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In Search Of Us
Angie considers herself unremarkable. She likes history and science, running hard, grilled cheese with burned edges. But today, everything will change.
A photo in an old box, in a drawer. Of her teenage mother with a boy she's never seen before - and yet Angie instantly knows it's her father. The father who died before she was born. But Angie begins to understand that there are things she has not been told. Things that Angie now need to know, more than anything.
And so she sets off in search of her father's story. Her mother's story. And her own story. Because, she comes to realise, the missing pieces always matter.
A photo in an old box, in a drawer. Of her teenage mother with a boy she's never seen before - and yet Angie instantly knows it's her father. The father who died before she was born. But Angie begins to understand that there are things she has not been told. Things that Angie now need to know, more than anything.
And so she sets off in search of her father's story. Her mother's story. And her own story. Because, she comes to realise, the missing pieces always matter.
389 pages, Paperback
First published March 6, 2018
140 people are currently reading
13762 people want to read
About the author
Ava Dellaira
7 books1,878 followersAva Dellaira's debut adult novel, Exposure, will be published by Zibby Books in September of 2024. Her young adult debut, Love Letters to the Dead, was named a Best Book of the Year by Apple, Google, BuzzFeed, the New York Public Library and the Chicago Public Library, and was also featured in Vanity Fair, Entertainment Weekly, USA Today, and The New York Times Book Review. Her young adult follow-up In Search of Us was the recipient of widespread critical acclaim. Her fiction has been translated into 24 languages. She is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where she was a Truman Capote Fellow. She grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and received her undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago. She lives in Altadena, CA with her husband and their two young children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 678 reviews
July 29, 2021
This is my Books I've Owned For So Long I Assume I Probably Will Never Read It poster child.
So the fact that I did, in fact, finish it, and didn't even hate it, makes me feel like I could take on death itself.
I added this in 2017, it came out in 2018, it sat on my shelves for three-plus years, and I read it a few weeks ago.
Can you believe it? I feel like a statistical anomaly personified.
You may be waiting for me to add something about, you know, the book itself now, but for better or worse the most exciting part of having read it is that I'd finally read it.
It's fine. I love family stuff. Both the romances were meh. I didn't dread one perspective or the other, which is the death knell of multi-perspective books everywhere.
I felt pretty fine about all of it.
Which is good enough for me!
Bottom line: I'm never going to stop with these reading projects, am I.
---------------
pre-review
please, reading gods, let this book be half as good as the cover
update: probably roughly half as good.
review to come / 3ish
---------------
challenging myself to read as many review copies as possible this month because i'm addicted to projects!
ARC 1: spaceman of bohemia
ARC 2: in search of us
So the fact that I did, in fact, finish it, and didn't even hate it, makes me feel like I could take on death itself.
I added this in 2017, it came out in 2018, it sat on my shelves for three-plus years, and I read it a few weeks ago.
Can you believe it? I feel like a statistical anomaly personified.
You may be waiting for me to add something about, you know, the book itself now, but for better or worse the most exciting part of having read it is that I'd finally read it.
It's fine. I love family stuff. Both the romances were meh. I didn't dread one perspective or the other, which is the death knell of multi-perspective books everywhere.
I felt pretty fine about all of it.
Which is good enough for me!
Bottom line: I'm never going to stop with these reading projects, am I.
---------------
pre-review
please, reading gods, let this book be half as good as the cover
update: probably roughly half as good.
review to come / 3ish
---------------
challenging myself to read as many review copies as possible this month because i'm addicted to projects!
ARC 1: spaceman of bohemia
ARC 2: in search of us
April 27, 2018
Oh gosh, this story was incredibly and beautifully written.
So, the book is about Marylin and Angie who is mixed race. A mother and her daughter. Set in two different time frames, it follows both of their stories, intertwining beautifully, to tell the story of how they came to where they are now.
I don't want to get too detailed about the synopsis, so I'll leave it at that.
The tone of the story was just sad, full of melancholy and hope and the attachment got deeper as I read on. The type of feeling that is left within the inner parts of your heart when you finish reading a wonderful story and that you recount in your mind.
I highly recommend it if you love a story about family, identity, first love, grief and following your dreams.
So, the book is about Marylin and Angie who is mixed race. A mother and her daughter. Set in two different time frames, it follows both of their stories, intertwining beautifully, to tell the story of how they came to where they are now.
