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Barely Missing Everything #1
Barely Missing Everything
In the tradition of Jason Reynolds and Matt de la Peña, this heartbreaking, no-holds-barred debut novel told from three points of view explores how difficult it is to make it in life when you—your life, brown lives—don’t matter.
Juan has plans. He’s going to get out of El Paso, Texas, on a basketball scholarship and make something of himself—or at least find something better than his mom Fabi’s cruddy apartment, her string of loser boyfriends, and a dead dad. Basketball is going to be his ticket out, his ticket up. He just needs to make it happen.
His best friend JD has plans, too. He’s going to be a filmmaker one day, like Quinten Tarantino or Guillermo del Toro (NOT Steven Spielberg). He’s got a camera and he’s got passion—what else could he need?
Fabi doesn’t have a plan anymore. When you get pregnant at sixteen and have been stuck bartending to make ends meet for the past seventeen years, you realize plans don’t always pan out, and that there some things you just can’t plan for…
Like Juan’s run-in with the police, like a sprained ankle, and a tanking math grade that will likely ruin his chance at a scholarship. Like JD causing the implosion of his family. Like letters from a man named Mando on death row. Like finding out this man could be the father your mother said was dead.
Soon Juan and JD are embarking on a Thelma and Louise–like road trip to visit Mando. Juan will finally meet his dad, JD has a perfect subject for his documentary, and Fabi is desperate to stop them. But, as we already know, there are some things you just can’t plan for…
Juan has plans. He’s going to get out of El Paso, Texas, on a basketball scholarship and make something of himself—or at least find something better than his mom Fabi’s cruddy apartment, her string of loser boyfriends, and a dead dad. Basketball is going to be his ticket out, his ticket up. He just needs to make it happen.
His best friend JD has plans, too. He’s going to be a filmmaker one day, like Quinten Tarantino or Guillermo del Toro (NOT Steven Spielberg). He’s got a camera and he’s got passion—what else could he need?
Fabi doesn’t have a plan anymore. When you get pregnant at sixteen and have been stuck bartending to make ends meet for the past seventeen years, you realize plans don’t always pan out, and that there some things you just can’t plan for…
Like Juan’s run-in with the police, like a sprained ankle, and a tanking math grade that will likely ruin his chance at a scholarship. Like JD causing the implosion of his family. Like letters from a man named Mando on death row. Like finding out this man could be the father your mother said was dead.
Soon Juan and JD are embarking on a Thelma and Louise–like road trip to visit Mando. Juan will finally meet his dad, JD has a perfect subject for his documentary, and Fabi is desperate to stop them. But, as we already know, there are some things you just can’t plan for…
320 pages, Hardcover
First published March 5, 2019
64 people are currently reading
1990 people want to read
About the author
Matt Mendez
5 books53 followersMatt Mendez is the author of Barely Missing Everything, his debut novel, and the short story collection Twitching Heart. Barely Missing Everything has been called a “searing portrait of two Mexican-American families” by Publishers Weekly and “accessible and artful” in a stared review by Kirkus. The New York Times says [Mendez] “has an uncanny ability to capture the aimless bluster of young boys posturing at confidence.”
Barely Missing Everything was named a 2019 Best YA Book by Kirkus, Seventeen Magazine, NBC Latino, and Texas Monthly. It was a Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers Nominee, awarded second place in the International Latino Book Awards, a Junior Library Guild Selection, and a Land of Enchantment Black Bear Book Award winner.
Like many of his characters Matt grew up in El Paso, Texas and continues to love and live in the Southwest, now in Tucson, Arizona. He is a military veteran and earned his MFA from the University of Arizona where he has taught creative writing. Matt is the father of two daughters that he loves fiercely.
His new novel, The Broke Hearts, is set for release on September 19th, 2023.
Barely Missing Everything was named a 2019 Best YA Book by Kirkus, Seventeen Magazine, NBC Latino, and Texas Monthly. It was a Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers Nominee, awarded second place in the International Latino Book Awards, a Junior Library Guild Selection, and a Land of Enchantment Black Bear Book Award winner.
Like many of his characters Matt grew up in El Paso, Texas and continues to love and live in the Southwest, now in Tucson, Arizona. He is a military veteran and earned his MFA from the University of Arizona where he has taught creative writing. Matt is the father of two daughters that he loves fiercely.
His new novel, The Broke Hearts, is set for release on September 19th, 2023.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 164 reviews
December 16, 2018
I’m not crying you’re crying 😭
Full review to come
Disclaimer: This author is represented by the agency I work for. While this didn’t affect my opinion of the book, I wanted to be transparent.
Full review to come
Disclaimer: This author is represented by the agency I work for. While this didn’t affect my opinion of the book, I wanted to be transparent.
April 25, 2019
This review is posted on both my personal account and the account for Crossroads Public Library.
Actual Rating: 4.5 Stars
I have no words. Heart is broken. I hate this book.
Everyone read it.
Actual Rating: 4.5 Stars
I have no words. Heart is broken. I hate this book.
Everyone read it.
April 20, 2019
This review was originally posted on As Told By TinaI received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.Trigger Warnings: Drug Use, Domestic Violence, Gang Violence, Assualt, Murder, Alcohol use, Gun Violence, Racism, Violence, Police Brutality.
I’ve been highly anticipating Barely Missing Everything since the moment it came across my radar back in 2017. When I saw it was finally releasing in 2019, I immediately began searching Edelweiss and Netgalley for an ARC. And finally Netgalley had the ARC but it took forever to get approved and honestly, I gave up waiting for my request to be approved. Then the day came and my request was approved and I was so excited.
Barely Missing Everything is Matt Mendez’s debut novel. Barely Missing Everything is about pain, grief, and the thought of missing something, maybe it was something you had, and maybe it was something you wish you had. It was filled with anger, resentment, rejection, and disappointment. Now, you’re probably thinking well that doesn’t sound very well good? Well, I guess you are right. But you have to trust me, this story despite how I describe it is written in a way where you can feel all that pain but also feel hope. This was actually a quick read because the reading just sucked you in from the very beginning and before you know it the story ended. Others may say that is a slow read but for me it was a quick read.
Barely Missing Everything takes place in El Paso. And as you know, I am also from El Paso so you can see why I was highly anticipating this book. The story is told in three points of view, Fabi, Juan and JD’s. They aren’t always clear about whose point of view the story is until a couple sentences in (perhaps this will change in the printing).
