” rather than “oh god, do I LIKE a girl” and that felt so refreshing.
The tone of the story is very mellow and simple and it's easy to get into the story but there's also a lot of beautiful writing in it. The story feels like this amazing whirlpool that you can slowly sink into and really don't wanna get out of (I mean, if you're into that, otherwise you need to find another metaphor lol). Somehow this books feels melancholic and nostalgic in parts but it's not sad. It's emotional, hopeful and funny.
I have definitely, clearly, fallen in love with this book. It's one that won't let me go for a long time.
If you like Run by Kody Keplinger, I think this is the book for you. It felt very similar in tone but also some of the storyline, except it's more about a f/gq romance than a friendship. The tone also reminded me a lot of Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy and while the topic is different, it still fits into a similar category for me. If you like either (or both) of these books, I'd highly suggest you give Like Water a try!
♦ Booktube Channel ♦ Twitter ♦ Instagram ♦
I received an ARC of this through Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review!
4.5 stars. This was so, so beautiful. I didn't know much about this story going into it but I knew the main character, Vanni, would fall in love with a girl for the first time. Do I need more to want to read a book? Hell no. Did I get way more from this book than just that? Hell yeah.
The story is so wonderful. While it's short-ish, Podos was able to pack so many things into this novel. The romance is really just a small part. It's more so about self-discovery, not just when it comes to sexual orientation, but so many other aspects.
It deals with different friendship dynamics (strangers-to-friends but also falling out of a friendship and finding your way back into it) and also a lot of family dynamics and how her Dad's disease influences him and the relationship he has with his daughter and wife and what a genetic disease means for Vanni's future.
Lots of other issues get discussed in this novel, even gender identity and Vanni's love interest comes out as genderqueer later in the novel, so this actually features a f/gq romance!
The romance is a strangers-to-friends-to-lovers romance that was lovely to see develop. It felt very natural and is not over the top at all.
I think one of my favourite parts of this story was when Vanni realizes she wants to be with Leigh, there's no big fuss about it. She's not spending half the book being like “omg what now, am I gay”. Obviously there's a little bit of confusion going on and Vanni talks about it with Leigh, regarding labels etc, but I'm just sick of stories making this such a big thing. For me most of the thoughts Vanni is going through felt more like “oh god, do I LIKE my friend” rather than “oh god, do I LIKE a girl” and that felt so refreshing.
The tone of the story is very mellow and simple and it's easy to get into the story but there's also a lot of beautiful writing in it. The story feels like this amazing whirlpool that you can slowly sink into and really don't wanna get out of (I mean, if you're into that, otherwise you need to find another metaphor lol). Somehow this books feels melancholic and nostalgic in parts but it's not sad. It's emotional, hopeful and funny.
I have definitely, clearly, fallen in love with this book. It's one that won't let me go for a long time.
If you like Run by Kody Keplinger, I think this is the book for you. It felt very similar in tone but also some of the storyline, except it's more about a f/gq romance than a friendship. The tone also reminded me a lot of Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy and while the topic is different, it still fits into a similar category for me. If you like either (or both) of these books, I'd highly suggest you give Like Water a try!
♦ Booktube Channel ♦ Twitter ♦ Instagram ♦
I received an ARC of this through Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review!
October 17, 2017
This was so good, I want to cry.
Savannah, aka Vanni, is a recent high school graduate who has no idea what to do next. Ever since her father has been diagnosed with Huntington’s she can feel her life slipping away since this disease can be genetically passed down. She has no idea if she should take the test to know if she tests positive for Huntington’s or if living in uncertainty is the better option. Vanni tries to find ways to deal with all this fear in her life, most of which involves not talking to any of her friends and losing herself in boys.
One day she meets this boy named Lucas and his sister Leigh. She forms an unexpected friendship with Leigh, which then turns into something more. This is a huge surprise to Vanni, since this is a part of her sexuality that she never really knew existed.
I loved Vanni and Leigh. They weren’t perfect, like at all, and at times they were even a bit unlikable. But they were so relatable, and they each had their own issues and problems they had to deal with. I loved that not only was their relationship so authentic and messy, but also their relationships with each of their families. I loved every scene where we got to see Lucas and Leigh interact, as well as Vanni and her dad.