I don't want to get too detailed about the synopsis, so I'll leave it at that.
The tone of the story was just sad, full of melancholy and hope and the attachment got deeper as I read on. The type of feeling that is left within the inner parts of your heart when you finish reading a wonderful story and that you recount in your mind.
I highly recommend it if you love a story about family, identity, first love, grief and following your dreams.
March 9, 2022
This was so SO good! A cleverly woven tale told in two timelines about two sets of mothers and daughters. Angie is biracial and has grown up with her white mother, having never met her father (who her mother claims is dead.) While their relationship is loving, her mother is very secretive, and Angie has always felt a need to know about her past. She has an on again off again relationship with Sam, which is one of my favorite parts of the book. The author is really good at writing flawed, interesting relationships that feel authentic.
In the other timeline, we have Marilyn (Angie’s mother) and James (her father) back when they were Angie’s age, and it’s interesting to watch them slowly inching towards what we know will happen (Angie) while not knowing precisely what their ultimate fates will be. And again, this book is all about mother/daughter relationships, and Marilyn’s relationship with her mother is really what draws the two timelines together. This had great narrative voice and kept me engaged all the way through.
Trigger warnings:
Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader.
In the other timeline, we have Marilyn (Angie’s mother) and James (her father) back when they were Angie’s age, and it’s interesting to watch them slowly inching towards what we know will happen (Angie) while not knowing precisely what their ultimate fates will be. And again, this book is all about mother/daughter relationships, and Marilyn’s relationship with her mother is really what draws the two timelines together. This had great narrative voice and kept me engaged all the way through.
Trigger warnings:
Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader.
January 16, 2020
This was quite a lovely, gentle read with an emotional punch to it too. I had some highs and lows with this one, but overall I liked it!
I was a bit unsure of the changing perspectives. I didn’t like the immediate change we had at the beginning because I didn’t care about Angie enough yet… but at the same time I completely understood why the author did it that way as well. I liked that we got to see Marilyn, the mother, as a teenager while also seeing Angie as a teen. We got to see their similarities, but it also gave us insight into Marilyn as we get to see her as a mother through Angie’s timeline. It really gave us a lot of insight into Marilyn that her daughter didn’t have, and I liked that focus on motherhood and adults in relation to their children.
I loved all the music references in the book because finally, I was getting references to some of my favourite songs. Also, some songs I know from my own parents listening and loving them too. It made me feel so integrated into the story. I also started reading Joan Didion’s books because she is quoted and mentioned in this book – and she is a recent favourite nonfiction author of mine. So this book certainly had some lasting influence on me!
I really liked Marilyn’s character, actually. I related a lot to her longing and ambition that she feels as a teenager. I loved that even when she didn’t have the equipment she needed to fulfil her dream, she would still train herself as if she did. Framing photos with her fingers, looking for good angles – she was doing everything she could to prepare for her dream with whatever she had available to her. You’ve got to admire that kind of drive. I also felt her point of view was very relaxing and easy-going to read. It was nice.
From Angie’s perspective, I saw something new I’d not really seen in too many YA books at the time. I don’t think parents need to be happy all the time – they should be able to express all the emotions they have. But it was the first time I could see that a child wanted their parent to be happy and would sacrifice some things for that happen. I know this from real life of course, but it was my first time reading about it.
I was a bit frustrated at the lack of a chronological timeline. I don’t usually mind stories that jump around a bit, but it was a lot to keep track of when we already had two timelines going on in two different perspectives. It wasn’t too difficult to follow but I wished things had been a bit more straightforward.
The ending was… not what I expected. It delved into some themes of race that I didn’t expect it to head into. It was an emotional and important ending. But before it got there, I found the book to have just been an okay one. I was mostly reading because the book gave me a calming feel. I think if there was anything more I wanted from the book it would be for Angie’s perspective to have had the same impact that Marilyn’s did.
I also felt like Sam was such a loyal and calming character… and that he deserved someone else. I couldn’t ship that couple!
All in all, a nice read. I would definitely try more by Ava Dellaria in the future…
This review and others can originally be found on Olivia's Catastrophe: https://oliviascatastrophe.com/2020/0...