The Characters
Juan
Juan is the first character we are introduced to and most of the story is about him. He is a senior in high school. He plays basketball and is hoping to get a scholarship to play but of course his grades aren’t that great. He has to work to get them up. He is angry at the world, his mom, his friends, himself. He is just angry. He feels like he is constantly disappointing himself. He also feels a bit hopeless. Nothing seems to be going his way. The parent in me wanted to be like “Juan! It’ll get better, I promise.” The 18-year-old Tina understood, she understood completely.
Fabi
Fabi is actually Juan’s mom. Which personally, I thought it was really awesome that a parent had a POV in a YA book. I honestly can’t think of another book where this happens. Now, you are probably wondering how this works in the story but trust me it works. I connected with Fabi in many ways. For one, I am a teen mom and that is really hard. Although my son is only 7, I sometimes feel like I’m doing enough and I’m always plagued with guilt just like Fabi. I didn’t always agree with her decisions but as a mother, I understood. I also felt bad because she didn’t have the support system I had and honestly a good support system goes a long way.
I felt like Juan and Fabi were both angry not necessarily at each other but at their circumstances and they didn’t know how to really talk about it or deal with it.Not being able to talk about things is something that plagues our community or at the very least my family. It is not something we talk about and I feel like that is also something we pass down from generations. We just shut emotions down so we end up with tons of guilt and anger and resentment.
JD
JD is the character that you will either love or hate. I personally loved him. He was probably the most forgiving of the three main characters. He didn’t take things to seriously as did Fabi and Juan. I loved the fact that he kept trying to be a better person for himself even though he had many people telling him to get over his dreams or he’d never make it. His family isn’t that good but I felt like he did the best he could with that and honestly he deserved better. I would LOVE a book about just JD.
What I Liked
The writing! I actually started reading Barely Missing Everything at my son’s eye doctor’s appointment and was immediately sucked in. For others this story maybe a bit slow but don’t give up on it. For me, it was worth it.
The point of views. Dual POV is very common in YA and my personal favorite. I hardly read 3 or more POVs but for Barely Missing Everything this absolutely worked. And the fact that one POV was a parent was also awesome.
The Chapter Titles. Now, I’m not sure if this will change when it goes to print but they were really cool titles.
The story takes place in El Paso and I loved being able to recognize areas I’ve been too.
If you loved The Hate U Give, I feel like you’ll like Barely Missing Everything. This is told through two Latinx characters.
The character growth, at first the characters are a bit unlikeable but that is what makes them likeable? I don’t know if that even makes sense but at the end of the story I felt like they really were developed.
The Ending even though it wasn’t what I was expecting honestly, I thought this story was going another direction but Mendez really did a good twist to it so I thought the ending was good. Although if you read it, you may disagree with me.
What I didn’t like
The POVs aren’t really defined so you don’t really know whose point of view it is until a few sentences in. For some that maybe confusing but overall the voices of the characters are different so that shouldn’t be too confusing.
I didn’t really care for some of the secondary characters like Danny.
Overall,
This was my most anticipated release of 2019. Did it live up to the hype? Absolutely. There was a lot of anger, a lot of disappointment and a lot of pain. But there was also hope. If you liked The Hate U Give then I think you’d like this one. Barely Missing Everything gives a voice to the brown kids who don't always have a voice and are sometimes lost in the shuffle. And I hope Barely Missing Everything gives you a bit of hope.
I’ve been highly anticipating Barely Missing Everything since the moment it came across my radar back in 2017. When I saw it was finally releasing in 2019, I immediately began searching Edelweiss and Netgalley for an ARC. And finally Netgalley had the ARC but it took forever to get approved and honestly, I gave up waiting for my request to be approved. Then the day came and my request was approved and I was so excited.
Barely Missing Everything is Matt Mendez’s debut novel. Barely Missing Everything is about pain, grief, and the thought of missing something, maybe it was something you had, and maybe it was something you wish you had. It was filled with anger, resentment, rejection, and disappointment. Now, you’re probably thinking well that doesn’t sound very well good? Well, I guess you are right. But you have to trust me, this story despite how I describe it is written in a way where you can feel all that pain but also feel hope. This was actually a quick read because the reading just sucked you in from the very beginning and before you know it the story ended. Others may say that is a slow read but for me it was a quick read.
Barely Missing Everything takes place in El Paso. And as you know, I am also from El Paso so you can see why I was highly anticipating this book. The story is told in three points of view, Fabi, Juan and JD’s. They aren’t always clear about whose point of view the story is until a couple sentences in (perhaps this will change in the printing).
The Characters
Juan
Juan is the first character we are introduced to and most of the story is about him. He is a senior in high school. He plays basketball and is hoping to get a scholarship to play but of course his grades aren’t that great. He has to work to get them up. He is angry at the world, his mom, his friends, himself. He is just angry. He feels like he is constantly disappointing himself. He also feels a bit hopeless. Nothing seems to be going his way. The parent in me wanted to be like “Juan! It’ll get better, I promise.” The 18-year-old Tina understood, she understood completely.
Fabi
Fabi is actually Juan’s mom. Which personally, I thought it was really awesome that a parent had a POV in a YA book. I honestly can’t think of another book where this happens. Now, you are probably wondering how this works in the story but trust me it works. I connected with Fabi in many ways. For one, I am a teen mom and that is really hard. Although my son is only 7, I sometimes feel like I’m doing enough and I’m always plagued with guilt just like Fabi. I didn’t always agree with her decisions but as a mother, I understood. I also felt bad because she didn’t have the support system I had and honestly a good support system goes a long way.
I felt like Juan and Fabi were both angry not necessarily at each other but at their circumstances and they didn’t know how to really talk about it or deal with it.Not being able to talk about things is something that plagues our community or at the very least my family. It is not something we talk about and I feel like that is also something we pass down from generations. We just shut emotions down so we end up with tons of guilt and anger and resentment.
JD
JD is the character that you will either love or hate. I personally loved him. He was probably the most forgiving of the three main characters. He didn’t take things to seriously as did Fabi and Juan. I loved the fact that he kept trying to be a better person for himself even though he had many people telling him to get over his dreams or he’d never make it. His family isn’t that good but I felt like he did the best he could with that and honestly he deserved better. I would LOVE a book about just JD.
What I Liked
The writing! I actually started reading Barely Missing Everything at my son’s eye doctor’s appointment and was immediately sucked in. For others this story maybe a bit slow but don’t give up on it. For me, it was worth it.
The point of views. Dual POV is very common in YA and my personal favorite. I hardly read 3 or more POVs but for Barely Missing Everything this absolutely worked. And the fact that one POV was a parent was also awesome.
The Chapter Titles. Now, I’m not sure if this will change when it goes to print but they were really cool titles.