For some reason I thought this book was going to be sad? I mean, Vanni is dealing with anxiety, crippling fear about what her future is going to look like, a new relationship; it’s enough to make anyone’s life very stressful. But Podos writes Savannah’s story with brutal honesty and the sad scenes never overwhelm the hopeful and funny scenes.
Podos writing was beautiful. It was lyrical, honest, and raw. I loved how effortlessly Spanish was infused into the dialogue between Vanni and her family. Though I do realize that there weren’t any English translations for the few phrases that were in Spanish, so if you experience with Spanish there can be a few phrases where you’ll have no idea what they’re saying, but it’s not that big of a deal.
This was such a heartfelt story, filled with a memorable cast. I hope everyone gives it a chance when it releases! Also, there are mermaids here, so that’s an automatic plus in my book.
**ARC provided by Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review**
Savannah, aka Vanni, is a recent high school graduate who has no idea what to do next. Ever since her father has been diagnosed with Huntington’s she can feel her life slipping away since this disease can be genetically passed down. She has no idea if she should take the test to know if she tests positive for Huntington’s or if living in uncertainty is the better option. Vanni tries to find ways to deal with all this fear in her life, most of which involves not talking to any of her friends and losing herself in boys.
One day she meets this boy named Lucas and his sister Leigh. She forms an unexpected friendship with Leigh, which then turns into something more. This is a huge surprise to Vanni, since this is a part of her sexuality that she never really knew existed.
I loved Vanni and Leigh. They weren’t perfect, like at all, and at times they were even a bit unlikable. But they were so relatable, and they each had their own issues and problems they had to deal with. I loved that not only was their relationship so authentic and messy, but also their relationships with each of their families. I loved every scene where we got to see Lucas and Leigh interact, as well as Vanni and her dad.
For some reason I thought this book was going to be sad? I mean, Vanni is dealing with anxiety, crippling fear about what her future is going to look like, a new relationship; it’s enough to make anyone’s life very stressful. But Podos writes Savannah’s story with brutal honesty and the sad scenes never overwhelm the hopeful and funny scenes.
Podos writing was beautiful. It was lyrical, honest, and raw. I loved how effortlessly Spanish was infused into the dialogue between Vanni and her family. Though I do realize that there weren’t any English translations for the few phrases that were in Spanish, so if you experience with Spanish there can be a few phrases where you’ll have no idea what they’re saying, but it’s not that big of a deal.
This was such a heartfelt story, filled with a memorable cast. I hope everyone gives it a chance when it releases! Also, there are mermaids here, so that’s an automatic plus in my book.
**ARC provided by Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review**
May 28, 2017
I had the great privilege of reading an early version of this book, and wow is it gorgeous. Messy, complex characters and motivations, beautiful prose, a diverse cast, and QUEER. I have so many thoughts, and I'll add to this later, but yes, yes, you want this on your 2017 TBR.
July 1, 2017
I loved this book a lot. Review to come.
January 28, 2020
"I don’t know what it means, exactly. This is all I know: I’m Savannah Espinoza, I’m eighteen years old, and Leigh Clemente is my best kiss yet."
It was cute but nothing memorable here. I really liked the main relationship. Everything else was just fine, I didn't connect with the characters, so I was a little bored at times.
It was cute but nothing memorable here. I really liked the main relationship. Everything else was just fine, I didn't connect with the characters, so I was a little bored at times.
April 12, 2017
OMG YA'LL IS THIS BOOK ON YOUR 2017 TBR BECAUSE IT SHOULD BE. One of the most beautiful and impactful books I've ever read. And like. Idk man. It's been a long time since I've seen so much of myself in one book.
~more later~
~more later~
Read
April 30, 2017Not at all surprised at how much I liked this. So different from Podos's first book (except that I really, really enjoy how she handles familial dynamics in both, in what a presence the fathers are) but also so good. Also digging this trend of absolutely drama-free "oh, huh, I'm bi" realizations from MCs this year - always nice to see another experience show up in YA.
March 9, 2021
Rep: Mexican American bi mc, genderqueer lesbian li, side character with Huntingdon's disease, Latinx side characters
March 19, 2018
"What are you doing tonight?"
"I hate everything but you. What do you think I'm doing?"
edit: so im changing my fave fxf contemporary to The Apocalypse of Elena Mendoza because even though that one's a bit wild, i like it better than this. so yeps! this is a solid 4, though.