I was a bit unsure of the changing perspectives. I didn’t like the immediate change we had at the beginning because I didn’t care about Angie enough yet… but at the same time I completely understood why the author did it that way as well. I liked that we got to see Marilyn, the mother, as a teenager while also seeing Angie as a teen. We got to see their similarities, but it also gave us insight into Marilyn as we get to see her as a mother through Angie’s timeline. It really gave us a lot of insight into Marilyn that her daughter didn’t have, and I liked that focus on motherhood and adults in relation to their children.
I loved all the music references in the book because finally, I was getting references to some of my favourite songs. Also, some songs I know from my own parents listening and loving them too. It made me feel so integrated into the story. I also started reading Joan Didion’s books because she is quoted and mentioned in this book – and she is a recent favourite nonfiction author of mine. So this book certainly had some lasting influence on me!
I really liked Marilyn’s character, actually. I related a lot to her longing and ambition that she feels as a teenager. I loved that even when she didn’t have the equipment she needed to fulfil her dream, she would still train herself as if she did. Framing photos with her fingers, looking for good angles – she was doing everything she could to prepare for her dream with whatever she had available to her. You’ve got to admire that kind of drive. I also felt her point of view was very relaxing and easy-going to read. It was nice.
From Angie’s perspective, I saw something new I’d not really seen in too many YA books at the time. I don’t think parents need to be happy all the time – they should be able to express all the emotions they have. But it was the first time I could see that a child wanted their parent to be happy and would sacrifice some things for that happen. I know this from real life of course, but it was my first time reading about it.
I was a bit frustrated at the lack of a chronological timeline. I don’t usually mind stories that jump around a bit, but it was a lot to keep track of when we already had two timelines going on in two different perspectives. It wasn’t too difficult to follow but I wished things had been a bit more straightforward.
The ending was… not what I expected. It delved into some themes of race that I didn’t expect it to head into. It was an emotional and important ending. But before it got there, I found the book to have just been an okay one. I was mostly reading because the book gave me a calming feel. I think if there was anything more I wanted from the book it would be for Angie’s perspective to have had the same impact that Marilyn’s did.
I also felt like Sam was such a loyal and calming character… and that he deserved someone else. I couldn’t ship that couple!
All in all, a nice read. I would definitely try more by Ava Dellaria in the future…
This review and others can originally be found on Olivia's Catastrophe: https://oliviascatastrophe.com/2020/0...
May 6, 2018
I won a copy of In Search Of Us via the website Readers First!
This was such an emotional novel, I can't even begin to sit down to type this review up and process my thoughts because my mind is a freaking mess. But what I will say is the plotline and characters were very well-developed, the settings of California and New Mexico were interesting to witness. There are two POVs: Marilyn and her daughter Angie. Angie is a seventeen year old who never knew her father, he died before she was born. With so many unanswered questions however, she sets out with her friend/ex-boyfriend Sam on a road trip to Los Angeles to find the answers to the unanswered questions. Angie's POV is set in the present day but Marilyn's POV is from the past when she was only seventeen. I really enjoyed the dual POV, seeing both sides of the story come to life. I adore road trip novels, so many songs and bands were mentioned (shout-out to those of you who like Christine and the Queens!) that made me feel nostalgic about past road trips I've been on.
It was an emotional read of soul-searching, love in the past and present and discovering family history. My copy does contain a warning for strong language which I appreciated by being in the know in advance. The pacing was a little slow at times, the beginning wasn't the easiest to get into. But once I got past the first 100 pages, it was absolutely fine. Utterly heartbreaking, In Search Of Us will break your heart but immediately fix it again. This one will be a book I'd be happy to re-read in the future!
This was such an emotional novel, I can't even begin to sit down to type this review up and process my thoughts because my mind is a freaking mess. But what I will say is the plotline and characters were very well-developed, the settings of California and New Mexico were interesting to witness. There are two POVs: Marilyn and her daughter Angie. Angie is a seventeen year old who never knew her father, he died before she was born. With so many unanswered questions however, she sets out with her friend/ex-boyfriend Sam on a road trip to Los Angeles to find the answers to the unanswered questions. Angie's POV is set in the present day but Marilyn's POV is from the past when she was only seventeen. I really enjoyed the dual POV, seeing both sides of the story come to life. I adore road trip novels, so many songs and bands were mentioned (shout-out to those of you who like Christine and the Queens!) that made me feel nostalgic about past road trips I've been on.