The story takes place in El Paso and I loved being able to recognize areas I’ve been too.
If you loved The Hate U Give, I feel like you’ll like Barely Missing Everything. This is told through two Latinx characters.
The character growth, at first the characters are a bit unlikeable but that is what makes them likeable? I don’t know if that even makes sense but at the end of the story I felt like they really were developed.
The Ending even though it wasn’t what I was expecting honestly, I thought this story was going another direction but Mendez really did a good twist to it so I thought the ending was good. Although if you read it, you may disagree with me.
What I didn’t like
The POVs aren’t really defined so you don’t really know whose point of view it is until a few sentences in. For some that maybe confusing but overall the voices of the characters are different so that shouldn’t be too confusing.
I didn’t really care for some of the secondary characters like Danny.
Overall,
This was my most anticipated release of 2019. Did it live up to the hype? Absolutely. There was a lot of anger, a lot of disappointment and a lot of pain. But there was also hope. If you liked The Hate U Give then I think you’d like this one. Barely Missing Everything gives a voice to the brown kids who don't always have a voice and are sometimes lost in the shuffle. And I hope Barely Missing Everything gives you a bit of hope.
July 6, 2019
Set in El Paso, this is a very timely read considering what is going on in our country. It touched on so many bleak issues facing poc, particularly latinos/latinas, that if I list them I'm sure to forget quite a few. In spite of this, the book still manages to maintain an undertone of hope. It can get a bit confusing at times with shifts in points of view, but it in no way ruins the story. This is a great and important read.
This unbiased review is based upon a complimentary copy provided by the publisher.
This unbiased review is based upon a complimentary copy provided by the publisher.
January 7, 2020
What an important book! This debut young adult novel is representative of an overlooked culture in contemporary literature. I will admit, however, that I had some difficulty with the Spanish dialogue that was not translated. I could determine most of it from context, but I'm sure I missed some important nuances.
The book is written in third person from three different perspectives (one of which is an adult!), but the majority of the character development comes through the dialogue, which I absolutely LOVE. The conversations among characters are so real that I could imagine them on the screen. (This is another reason though why I wanted to be in the know about the language being used. I'm sure it added yet another layer of depth!)
Thanks to Kara Belden, our district literacy coach, for gifting this beautifully crafted novel to my classroom--autographed! I will be sharing this one with many students.
The book is written in third person from three different perspectives (one of which is an adult!), but the majority of the character development comes through the dialogue, which I absolutely LOVE. The conversations among characters are so real that I could imagine them on the screen. (This is another reason though why I wanted to be in the know about the language being used. I'm sure it added yet another layer of depth!)
Thanks to Kara Belden, our district literacy coach, for gifting this beautifully crafted novel to my classroom--autographed! I will be sharing this one with many students.
November 17, 2019
I just finished reading this, and my head is spinning. I don't want to give out any spoilers, but I will say that I did not see that coming. I first decided I wanted to read Barely Missing Everything because as I was shelving an advanced reader's copy in my library, I glanced through and landed on a page that caught my eye. It was a page that was typeset as if it were in handwriting and had graphs and, of all things, math problems. Algebra equations. On closer inspection, the math was really the character's thoughts on his not so perfect life. And, to me, it was funny. Hilarious. Really, I thought the character's, Juan's, thoughts on his life and where it was headed, as expressed by algebraic graphs and equations, was laugh-out-loud funny. Dark, biting full of angst, and funny. So, I picked it up and read it, liking it right from the beginning. I like the main characters, and, as other reviewers have mentioned, even as each of them--Juan, JD and Fabi--keep messing up in their lives, they are totally sympathetic characters, and I routed for them through every misadventure they took me through as a reader. In fact, I can truly see many of the students I work with in my high school library job in the characters of Juan and JD, the Two Bad Juans, as they eventually dub themselves. But, even as the story was funny to begin with, it quickly became much more poignant and angst ridden as I read on. I definitely did not find the algebra part as funny as I previously had when I read it in context the second time around.
As I sometimes do, I read a few Good Reads reviews while still in the middle of the novel. I saw that a few reviewers mentioned that readers that like The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas would also like Barely Missing Everything. I wondered why that comparison was made. Now, I know. And, like Thomas' outstanding novel, Barely Missing Everything really packs a punch and most definitely has something to say about how kids, specifically brown kids in Latino neighborhoods, are perceived and treated by society, especially by the police. Matt Mendez has made a major contribution to our young adult shelves for both young adult readers and adults. I look forward to his next work.
As I sometimes do, I read a few Good Reads reviews while still in the middle of the novel. I saw that a few reviewers mentioned that readers that like The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas would also like Barely Missing Everything. I wondered why that comparison was made. Now, I know. And, like Thomas' outstanding novel, Barely Missing Everything really packs a punch and most definitely has something to say about how kids, specifically brown kids in Latino neighborhoods, are perceived and treated by society, especially by the police. Matt Mendez has made a major contribution to our young adult shelves for both young adult readers and adults. I look forward to his next work.
June 8, 2019
Juan and his best friend J.D. are trying to put some things together - maybe playing college ball next year, maybe becoming a film maker. But they don’t really know how to put that together and can’t seem to stop derailing themselves. Juan is caught up with a new idea about who his absent father might be. JD is watching his family bust apart. Meanwhile, life keeps pushing them toward graduation and “what’s next,” and they just can’t seem to catch hold of anything good. Tremendously appealing guys in tremendously frustrating scenarios. Outstanding book.
August 1, 2021
Sometimes a book can really surprise you. It took me a long time to get into this book to the point that I wanted to DNF it, but I kept going and I'm glad I did. What put me off at first was all the basketball talk (I know nothing about basketball), the nonexistent plot, and the characters I had no strong feelings for. The switch became flipped halfway through though. I became invested in these characters and I wanted everything to work out for them. I strongly related to how all of them felt like everything was going wrong and they had no control over their lives. The author had my feelings all over the place, especially with the ending. The messages in it are powerful and remind people of the reality of life for Mexicans in America. This book wasn't what I expected it to be and I'm glad I kept reading to figure that out.
Longer review to come when I have more time
Longer review to come when I have more time
December 6, 2019
Read for free on Rivetedlit.com Dec 5th 2019.
I loved this. The third person narrative threw me at first, but it really works. As it goes on, it has a bit of "we're all unreliable narrators" type feel going on, as we get bits and pieces of events and have to connect the dots. Which just makes me love it more.
Fabi, Juan's mom, POV was another curve ball. A parental POV in YA? One who was a teen mom? Still struggling working mother? One who actually TALKS about unexpected pregnancies and abortion and swears and fucks up? Goddamn. At the end, she was my favorite.