So, this is it. This is my favorite fxf contemporary book! It's a huge deal for me. The thing is that with all the fxf books I've loved before, like We Are Okay or Jane, Unlimited or Girls Made of Snow and Glass, the relationship isn't the important part. Like, it was about grief or time-travelling in alternative universes or it was one perspective in a book. But this book is solely focused on Savannah discovering her sexuality, and most importantly, herself. And the relationship is so fucking good and I love them so much, okay??
"I think this is what I need to get un-stuck. Do you think that's a good reason?"
"It's your reason, right? It's what you need. Good enough for me."
The thing that makes this book work so well is how real it is. The teenagers are all somewhat destructive, and I related to that a lot. Vanni struggling with her father having Huntington's disease was so heartbreaking and I swear I wanted to cry for her so many times. She deals with this the way most teenagers do - which is not healthy at all, by the way - by repressing her feelings. I found that really relatable, too. It's not like she wants to not care but she just can't bear the thought of caring because it would break her. So she sits in the middle. I understood that.
I'm thinking that I just want one thing to be good and right, because one good, right thing can be enough.
Something else I really love is that they both come to terms with their sexuality together, you know? She doesn't immediately go like "I'm gay?" She has a conversation, googles the shit out of her sexuality and it's all very natural and something that would actually happen and i LOVE THAT. i love that she actually says "i'm bi." i love that she's insecure, a bit awful at times, knows exactly what she wants at all times, even if she doesn't pursue it. i want to be her friend honestly??
Bodies so perfect they were beneath their notice; like the ticking of a clock you never pay attention to until the day it stops, and then it's not the sound you hear, but the silence.
the ending was really soft and wow i love soft girls loving each other and im so proud of them bc they've been through so much and they've grown so much and helped each other grow. tbh this book is more of a 4 or 4.5 because the beginning is a little slow and the ending is a little rushed but the characters and the fact that i loved how natural the relationship was and how much they made me smile was worth the rounding up. im looove.
P.S. i wanted to give vanni a hug a lot of the time and OMG THE COVER IS SO FREAKIN COOL i didn't mention but i loved the diversity and how she embraced her culture as latinax, bless
"I hate everything but you. What do you think I'm doing?"
edit: so im changing my fave fxf contemporary to The Apocalypse of Elena Mendoza because even though that one's a bit wild, i like it better than this. so yeps! this is a solid 4, though.
So, this is it. This is my favorite fxf contemporary book! It's a huge deal for me. The thing is that with all the fxf books I've loved before, like We Are Okay or Jane, Unlimited or Girls Made of Snow and Glass, the relationship isn't the important part. Like, it was about grief or time-travelling in alternative universes or it was one perspective in a book. But this book is solely focused on Savannah discovering her sexuality, and most importantly, herself. And the relationship is so fucking good and I love them so much, okay??
"I think this is what I need to get un-stuck. Do you think that's a good reason?"
"It's your reason, right? It's what you need. Good enough for me."
The thing that makes this book work so well is how real it is. The teenagers are all somewhat destructive, and I related to that a lot. Vanni struggling with her father having Huntington's disease was so heartbreaking and I swear I wanted to cry for her so many times. She deals with this the way most teenagers do - which is not healthy at all, by the way - by repressing her feelings. I found that really relatable, too. It's not like she wants to not care but she just can't bear the thought of caring because it would break her. So she sits in the middle. I understood that.
I'm thinking that I just want one thing to be good and right, because one good, right thing can be enough.
Something else I really love is that they both come to terms with their sexuality together, you know? She doesn't immediately go like "I'm gay?" She has a conversation, googles the shit out of her sexuality and it's all very natural and something that would actually happen and i LOVE THAT. i love that she actually says "i'm bi." i love that she's insecure, a bit awful at times, knows exactly what she wants at all times, even if she doesn't pursue it. i want to be her friend honestly??
Bodies so perfect they were beneath their notice; like the ticking of a clock you never pay attention to until the day it stops, and then it's not the sound you hear, but the silence.
the ending was really soft and wow i love soft girls loving each other and im so proud of them bc they've been through so much and they've grown so much and helped each other grow. tbh this book is more of a 4 or 4.5 because the beginning is a little slow and the ending is a little rushed but the characters and the fact that i loved how natural the relationship was and how much they made me smile was worth the rounding up. im looove.
P.S. i wanted to give vanni a hug a lot of the time and OMG THE COVER IS SO FREAKIN COOL i didn't mention but i loved the diversity and how she embraced her culture as latinax, bless
December 25, 2017
This novel is an underrated masterpiece.
