Barely Missing Everything (July 2021) Buddy Read Discussion - Brianna Raquel & Raquel

[mina, Group/Buddy Reads Procrastinator]

Welcome to the Barely Missing Everything Buddy Read Discussion thread! This thread officially opens on July 25th and anyone can join at any time. Please keep in mind that spoilers are allowed in this thread but only up to the group's current reading place. Do not spoil the book if you've read further than the group. Any extra days can be used to catch up!

Each day we will be reading by chapters or page numbers. Page numbers are an approximation based on the hardcover or paperback that is the default on Goodreads. The suggested Buddy Read discussion schedule is as follows:

Week of 07/25
July 25th: Chapter 1-4

Week of 07/26
July 26th: Chapter 5-8
July 27th: Chapter 9-11
July 28th: Chapter 12-14
July 29th: Chapter 15-17
July 30th: Chapter 18-20
July 31st: Chapter 21-23

PARTICIPANTS
~ Brianna Raquel
~ Raquel

[✨ Brianna Raquel ✨, New Procrastinator]

Juan seems like a really decent guy who wants nothing but the best for JD. He’s a very loyal dude to his friends, and that’s cool. I wish he just told his mom why he didn’t want to tell her because it definitely would’ve help their relationship. I can tell that its strained.

I get that teenagers don’t want to talk to their parents about their personal lives—I didn’t want to talk to my mom about mine—but wtf didn’t JD just tell his mom that it was racially profiling? What would be the consequence for him if he just told her that? She wouldn’t be as mad and think she is a bad mother.

Danny seems like a dick. Sorry for the language but there’s not a better word to fit my current feelings about him. I’ve only read the first 8 chapters, so that can change.

[✨ Brianna Raquel ✨, New Procrastinator]

I've finished the book a little early because things start to pick up a little around chapter 15.

(view spoiler)[This book destroyed me! I didn't think I was gonna get as invested as I did. I love Juan and JD's friendship because you can tell they really try their best to help each other out even though they're both going through it.

I really didn't expect Juan to die. I thought he was gonna escape. I thought he was going to play at Senior Day, get a scholarship, and go to college. He was doing better and was thinking about his future. I know there's a big problem with police brutality towards brown and black people, and I'm glad that Matt Mendez talked about it, but why did Juan have to die?
😩😩

Juan's death ruined JD. He was gonna go to college and learn about film. He blames himself, but it wasn't his fault. If the cops weren't racist, they wouldn't have been in that situation. Regardless of Juan and JD hiding the gun, the police would've found another reason.

I'm so upset after reading this 😭😭😭
(hide spoiler)]

[Raquel]

Sorry I haven't posted anything yet! I did start this on Monday but it's been hard for me to get into. I'm a hundred pages in and it's just not grabbing my attention. All the basketball talk is going right over my head since I don't know anything about the sport, and I'm finding it hard to care about the characters. So far the only one I kind of like is Fabi and she's only gotten one chapter.

I haven't read all of your comments yet to avoid spoilers but it sounds like it gets better! I'm going to try to push through so I can count it for the summer challenge and hopefully I come to like it a bit more.

[Raquel]

About halfway through the book I started to like it more. I was invested in JD and Juan's quest to speak to Armando and JD's idea of filming everything. I also did not expect this book to go in the direction it did...

The author did a great job of making us hope everything would work out for Juan, building up Juan's happiness at everything finally going his way, and then he's killed off. It's so heartbreaking and depressing thinking about how realistic of a situation this is. And how everything was just covered up and Juan was made to be part of "that crowd" made me so pissed off! Especially that moment his coach came to give his "condolences" to Fabi. That man was pure trash.

I feel bad for JD too. His family was a jerk to him throughout the entire book. I get that they were going through things themselves what with his father cheating on his mom, but they never gave JD a chance to explain how he felt. They just assumed he was abandoning them when really he was just grieving the break up of his family in his own way. It's sad to see how even JD didn't get a good ending. It's like he's punishing himself for Juan's death.

I'm sad for Fabi too. She was the most interesting character to me throughout. She's lived a tough life, but I'm glad she decided to give herself a fresh start by moving to Arizona and following Juan's dream. That last chapter really showed how strong Fabi is. She's not trying to forgot her son or punish herself — she's honoring him by doing what he would've done.

[✨ Brianna Raquel ✨, New Procrastinator]

JD definitely deserved better. I understand his family wanted him to be there, so they can grieve together, but that doesn't work for everybody. I think he just needed time to deal with it on his own, and he would've been there for them. They just didn't understand it. I hate that he's in prison, especially while he's grieving the death of his best friend and blaming himself for it. JD and Juan didn't do anything wrong, and I just know the trial was full of prejudice and lies.

I am very proud of Fabi. Throughout the entire book, she thought she wasn't good enough for anything, and now she's putting herself out there and realizing that she can do whatever she puts her mind, too. I keep thinking about how she felt when she found out what happened that night. She could've spiraled, but she stayed strong.