AND omfg, the real talk about religion and gods? Juan's granddad GETS IT.
AND it's critical of the military industrial complex preying on poor people as a system of oppression and injustice.
There's so much outside of our control. And our choices hinge upon these unknowable domino effect choices and assumptions.
The plot is these boys against everything, growing up and finding themselves and making a way through in this fucked up world. Trying to get to Juan's dad before his executions. Trying to be something, go somewhere. They do that.
It's not a happy underdog feel good story for the colonizers to feel better about themselves. There are no good white people or saviors, just varying degrees of not getting it.
Life sucks and then you die.
Haters of this book are just barely missing everything.
I loved this. The third person narrative threw me at first, but it really works. As it goes on, it has a bit of "we're all unreliable narrators" type feel going on, as we get bits and pieces of events and have to connect the dots. Which just makes me love it more.
Fabi, Juan's mom, POV was another curve ball. A parental POV in YA? One who was a teen mom? Still struggling working mother? One who actually TALKS about unexpected pregnancies and abortion and swears and fucks up? Goddamn. At the end, she was my favorite.
AND omfg, the real talk about religion and gods? Juan's granddad GETS IT.
AND it's critical of the military industrial complex preying on poor people as a system of oppression and injustice.
There's so much outside of our control. And our choices hinge upon these unknowable domino effect choices and assumptions.
The plot is these boys against everything, growing up and finding themselves and making a way through in this fucked up world. Trying to get to Juan's dad before his executions. Trying to be something, go somewhere. They do that.
It's not a happy underdog feel good story for the colonizers to feel better about themselves. There are no good white people or saviors, just varying degrees of not getting it.
Life sucks and then you die.
Haters of this book are just barely missing everything.
May 29, 2019
The title, BARELY MISSING EVERYTHING, tells is all. It’s “barely” and “missing” and “everything,” which sounds contradictory, but after you read this book, it’ll all make sense. The story is told in a unusual way: Two teen and one adult narrators. At the beginning, I doubted this was going to work, because this is YA novel, thus I thought adding an adult to the mix would make the novel more adult-ish. It doesn’t. Instead, this POV gives the whole book more depth, if that’s even possible.
The novel is gripping and super-engaging, but it isn’t for the faint of heart, or for people looking for a light read. This book deals with heavy stuff and, sadly, a lot of the situations depicted here are real. And the characters feel real. Even the pages feel real.
Overall, BARELY MISSING EVERYTHING is a heart-wrenching, gripping, and engaging novel dealing with hard situations. If you can stomach that, I highly recommend it.
More on my blog: https://gerardowrites.wordpress.com/2...
The novel is gripping and super-engaging, but it isn’t for the faint of heart, or for people looking for a light read. This book deals with heavy stuff and, sadly, a lot of the situations depicted here are real. And the characters feel real. Even the pages feel real.
Overall, BARELY MISSING EVERYTHING is a heart-wrenching, gripping, and engaging novel dealing with hard situations. If you can stomach that, I highly recommend it.
More on my blog: https://gerardowrites.wordpress.com/2...
January 1, 2019
This book is full of pain. The pain of rejection, the pain of disappearing, the pain of failure and the unknown and the physical and, sharpest of all, the pain of disappointing yourself, over and over again, until you forget how to hope for yourself. It's relentless and difficult to read, with tiny rays of sunshine tantalizing enough to make the rest of it hurt more than before.
I super get it, there are no novels about brown lives matter and the voices of boys like Juan and JD and humans like Fabi, Mando, and Grandpa are drowned out in the world that simply doesn't give a shit about them enough to even spit on them, so this is incredibly important. But it is a very difficult novel, and I don't know how many kids would pick it up. I hope that this book finds its way into the hands of a kid just like Juan and JD and gives them a tiny bite of agency that makes a difference.
I super get it, there are no novels about brown lives matter and the voices of boys like Juan and JD and humans like Fabi, Mando, and Grandpa are drowned out in the world that simply doesn't give a shit about them enough to even spit on them, so this is incredibly important. But it is a very difficult novel, and I don't know how many kids would pick it up. I hope that this book finds its way into the hands of a kid just like Juan and JD and gives them a tiny bite of agency that makes a difference.
May 16, 2019
Thoughtful. As Juan’s decisions lead from one to another I didn’t realize what we were getting into- but this story is so well crafted it truly felt like we.
June 27, 2020
When realistic fiction is way too realistic.
September 15, 2019
Juan is banking on a basketball scholarship, hoping to one day play in the NBA. JD secretly dreams of being a filmmaker. Fabi just wants to survive a second unplanned pregnancy while allowing Juan to thrive. But life is harder for Hispanics living in El Paso, where the police automatically assume the worst about you.
I listened to the audiobook on this, and I kept finding my attention being pulled away from it (particularly during a lengthy algebra test that was just filled with formulas - ouch!). I do think that this was better than my audio experience made it out to be, particularly because I did not see the ending coming, and I think that this is telling a very real, relatable story for many brown teens. I wish that I had read this instead of listening.
I listened to the audiobook on this, and I kept finding my attention being pulled away from it (particularly during a lengthy algebra test that was just filled with formulas - ouch!). I do think that this was better than my audio experience made it out to be, particularly because I did not see the ending coming, and I think that this is telling a very real, relatable story for many brown teens. I wish that I had read this instead of listening.
Read
September 11, 2020Very good, but very heavy and hard to swallow. They weren't wrong when they called it heartbreaking.
August 25, 2021
It was really good, it took a while to get into it, but I thought the story was amazing and I was so sad that it ended.
February 17, 2019
This book is everything The Hate U Give was praised for being, except in this case the story is told through the eyes of two Latinx teens and a mother. Third person POV isn't all that common in YA contemporary fiction these days, but Mendez's narrative approach gives us a better perspective of all three characters. This book packs a wallop on all fronts, which is probably when Jason Reynolds begged all us English teachers to read it when the publisher was handing out ARCs at a conference back in November.
This book is fantastic. If you love the types of social issues Angie Thomas raises, there's no reason you shouldn't love Mendez's book for the same reasons.
This book is fantastic. If you love the types of social issues Angie Thomas raises, there's no reason you shouldn't love Mendez's book for the same reasons.
March 8, 2019
Juan is an excellent basketball player but he's struggling in school. Then he hurts his ankle really badly when he and his friend JD are running away from the cops at a party. His life just seems to get worse and worse, and there does not seem to be any way out. His friend JD is facing similar trials with dead ends and seemingly no where to turn.