A coming-of-age story about queer identity, discovering yourself, and the importance of supportive friends and family: LIKE WATER is a novel that waves its plot, characters, writing, and representation together effortlessly and beautifully.
We have two primary characters in this novel:
Vanni, a frightened waitress trapped in a small town because her father has been diagnosed with Huntington’s disease and she doesn’t know if she has it, too.
Leigh, a badass “girl” who has recently moved to this small town against her will and is obviously angry and frustrated with many parts of her life.
Both of these characters were constructed to be flawed and realistic and their stories are perfect both separately and together and come to the perfect “ending.”
Vanni overcomes her fear of the possibility of Huntington’s disease while also coming to terms with her identity as a bi girl.
Leigh faces many struggles throughout the novel and has to learn how to accept herself.
These two teens fall in love at a difficult time in their lives and have navigate their relationship among all other aspects of their lives. The world around them keeps turning and evolving as they are trapped in their own little bubbles that they have to learn to break out of over the course of the novel.
The dialogue and descriptions and painted to show a realistic journey and world. The words used by Podos are chosen with intention and contribute to the overall beauty of the novel.
The journey of the two main characters is also connected to the journey of all of the side characters, who emphasize the importance of family and friends in their lives.
The representation in this novel is essentially perfect:
- bi latinx main character
- latinx main family and side characters
- lesbian genderqueer love interest
The identities of these characters are crucial to their character, but also don’t define who they are.
Overall, I have nothing negative to say about this novel. It discusses hard topics in a beautiful manner and I couldn’t recommend it more.
A coming-of-age story about queer identity, discovering yourself, and the importance of supportive friends and family: LIKE WATER is a novel that waves its plot, characters, writing, and representation together effortlessly and beautifully.
We have two primary characters in this novel:
Vanni, a frightened waitress trapped in a small town because her father has been diagnosed with Huntington’s disease and she doesn’t know if she has it, too.
Leigh, a badass “girl” who has recently moved to this small town against her will and is obviously angry and frustrated with many parts of her life.
Both of these characters were constructed to be flawed and realistic and their stories are perfect both separately and together and come to the perfect “ending.”
Vanni overcomes her fear of the possibility of Huntington’s disease while also coming to terms with her identity as a bi girl.
Leigh faces many struggles throughout the novel and has to learn how to accept herself.
These two teens fall in love at a difficult time in their lives and have navigate their relationship among all other aspects of their lives. The world around them keeps turning and evolving as they are trapped in their own little bubbles that they have to learn to break out of over the course of the novel.
The dialogue and descriptions and painted to show a realistic journey and world. The words used by Podos are chosen with intention and contribute to the overall beauty of the novel.
The journey of the two main characters is also connected to the journey of all of the side characters, who emphasize the importance of family and friends in their lives.
The representation in this novel is essentially perfect:
- bi latinx main character
- latinx main family and side characters
- lesbian genderqueer love interest
The identities of these characters are crucial to their character, but also don’t define who they are.
Overall, I have nothing negative to say about this novel. It discusses hard topics in a beautiful manner and I couldn’t recommend it more.
April 4, 2020
Actual rating: 4.5/5 stars
5 billion years later I'm finally writing this review! This is the first book I finished for the Latinx Book Bingo Readathon that I've been hosting along with Paola @ Mancerelle and Sofia @ SofiainBookland. This book fulfilled the boxes of Contemporary/Romance, Bisexual MC, F/F romance, and On Cover Representation.
Like Water is about a girl named Savannah who has just graduated high school and lives in a very small town in New Mexico. Almost no one who lives in that town ever makes it out, and when Savannah's father is diagnosed with Huntington's disease she feels an obligation to stay with her family instead of pursuing her dreams of leaving New Mexico. One day, she meets a lifeguard at a waterpark nearby and she gets a job there as a mermaid performer. She becomes friends with the lifeguard and his sister, Leigh, who have both moved to New Mexico from Chicago. Savannah and Leigh form a close friendship which turns into more, despite not really liking each other in the beginning.
This book is REALLY character driven, so if you're more of a plot reader then you might not be very impressed by this book. The plot is good, but it's definitely not the driving force of this novel. The characters are all very strong and distinct, and I really loved getting to know them as they were more and more fleshed out.
I really loved getting to know Savannah, especially since she feels like a real teenager stuck in a town she doesn't love around people she couldn't really care less about. She's grown distant with her friends and is in a cycle of doing the same things every single day. I also really loved how sex positive this book was when it came to Savannah and her hooking up with different guys. She was never shamed in the narrative and it's not shown as either a good thing or a bad thing, just as something that happens. It also didn't feel like a "this is something that everyone does so it's Normal" kind of thing, which is also really refreshing.
I also really loved Leigh and her friendship/relationship with Savannah. They never really are in a capital "R" Relationship in the book, but they are definitely intimate and do a lot of things together. Leigh is really moody and angsty over having to move from Chicago to New Mexico, which I could really relate to as I moved a lot as a teenager and it sucked. I also really liked the discussion that was had concerning Leigh's gender identity. Towards the end of the book, Leigh confides in Savannah that she might be gender queer, though she's still trying to figure out what that means for her. She tells Savannah that, until further notice, she's still using she/her pronouns and that she still goes by Leigh.
There is also a lot of talk about sexuality as Savannah is trying to figure out the extent of her attraction to more than one gender, especially as she finds that she's attracted to Leigh. There's discussions of Savannah being bisexual and, with that normally comes the discussion of whether she's faking it or just experimenting or if it's real. Leigh accuses Savannah of being a straight girl using her to experiment, but Savannah insists that's not what she is doing and it's resolved.
I really loved the Latinx representation and it was definitely something that I could relate to. I love getting to read rep that feels authentic and doesn't sound or look super stereotypical like a lot of non-Latinx people write. I've found that even non-Latinx POC don't always write something realistic or genuine, so it can get a little frustrating. But Like Water really hit the nail on the head for me and I felt like I could really relate to Savannah and her family.
Overall, I definitely recommend this book if you're looking for good Latinx and bisexual representation. A lot of the elements of the story, like the mermaid stuff, were a lot of fun and definitely added to my enjoyment. Also, the line "Leigh was like water." literally made me scream and cry, so I don't know if that says anything about me or the book.
5 billion years later I'm finally writing this review! This is the first book I finished for the Latinx Book Bingo Readathon that I've been hosting along with Paola @ Mancerelle and Sofia @ SofiainBookland. This book fulfilled the boxes of Contemporary/Romance, Bisexual MC, F/F romance, and On Cover Representation.
Like Water is about a girl named Savannah who has just graduated high school and lives in a very small town in New Mexico. Almost no one who lives in that town ever makes it out, and when Savannah's father is diagnosed with Huntington's disease she feels an obligation to stay with her family instead of pursuing her dreams of leaving New Mexico. One day, she meets a lifeguard at a waterpark nearby and she gets a job there as a mermaid performer. She becomes friends with the lifeguard and his sister, Leigh, who have both moved to New Mexico from Chicago. Savannah and Leigh form a close friendship which turns into more, despite not really liking each other in the beginning.
This book is REALLY character driven, so if you're more of a plot reader then you might not be very impressed by this book. The plot is good, but it's definitely not the driving force of this novel. The characters are all very strong and distinct, and I really loved getting to know them as they were more and more fleshed out.
I really loved getting to know Savannah, especially since she feels like a real teenager stuck in a town she doesn't love around people she couldn't really care less about. She's grown distant with her friends and is in a cycle of doing the same things every single day. I also really loved how sex positive this book was when it came to Savannah and her hooking up with different guys. She was never shamed in the narrative and it's not shown as either a good thing or a bad thing, just as something that happens. It also didn't feel like a "this is something that everyone does so it's Normal" kind of thing, which is also really refreshing.
I also really loved Leigh and her friendship/relationship with Savannah. They never really are in a capital "R" Relationship in the book, but they are definitely intimate and do a lot of things together. Leigh is really moody and angsty over having to move from Chicago to New Mexico, which I could really relate to as I moved a lot as a teenager and it sucked. I also really liked the discussion that was had concerning Leigh's gender identity. Towards the end of the book, Leigh confides in Savannah that she might be gender queer, though she's still trying to figure out what that means for her. She tells Savannah that, until further notice, she's still using she/her pronouns and that she still goes by Leigh.
There is also a lot of talk about sexuality as Savannah is trying to figure out the extent of her attraction to more than one gender, especially as she finds that she's attracted to Leigh. There's discussions of Savannah being bisexual and, with that normally comes the discussion of whether she's faking it or just experimenting or if it's real. Leigh accuses Savannah of being a straight girl using her to experiment, but Savannah insists that's not what she is doing and it's resolved.