This is a pretty bleak, but sadly realistic, I suppose, look at the lives of brown boys in El Paso, TX. It's a debut novel - and reads like one. This author has promise and I hope he keeps writing. #WNDB
There were typographical errors throughout, but I had an ARC so that was to be expected.
This is a pretty bleak, but sadly realistic, I suppose, look at the lives of brown boys in El Paso, TX. It's a debut novel - and reads like one. This author has promise and I hope he keeps writing. #WNDB
There were typographical errors throughout, but I had an ARC so that was to be expected.
June 10, 2019
I was excited to read this- I am always looking for male POVs to share with my students, but ultimately found this story to be rambling and poorly paced. I wanted more at the end, less elsewhere, and generally more direction. Many of the long story threads had little pay off and Fabi’s chapters felt particularly underdeveloped. Some interesting characters but in need of some strong editing.
April 6, 2022
"You gotta be perfect. You gotta be better than everyone around you just to prove you're not a piece of shit."
I really wanted to like this more than I did. That's not to say that I didn't like it...it just missed the mark for me. It was good, but as I was reading I felt it could've been better. I mean, it took me three weeks to finish. It didn't capture me the way it needed to.
Barely Missing Everything follows Juan, JD, and Fabi as their lives are falling apart in various ways. Juan's final season in basketball is coming to a screeching halt after he screws up his ankle running from the cops...and basketball might be the only shot he has at a future. JD's family implodes when his mom discovers the secret that JD has been hiding for his dad. And Fabi's struggling with Juan's troubles...and suddenly having an unplanned pregnancy thrust upon her.
We see our narrators do the best with terrible circumstances. They try even when things seem impossible. But we also see them constantly make mistakes that they have no reason to be making, fighting over stupid things, creating conflict out of nothing. Which, I'll admit, is realistic, especially when someone is dealing with stressful situations...but it was also frustrating to read. Because I don't expect characters to be perfect, that would be silly, but I do expect them to learn and grow from their mistakes. The problem I had hear is that...I wasn't seeing that. Or we would have momentary growth only to slip back into old habits. It's a fine line that I don't think was fully maintained.
Having Fabi, Juan's mother, as a narrator was an interesting choice. We very rarely get adult perspectives in YA novels. And I think it can add a lot to the story! The problem, ironically, was the Fabi sounded, to me, too much like a teenager. Her voice felt interchangeable with the rest of the cast of characters. And I can understand why, to an extent. She had Juan young, she lost out on really getting to enjoy being a teenager. But I couldn't really take her seriously in her interactions with Juan, there was something missing for me. But I do enjoy the extra bit of insight Fabi's perspective gave us, allowing us to see the severity of certain events from an adult perspective.
I enjoyed both Juan and JD as narrators, I just wish their time was more balanced. I was compelled more by JD and his family troubles. I wanted more of that but the story focused more on Juan. And nothing against Juan's angle of the story, I liked it, I just wanted more of JD as well. There are huge gaps of missed opportunity for story and character growth.
One overwhelming feeling I got as I was reading was hopelessness, which I think was part of the point. Juan and JD (and Fabi) felt they didn't have a future. They didn't have potential. They're showing a very real reality for Mexican boys that we don't often see in YA. It was just hard to read (which was part of the point, I believe), it was hard to invest in characters who struggled to invest in themselves.
Ultimately, it just wasn't the perfect story for me. I enjoyed it and I have kids I would recommend it to, it just didn't fully hit for me. It was good, but I felt it could've been great. It could've focused more on religion, or more on the future, or more on family, or just...more focus. A big part of the struggle as I was reading was such a broad plot that was hard to grasp onto. But again, it's good, it just may require a bit to get into it.
"God had to be real, and he was as terrifying as all the monsters he made."
April 1, 2023
Barely Missing Everything is a poignant, heart-breaking novel about the choices people make in a world where the odds can seem so hopelessly stacked against them. It follows the lives of three working-class Mexican-Americans living in El Paso, Texas. Juan hopes to land a basketball scholarship that can get him out of the dingy apartment he shares with his mother. Fabi, his mother, is a single mom who had Juan as a teenager, and tries her best to keep her head above water living paycheck-to-paycheck. Juan’s friend JD wants to become a filmmaker and capture life-changing moments of truth on camera.
Starting with a very dynamic and memorable scene set during a high-school basketball game, a set of events starts to unfold for our characters as they begin to wonder when it was that they dropped the ball, missed that crucial shot that could have turned the tables in their favor. Just as he is hoping to finally be seen and recognized, Juan seems to run into a series of problems – he injures his ankle running from the police, he is about to fail math, and on top of everything he can’t stand his mom’s latest boyfriend. Fabi worries about her son, but doesn’t know how to reach him, and her own struggles make her feel like she’s drowning. JD watches as one fight too many drives his family apart, and desperately wants to cling to something stable. Then Juan discovers a letter his mom received from a man named Mando. He’s on death row, convicted of murder, and he might be the father Juan never knew. Juan and JD decide to visit Mando and try to find out the truth before Mando dies. Time seems to be running out, and there’s only enough on the clock for one shot on which everything seems to hang.
The central theme of choices and their consequences is carried strongly from the very beginning at the basketball game and especially when Juan and JD start running from the police in the second chapter to the shocking and gut-wrenching final act. The supporting characters are also convincing – Eddie and his family act as an interesting foil for Juan and JD and their families, and Fabi’s sister Gladi reveals a lot about Fabi’s character when she appears.
Gangs, drugs, racial profiling, unplanned pregnancies, illness, these are just elements in the equation that can turn a life around in an instant. The characters try to come to terms with the past, acknowledge their own mistakes and summon the courage to face the future. The narrative voice is strong and raw, and the scenes of family conflict feel intensely real. Mando’s letters from death row offer yet another perspective that comes at just the right intervals in between the parts of the narrative told from Juan, Fabi and JD’s perspectives. These are the voices of ordinary people trying their best in an unforgiving reality where there aren’t many chances to get it right. Mendez portrays their lives realistically and with a lot of warmth and empathy, which is why Barely Missing Everything is a moving, emotional story of the sort that needs to be told now more than ever.
Starting with a very dynamic and memorable scene set during a high-school basketball game, a set of events starts to unfold for our characters as they begin to wonder when it was that they dropped the ball, missed that crucial shot that could have turned the tables in their favor. Just as he is hoping to finally be seen and recognized, Juan seems to run into a series of problems – he injures his ankle running from the police, he is about to fail math, and on top of everything he can’t stand his mom’s latest boyfriend. Fabi worries about her son, but doesn’t know how to reach him, and her own struggles make her feel like she’s drowning. JD watches as one fight too many drives his family apart, and desperately wants to cling to something stable. Then Juan discovers a letter his mom received from a man named Mando. He’s on death row, convicted of murder, and he might be the father Juan never knew. Juan and JD decide to visit Mando and try to find out the truth before Mando dies. Time seems to be running out, and there’s only enough on the clock for one shot on which everything seems to hang.
The central theme of choices and their consequences is carried strongly from the very beginning at the basketball game and especially when Juan and JD start running from the police in the second chapter to the shocking and gut-wrenching final act. The supporting characters are also convincing – Eddie and his family act as an interesting foil for Juan and JD and their families, and Fabi’s sister Gladi reveals a lot about Fabi’s character when she appears.
Gangs, drugs, racial profiling, unplanned pregnancies, illness, these are just elements in the equation that can turn a life around in an instant. The characters try to come to terms with the past, acknowledge their own mistakes and summon the courage to face the future. The narrative voice is strong and raw, and the scenes of family conflict feel intensely real. Mando’s letters from death row offer yet another perspective that comes at just the right intervals in between the parts of the narrative told from Juan, Fabi and JD’s perspectives. These are the voices of ordinary people trying their best in an unforgiving reality where there aren’t many chances to get it right. Mendez portrays their lives realistically and with a lot of warmth and empathy, which is why Barely Missing Everything is a moving, emotional story of the sort that needs to be told now more than ever.
March 22, 2019
This review was originally posted on Latte Nights Reviews.
Great narration - This book has three POVs and each is voiced by a different person. All three narrators did such a great job telling the story.
So quotable - I enjoyed so many quotes in this novel. Honestly there was probably a quote or paragraph I enjoyed on almost every single page of this story. There were quotes that were just beautifully written, and others just just made me have to pause and think before I could continue on with the story.
Emotional - Honestly I was surprised at how emotional this book was and how emotional it made me. The premise sounded amazing, but it didn't sound ~too sad~, but holy wow I had so many feelings.
Latinx representation - There was so much great own voices representation in this novel. All the characters are Mexican and live in the border town of El Paso. One thing I really love in stories is when characters speak a different language, but don't include a translation. I love this because it makes the story feel more natural instead of having pauses in the story that at times can take me out of the flow. If you don't speak Spanish no worries, the phrases are here and there and mostly nicknames and short phrases.
Important commentary about class - I knew this would be part of the book based on where it was set and politics. discussion on class in this book is done in such a natural way that doesn't feel preachy, but may give individuals who aren't from a low SES household or area a look at the struggles people face. It's also intersectional in that it's people of color from a low income area and the struggles they endure.
Overall this is an amazing book and I highly recommend it to everyone. I you have a chance to listen to the audiobook I recommend that as well because there's something about the audio that helped me connect more with the characters.
Let me know if you've read it or plan to read it down below! This review was originally posted on Latte Nights Reviews.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.I'm excited to bring another review to you, this time I'm doing things a little differently and listing five reasons why you should read Barely Missing Everything. I started reading an eARC for this, but also had the opportunity to listen to the audiobook as well, so one of my recommendations is for the narration.
Great narration - This book has three POVs and each is voiced by a different person. All three narrators did such a great job telling the story.
So quotable - I enjoyed so many quotes in this novel. Honestly there was probably a quote or paragraph I enjoyed on almost every single page of this story. There were quotes that were just beautifully written, and others just just made me have to pause and think before I could continue on with the story.
Emotional - Honestly I was surprised at how emotional this book was and how emotional it made me. The premise sounded amazing, but it didn't sound ~too sad~, but holy wow I had so many feelings.
Latinx representation - There was so much great own voices representation in this novel. All the characters are Mexican and live in the border town of El Paso. One thing I really love in stories is when characters speak a different language, but don't include a translation. I love this because it makes the story feel more natural instead of having pauses in the story that at times can take me out of the flow. If you don't speak Spanish no worries, the phrases are here and there and mostly nicknames and short phrases.
Important commentary about class - I knew this would be part of the book based on where it was set and politics. discussion on class in this book is done in such a natural way that doesn't feel preachy, but may give individuals who aren't from a low SES household or area a look at the struggles people face. It's also intersectional in that it's people of color from a low income area and the struggles they endure.
Overall this is an amazing book and I highly recommend it to everyone. I you have a chance to listen to the audiobook I recommend that as well because there's something about the audio that helped me connect more with the characters.
Let me know if you've read it or plan to read it down below! This review was originally posted on Latte Nights Reviews.
April 22, 2019
https://raisethemrighteous.com/2019/0...
Matt Mendez’s emotionally demanding Barely Missing Everything (2019) explores the lives of working-class Mexican Americans living in El Paso, TX. A teenage boy named Juan anchors the text, which focalizes his experiences as well as those of his mother, Fabi, and his best friend, JD.
Juan and JD are high school seniors planning life after high school, but just barely. They both have hazy visions of the future. JD, a film enthusiast, aspires to make movies and carries a camera wherever he goes. Juan, a high school basketball star on a mediocre team, doesn’t imagine himself doing anything else. Additionally, Fabi, a teen mom turned 30-something mom of a teenager, tends bar to make ends meet.
Mendez brings his characters to life slowly. It’s as if you don’t notice them taking shape until you’re a few chapters in and can feel them beside you. He lays them bare: the self-consciousness about a crooked smile, ambivalence about religion, sheer exhaustion from poorly compensated labor. He builds them into multidimensional beings that can’t help but remind readers of human complexity and vulnerability.
There is a painful and relentless “stuckness” to the characters that challenges the US myth of meritocracy and reveals the reality of structural inequality and cyclical poverty. It puts the careful reader into a position like the characters themselves; we have no reason to suspect things will get better. Intergenerational and intersectional pain fuels the sense of futility enveloping the text.
That’s not to say there is no hope to be found. There is, but it’s precarious and bitter-sweet. It’s hard to recognize as hope through the pain that twists around it.
This is a beautiful book. It’s full of lines that read like poetry and cut so close to the truth it feels like the page will bleed.
This is a deep book. It tells so many stories even the minor characters will haunt you.
This is a necessary book. At a historical moment marked by a crisis in empathy this book will make you feel.
This is an uncomfortable book. It will remind you art is important. It can do the work of revealing the world, in this case through perfectly chosen words.