I really loved the Latinx representation and it was definitely something that I could relate to. I love getting to read rep that feels authentic and doesn't sound or look super stereotypical like a lot of non-Latinx people write. I've found that even non-Latinx POC don't always write something realistic or genuine, so it can get a little frustrating. But Like Water really hit the nail on the head for me and I felt like I could really relate to Savannah and her family.
Overall, I definitely recommend this book if you're looking for good Latinx and bisexual representation. A lot of the elements of the story, like the mermaid stuff, were a lot of fun and definitely added to my enjoyment. Also, the line "Leigh was like water." literally made me scream and cry, so I don't know if that says anything about me or the book.
March 29, 2020
I picked up this book because I had heard that it was about a family with Huntington's Disease. My stepfather had Huntington's and for that reason I always feel drawn to any novel that deals with that topic. I feel as if the story covered that topic very accurately and with a lot of respect towards the topic. But unbeknownst to me this story dealt with a lot more than just HD. It also covered sexuality and gender, figuring who you are, and how to navigate adolescence and life in general. I feel like this story was excellently written and the characters were rich and fully fleshed out. It was a very good read.
December 1, 2017
3.25/5
December 15, 2021
I have a new YA favorite author! This was perfectly magical!
I think I need to coin a new genre just for Rebecca’s books! They deserve a brand new genre!
I would probably call it “Magical Contemporary”.
Rebecca creates these incredibly real characters, who are living these incredibly ordinary lives and struggling with very real issues (like with Chronic and Mental Illnesses), and then... PUFF! She wraps them in this mysterious, glittering veil that makes the story so... magical!
And she does this by sprinkling bits of whimsical experiences into these ordinary lives and also by creating enchanting atmospheres around them with beautiful prose and vivid emotional imagery.
And then, WOW, you are just SO enthralled and wondering how can this be YA contemporary!
Like Water was so a precious book!
SUCH A WONDERFUL HISPANIC REP!!!
I think this is the first time I read a book that is not #OwnVoices with such a good Hispanic Representation! My heart melted with all the Spanglish and with every “que onda” “mija” “cariño” “horchata” “princesa” “quinceañera” and even the not so glamorous “huevos” and pendejo”
The characters are also LGBT, so yup, a diverse gem!
If you are like me, reader of speculative fiction and an occasional contemporary reader, you will love these books! So “Magically Real”
I think I need to coin a new genre just for Rebecca’s books! They deserve a brand new genre!
I would probably call it “Magical Contemporary”.
Rebecca creates these incredibly real characters, who are living these incredibly ordinary lives and struggling with very real issues (like with Chronic and Mental Illnesses), and then... PUFF! She wraps them in this mysterious, glittering veil that makes the story so... magical!
And she does this by sprinkling bits of whimsical experiences into these ordinary lives and also by creating enchanting atmospheres around them with beautiful prose and vivid emotional imagery.
And then, WOW, you are just SO enthralled and wondering how can this be YA contemporary!
Like Water was so a precious book!
SUCH A WONDERFUL HISPANIC REP!!!
I think this is the first time I read a book that is not #OwnVoices with such a good Hispanic Representation! My heart melted with all the Spanglish and with every “que onda” “mija” “cariño” “horchata” “princesa” “quinceañera” and even the not so glamorous “huevos” and pendejo”
The characters are also LGBT, so yup, a diverse gem!
If you are like me, reader of speculative fiction and an occasional contemporary reader, you will love these books! So “Magically Real”
May 1, 2018
i would have rated this higher, because it really is well written and the author made me feel like i too was trapped in a small town. however, there was spanish left and right and only once did she include a translation. what are they saying??? i missed out on 80% of her interactions with her parents because boom, spanish.
February 10, 2018
3.5 stars
I liked this, and yet it felt like something was... off? I don't know what exactly, or why my opinion changed so much from "okay" to "great" and everything in between, but it is really good! And has great rep (as far as I can tell), and important conversations.
Savannah is Latinix and realises she's bi, and Leigh comes out as genderqueer towards the end of the book. The story is mainly about Savannah, but also about her interaction, and later romance, with Leigh. It's awesome to see an f/gq romance represented on page. It was awesome to hear Spanish too!