I recommend this book for school and public libraries. It is a teachable text sure to prompt thoughtful discussions. Mendez doesn’t shy away from exploring gender dynamics, sexual shame, and double standards through Fabi as well as other characters. Other socially significant themes include police brutality, social mobility, racism, and the normalization of anti-immigrant rhetoric (as well as its material effects). It is the perfect novel for high school and university classrooms. I certainly plan on teaching it in future classes!
Matt Mendez’s emotionally demanding Barely Missing Everything (2019) explores the lives of working-class Mexican Americans living in El Paso, TX. A teenage boy named Juan anchors the text, which focalizes his experiences as well as those of his mother, Fabi, and his best friend, JD.
Juan and JD are high school seniors planning life after high school, but just barely. They both have hazy visions of the future. JD, a film enthusiast, aspires to make movies and carries a camera wherever he goes. Juan, a high school basketball star on a mediocre team, doesn’t imagine himself doing anything else. Additionally, Fabi, a teen mom turned 30-something mom of a teenager, tends bar to make ends meet.
Mendez brings his characters to life slowly. It’s as if you don’t notice them taking shape until you’re a few chapters in and can feel them beside you. He lays them bare: the self-consciousness about a crooked smile, ambivalence about religion, sheer exhaustion from poorly compensated labor. He builds them into multidimensional beings that can’t help but remind readers of human complexity and vulnerability.
There is a painful and relentless “stuckness” to the characters that challenges the US myth of meritocracy and reveals the reality of structural inequality and cyclical poverty. It puts the careful reader into a position like the characters themselves; we have no reason to suspect things will get better. Intergenerational and intersectional pain fuels the sense of futility enveloping the text.
That’s not to say there is no hope to be found. There is, but it’s precarious and bitter-sweet. It’s hard to recognize as hope through the pain that twists around it.
This is a beautiful book. It’s full of lines that read like poetry and cut so close to the truth it feels like the page will bleed.
This is a deep book. It tells so many stories even the minor characters will haunt you.
This is a necessary book. At a historical moment marked by a crisis in empathy this book will make you feel.
This is an uncomfortable book. It will remind you art is important. It can do the work of revealing the world, in this case through perfectly chosen words.
I recommend this book for school and public libraries. It is a teachable text sure to prompt thoughtful discussions. Mendez doesn’t shy away from exploring gender dynamics, sexual shame, and double standards through Fabi as well as other characters. Other socially significant themes include police brutality, social mobility, racism, and the normalization of anti-immigrant rhetoric (as well as its material effects). It is the perfect novel for high school and university classrooms. I certainly plan on teaching it in future classes!
September 19, 2022
This story is depressing because it's real. We get the perspectives of Juan and his friend, JD and Juan's mom Fabi. Which I really appreciated bc in a story about high school teens you rarely get the parents perspective just from the kids point of view. So seeing how Juan, JD and Fabi were all struggling in this Texas town and how the judgement of other people is like 'oh well they're brown of course they're into drugs, or the streets' or whatever was so frustrating and the role the cops play into perpetuating these stereotypes. Like Juan def was going through it with his high school stresses, his basketball team was no good and he was a good player but he was failing algebra and so wouldn't be able to keep playing if he kept on down this path which meant possibilities of a ball scholarship would disappear and him twisting his ankle after running away when cops show up to bust his friend Danny's party don't make things easier. JD likes to record everything and the way everything in his life falls apart is also depressing; temper tantrum means he's kicked out of basketball then his mom finds a box of condoms in his dad's car so kicks him out for cheating and blames JD for hiding the truth from her when he was really trying just protect her emotionally it seems. The family relationships are messsy. Then last but not least Fabi, I wanted more of her chapters bc seeing her perspective as young mom and how she was trying but everything was just difficult, she got pregnant and then lost her bartending job bc of some asshole customers and this guy who thank goodness disappeared from the picture shortly after that. The real as heck convos with her and her sister Gladi were good bc since their mom died life has been hard for Fabi and gosh the end of this book is sad but also realistic and there is some hope for Fabi but damn what she has to go through to get to that point is a A LOT.
December 15, 2020
I am a young high school English teacher, and I read this book while co-teaching a class of ESL students. My mentor teacher chose this book for the class hoping that they would relate to it. The fact that it focused on two Latinx boys and a mom made me hope for a better reading experience for them. While I did not like it (more on that in a sec), I was disappointed to find that many of my students (many first or second generation Latinx immigrants) didn't connect with it. After assigning them to write chapter summaries, many commented on how Juan & JD make poor decisions throughout and how they would act differently. This brings me to my big gripe with this book....
I understand the concept of Barely Missing Everything is commentating on circumstances facing "brown lives" put them at a disadvantage and how despite their best effort they "barely miss" opportunity... It's some nice commentary and I will say there is some accuracy to the challenges Mendez alludes to.... however, I would argue that Juan, JD, and Fabi (the three protagonists that we get POV from) all exhibit terrible decision making throughout this book which directly lead to their consequences. Yes, they cannot control the gang activity or the police treatment they receive but, any number of other decisions would have helped them overcome or outright avoid the hand they were dealt. In fact I would say that Juan, JD & Fabi didn't "barely miss" they "downright completely missed."
Now at the end one character manages to break the mold and gets the point but by then its too little too late...
I will never read this to students again. It has very little to analyze from a literary standpoint and I can't get behind the message Mendez is writing about. No thanks, I want my students to learn to take responsibility.
I understand the concept of Barely Missing Everything is commentating on circumstances facing "brown lives" put them at a disadvantage and how despite their best effort they "barely miss" opportunity... It's some nice commentary and I will say there is some accuracy to the challenges Mendez alludes to.... however, I would argue that Juan, JD, and Fabi (the three protagonists that we get POV from) all exhibit terrible decision making throughout this book which directly lead to their consequences. Yes, they cannot control the gang activity or the police treatment they receive but, any number of other decisions would have helped them overcome or outright avoid the hand they were dealt. In fact I would say that Juan, JD & Fabi didn't "barely miss" they "downright completely missed."
Now at the end one character manages to break the mold and gets the point but by then its too little too late...
I will never read this to students again. It has very little to analyze from a literary standpoint and I can't get behind the message Mendez is writing about. No thanks, I want my students to learn to take responsibility.
December 8, 2023
- slice of life about two teenage boys living in el paso, dreaming of making it out and becoming a filmmaker and a basketball player respectively, getting dragged down by reality
- up to the last 50 pages, it felt like nothing much happened. this was frustrating while reading, but in hindsight i think it was a good decision to show the intricacies of teenage life this way
- a good reflection of how we go about our mundane lives, trying to chip away at our goals, sabotaging ourselves and convincing ourselves we aren't, knowing in the back of our minds that it can all come crashing down at any moment
- the ending, while heartbreaking, was really, really good- the different layers of dramatic irony and the implications this has for each of the characters, the hope that comes out of destruction.