I liked Savannah's relationship with her parents and her dad's disease as well. I think it was explored great and developed beautifully. I also liked the dynamic between Leigh and Lucas! And the book is very real. It doesn't sugarcoat anything about life. It's honest and it's messy and there are no magic fixes, and it shows in every aspect. Very refreshing, but sometimes also hard to read if things seemed hopeless or if stuff went wrong.
It was great to see a main character that was sex-positive and not afraid of talking about it or owning it. I hated the drunk driving. I mean, I hate that they did that, not necessarily that it was in the book since it fits the messy part?
I feel like the fact that there's not much more I want to or can say reflects my feelings on the book well. I really loved the things I mentioned, and they made the book enjoyable and good and important but weren't enough to make me love the book or the story as a whole.
Content warnings: use of alcohol and marijuana, drunk driving, ableist slurs whilst arguing (challenged in text), parent with a terminal disease, fade to black sex (and maybe masturbation?)
I liked this, and yet it felt like something was... off? I don't know what exactly, or why my opinion changed so much from "okay" to "great" and everything in between, but it is really good! And has great rep (as far as I can tell), and important conversations.
Savannah is Latinix and realises she's bi, and Leigh comes out as genderqueer towards the end of the book. The story is mainly about Savannah, but also about her interaction, and later romance, with Leigh. It's awesome to see an f/gq romance represented on page. It was awesome to hear Spanish too!
I liked Savannah's relationship with her parents and her dad's disease as well. I think it was explored great and developed beautifully. I also liked the dynamic between Leigh and Lucas! And the book is very real. It doesn't sugarcoat anything about life. It's honest and it's messy and there are no magic fixes, and it shows in every aspect. Very refreshing, but sometimes also hard to read if things seemed hopeless or if stuff went wrong.
It was great to see a main character that was sex-positive and not afraid of talking about it or owning it. I hated the drunk driving. I mean, I hate that they did that, not necessarily that it was in the book since it fits the messy part?
I feel like the fact that there's not much more I want to or can say reflects my feelings on the book well. I really loved the things I mentioned, and they made the book enjoyable and good and important but weren't enough to make me love the book or the story as a whole.
Content warnings: use of alcohol and marijuana, drunk driving, ableist slurs whilst arguing (challenged in text), parent with a terminal disease, fade to black sex (and maybe masturbation?)
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August 7, 2017Vanni's small New Mexico town, La Trampa, is the kind of place you either flee upon graduation or you find yourself stuck in for life. As much as she's intended to flee, though, Vanni is sticking around after graduation to help take care of her sick father, as well as the family Mexican restaurant.
That's when she meets Leigh, a new girl in town. To be fair, Vanni doesn't meet Leigh. She first meets Leigh's brother, and is put off by the attitude and brashness of Leigh. But soon, Vanni cannot get enough of Leigh, and the two of them fall for one another. Or more, Vanni, who is used to enjoying physical fun with many of the local boys, finds herself falling for Leigh on a physical and emotional level, and the story itself explores what it is that Vanni really wants both in the place she's at and the places she hopes to be....physical, emotional, and through relationships.
This is a fabulous book and a quiet one about sexual identity, the fluidity therein, and it features a character who identifies as gender queer (that would be Leigh, who, throughout we refer to as "she" and female, but learn the preferred gender identity later on -- that is part of Vanni's coming to understand her own sexuality). Both of the characters here are sharp, a little prickly, and yet fully realized and realistic.
Another undercurrent of this book is the fear Vanni may have the same condition as her father, and when she turns 18, she has the right to take a genetic test to find out whether or not the possibility of carrying those mutated genes exists.
Would pair really well with LITTLE & LION by Brandy Colbert. There is a lot here, and it's handled in a really impressive manner.
That's when she meets Leigh, a new girl in town. To be fair, Vanni doesn't meet Leigh. She first meets Leigh's brother, and is put off by the attitude and brashness of Leigh. But soon, Vanni cannot get enough of Leigh, and the two of them fall for one another. Or more, Vanni, who is used to enjoying physical fun with many of the local boys, finds herself falling for Leigh on a physical and emotional level, and the story itself explores what it is that Vanni really wants both in the place she's at and the places she hopes to be....physical, emotional, and through relationships.
This is a fabulous book and a quiet one about sexual identity, the fluidity therein, and it features a character who identifies as gender queer (that would be Leigh, who, throughout we refer to as "she" and female, but learn the preferred gender identity later on -- that is part of Vanni's coming to understand her own sexuality). Both of the characters here are sharp, a little prickly, and yet fully realized and realistic.
Another undercurrent of this book is the fear Vanni may have the same condition as her father, and when she turns 18, she has the right to take a genetic test to find out whether or not the possibility of carrying those mutated genes exists.
Would pair really well with LITTLE & LION by Brandy Colbert. There is a lot here, and it's handled in a really impressive manner.
February 18, 2019
3.5 Stars
I loved the story of discovering your sexuality after finding someone. The organic flow of this is so beautiful and such a great take. I really wanted more character development with Leigh and with Savannah. I think they're both interesting people, but I have a lot of questions. I do like the snapshot style of writing, but I want just a *bit* more. I am excited to read more from this author I discovered accidentally, I think she has a lot of potential.
I loved the story of discovering your sexuality after finding someone. The organic flow of this is so beautiful and such a great take. I really wanted more character development with Leigh and with Savannah. I think they're both interesting people, but I have a lot of questions. I do like the snapshot style of writing, but I want just a *bit* more. I am excited to read more from this author I discovered accidentally, I think she has a lot of potential.
May 11, 2018
Why haven't more people read this book? For some reason I thought this book was relatively popular when I picked it up, but I guess not? I didn't LOVE it, but it's a good book and I definitely recommend it!
Because I don't have the brainpower to write a real review, here's just some things to look forward to:
♡ bisexual, latinx main character
♡ genderqueer lesbian love interest
♡ adorable, complex romance
♡ as much as I hate the term, this really is a sort of "coming of age" novel
Uhhhhh I honestly don't know what else to write. What are words.
Can we discuss that ending, though.
Because I don't have the brainpower to write a real review, here's just some things to look forward to:
♡ bisexual, latinx main character
♡ genderqueer lesbian love interest
♡ adorable, complex romance
♡ as much as I hate the term, this really is a sort of "coming of age" novel
Uhhhhh I honestly don't know what else to write. What are words.
Can we discuss that ending, though.
August 19, 2018
I think this is in the 3.5 zone for me. Some wonderful voice, tone, and messages for sure. Some mild pacing issues.
Supposed to be a joke to slow the Vanni
pride parade a little, but her for head Packers, and I know right away I’ve stepped perilously close to the land mine always buried in the ground between us” (18)
"I look at Dad in his slouchy old t-shirt and sweatpants...and try to imagine him and Chris with young bodies...bodies so perfect they were beneath their notice; like the ticking of a clock you never pay attention to until the day it stops, and then it's not the sound you hear, but the silence" (85). Economic but poetically elegiac prose on the hardship of aging and/or disease.
On the new weird job: "It's exciting with a little dash of depressing" (88)
On bitches: "If Leigh's aiming for nice, she sometimes misses the mark. But so what?...There have to be more important things for a girl to be than nice...Leigh night be a bitch, but she's funny, and she's sharp, and she rocks her gym-class style. And she's strong" (91-92).
Comments on heteronormative trends re: sexuality in media are swift and apt.
Astute commentary on the difficulty of absorbing "Care" from loving friends: "Every time I lied to my friends or let them lie to me it felt like I was carving pieces out of myself to give to them" (116)
Supposed to be a joke to slow the Vanni
pride parade a little, but her for head Packers, and I know right away I’ve stepped perilously close to the land mine always buried in the ground between us” (18)
"I look at Dad in his slouchy old t-shirt and sweatpants...and try to imagine him and Chris with young bodies...bodies so perfect they were beneath their notice; like the ticking of a clock you never pay attention to until the day it stops, and then it's not the sound you hear, but the silence" (85). Economic but poetically elegiac prose on the hardship of aging and/or disease.
On the new weird job: "It's exciting with a little dash of depressing" (88)
On bitches: "If Leigh's aiming for nice, she sometimes misses the mark. But so what?...There have to be more important things for a girl to be than nice...Leigh night be a bitch, but she's funny, and she's sharp, and she rocks her gym-class style. And she's strong" (91-92).
Comments on heteronormative trends re: sexuality in media are swift and apt.
Astute commentary on the difficulty of absorbing "Care" from loving friends: "Every time I lied to my friends or let them lie to me it felt like I was carving pieces out of myself to give to them" (116)
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