- aside from the pace, my main complaint is that i had a hard time telling what year this was supposed to be- the details of armando's crime, which happened about 18 years before the events of the book, were written on a typewriter and then later scanned in because they didn't use computers to do such things at that time, and yet google, youtube, tumblr, and BITCOIN (!?) are all mentioned in such a way that suggests they are all reasonably well known and within the public consciousness. so to me the earliest this could be is around 2015, but you mean to tell me prisons were still using typewriters for records in the late 90s?
- also fabi still has a flip phone, which, ok, she doesn't have a lot of money, but by the late 2010s there were widely available cheap smartphones, so this also felt off
- i also think maybe this book could have benefited from being a bit longer. i felt like i didn't get to know any of the characters well enough to really understand them
- up to the last 50 pages, it felt like nothing much happened. this was frustrating while reading, but in hindsight i think it was a good decision to show the intricacies of teenage life this way
- a good reflection of how we go about our mundane lives, trying to chip away at our goals, sabotaging ourselves and convincing ourselves we aren't, knowing in the back of our minds that it can all come crashing down at any moment
- the ending, while heartbreaking, was really, really good- the different layers of dramatic irony and the implications this has for each of the characters, the hope that comes out of destruction.
- aside from the pace, my main complaint is that i had a hard time telling what year this was supposed to be- the details of armando's crime, which happened about 18 years before the events of the book, were written on a typewriter and then later scanned in because they didn't use computers to do such things at that time, and yet google, youtube, tumblr, and BITCOIN (!?) are all mentioned in such a way that suggests they are all reasonably well known and within the public consciousness. so to me the earliest this could be is around 2015, but you mean to tell me prisons were still using typewriters for records in the late 90s?
- also fabi still has a flip phone, which, ok, she doesn't have a lot of money, but by the late 2010s there were widely available cheap smartphones, so this also felt off
- i also think maybe this book could have benefited from being a bit longer. i felt like i didn't get to know any of the characters well enough to really understand them
January 12, 2020
This YA novel told the story of two Mexican-American teens in Texas and took a hard look at the struggles they faced because of discrimination, lack of opportunities and poor choices. The book begins with the perspectives of Juan and JD, best friends who are seniors and on the basketball team together. Juan is a good player who has a possibility of a small college recruiting him, but when he hurts his ankle running from the cops at an underage drinking party, his chances are in jeopardy. JD, an aspiring filmmaker, faces his own problems when his parents separate and his lackluster grades keep him from being accepted into any college. An interesting angle to the narrative is when Fabi's, Juan's young single mother, POV is added in as she is unexpectedly pregnant again and struggling with keeping Juan out of trouble. When a man from Fabi's past contacts her, who Juan believes might be his father, he and JD plan an ill-advised road trip to meet him.
I found this an engaging book, that took some narrative detours. I welcomed the POV of a mother, as I hope it could give teens some insight into what their parents are thinking. I also thought the road trip would play more prominently in the story arc, but the concluding chapters went in another direction, and there is a huge gut-punch at the end. This raw novel took a nuanced look into prejudice and family issues, plus it didn't shy away in showing how Juan & JD self-sabotaged themselves on occasion. This story would be an excellent choice for a book discussion with teens.
I found this an engaging book, that took some narrative detours. I welcomed the POV of a mother, as I hope it could give teens some insight into what their parents are thinking. I also thought the road trip would play more prominently in the story arc, but the concluding chapters went in another direction, and there is a huge gut-punch at the end. This raw novel took a nuanced look into prejudice and family issues, plus it didn't shy away in showing how Juan & JD self-sabotaged themselves on occasion. This story would be an excellent choice for a book discussion with teens.
February 24, 2021
This is an amazing book. The plot centers around best friends Juan and JD they are high-school students in a border town. They have big dreams and limited opportunities. Juan and JD are always making jokes and sticking together. They feel the pressure of being brown and poor and are trying to find a way out of the place they grew up in. There are countless things holding them back including family drama, the local gang, and the questionable policing of their community. These two will have you rooting for them till the end. Juan places all of his hopes and dreams on an elusive basketball scholarship, JD wants to be a film film director like Gillermo Del Torro. The boys put forth an extraordinary effort and just it seems like everything is going to be okay things get crazy fast! This book is a page turner and has a shocking ending which I won't give away. The story of a young brown boy trying to form his sense of identity without a father figure reminds me of novels like Mexican White Boy and Drift. There are similar themes within these books, but Barely Missing Everything faces them boldly.
As an ELA teacher I think this book would be great for a text- to- text comparison with a dystopian novel and this novel. I think there would be room for rich discussions about upward mobility, socioeconomic issues and racial biases. This would also be a great addition to a lit-circles activity.
As an ELA teacher I think this book would be great for a text- to- text comparison with a dystopian novel and this novel. I think there would be room for rich discussions about upward mobility, socioeconomic issues and racial biases. This would also be a great addition to a lit-circles activity.
March 31, 2021
Barely Missing Everything's main topic is prescient and urgent to exposing some of the fallacies that are exhibited in "The American Dream" and a realistic portrayal of teenage thought and life both in general and the consistent awareness of being a minority in every single aspect that that implies: race, ethnicity, class. Descriptive nuances of deliberate microaggressions of prejudice are prevalent, which makes it a decent book but not appropriate for my students as an assigned book -- primarily because there are other aspects to the novel that require deeper analysis of what it fundamentally means to be a teenager in the 2020s such as, familial responsibility, personal rebellion, coercive friendships, environmental and social pressures accompanied by their prejudices, of which my class couldn't hope to cover but it would be a disservice to ignore if it was provided as material for critical thinking in my class.
I would highly recommend this book to any of my students for pleasure reading, to take what they want from it by exploring lives they may both recognise (e.g. the flush of teenage arrogance devoid of realistic expectations) whilst being at the same time enlightening into aspects which they might not otherwise ever experience themselves.
As a novel, in its own right, it's fair. Barely Missing Everything was written for a very specific purpose and in that purpose, it achieves its aims but nothing more than that.
I would highly recommend this book to any of my students for pleasure reading, to take what they want from it by exploring lives they may both recognise (e.g. the flush of teenage arrogance devoid of realistic expectations) whilst being at the same time enlightening into aspects which they might not otherwise ever experience themselves.
As a novel, in its own right, it's fair. Barely Missing Everything was written for a very specific purpose and in that purpose, it achieves its aims but nothing more than that.
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