It was an emotional read of soul-searching, love in the past and present and discovering family history. My copy does contain a warning for strong language which I appreciated by being in the know in advance. The pacing was a little slow at times, the beginning wasn't the easiest to get into. But once I got past the first 100 pages, it was absolutely fine. Utterly heartbreaking, In Search Of Us will break your heart but immediately fix it again. This one will be a book I'd be happy to re-read in the future!
January 29, 2020
Book Reviewed on www.whisperingstories.com
In Search of Us is the story of Marilyn and Angie told from two points of view and two different timelines. We first meet seventeen-year-old Angie as she sets out on a road trip to Los Angeles after she discovers that her mum has been lying to her for years about her father. We then go back in time to when her mum Marilyn was herself just seventeen.
Marilyn lives with her mum and her uncle in Hollywood. Her mum tells people that her daughter is a star nearing her big break and that is why they have moved from the suburbs, not quite the truth. The truth is that they have little money and not enough for rent and so they move in with Marilyn’s uncle. Marilyn had indeed been a small star as she made money from being in commercials but when the work dries up her mum wants her to become a model. Marilyn just wants to go to college to study art history and has an eye for photography. She also has a thing for her new neighbour James.
The different points of view come at random times. They are not alternative chapters but more like 6/7 chapters between each POV. You get to meet both women as young seventeen-year-old women and then see how Marilyn’s life turned out via her daughter Angie’s sections.
The book was really easy to read. It had a natural flow to it and I found myself becoming involved in both women’s lives, although, I felt more of a connection to Marilyn, that is more likely because I grew up in the same era as her, although different countries, so the references to music, food, even her Walkman we all things from my past too.
This is a story about two women trying to find themselves in very different ways, although they both dreamed of getting away from their mothers. I liked the way the women were given their own unique personalities and how they both spoke their minds. I did feel sorry for Angie discovering the truth about her father rather than hearing it from her mother. I also found myself wanting to wrap my arms around her as she struggled with her identity as a mixed-race young woman and never knowing her father.
The book is beautifully written and is certainly emotional in places as it does tug at your heart-strings. It slowly shows the world through the eyes of two realistic and likeable characters. In Search of Us is a contemporary fiction, so there aren’t any big shocks, twists or turns but what you do get it a thoughtful, engaging story. The ending completed the story perfectly too.
In Search of Us is the story of Marilyn and Angie told from two points of view and two different timelines. We first meet seventeen-year-old Angie as she sets out on a road trip to Los Angeles after she discovers that her mum has been lying to her for years about her father. We then go back in time to when her mum Marilyn was herself just seventeen.
Marilyn lives with her mum and her uncle in Hollywood. Her mum tells people that her daughter is a star nearing her big break and that is why they have moved from the suburbs, not quite the truth. The truth is that they have little money and not enough for rent and so they move in with Marilyn’s uncle. Marilyn had indeed been a small star as she made money from being in commercials but when the work dries up her mum wants her to become a model. Marilyn just wants to go to college to study art history and has an eye for photography. She also has a thing for her new neighbour James.
The different points of view come at random times. They are not alternative chapters but more like 6/7 chapters between each POV. You get to meet both women as young seventeen-year-old women and then see how Marilyn’s life turned out via her daughter Angie’s sections.
The book was really easy to read. It had a natural flow to it and I found myself becoming involved in both women’s lives, although, I felt more of a connection to Marilyn, that is more likely because I grew up in the same era as her, although different countries, so the references to music, food, even her Walkman we all things from my past too.
This is a story about two women trying to find themselves in very different ways, although they both dreamed of getting away from their mothers. I liked the way the women were given their own unique personalities and how they both spoke their minds. I did feel sorry for Angie discovering the truth about her father rather than hearing it from her mother. I also found myself wanting to wrap my arms around her as she struggled with her identity as a mixed-race young woman and never knowing her father.
The book is beautifully written and is certainly emotional in places as it does tug at your heart-strings. It slowly shows the world through the eyes of two realistic and likeable characters. In Search of Us is a contemporary fiction, so there aren’t any big shocks, twists or turns but what you do get it a thoughtful, engaging story. The ending completed the story perfectly too.
March 4, 2018
I wasn't ready for something so beautiful.
Told in two timelines, we follow Marilyn's romance with her neighbor, who is a black boy, while she struggles to follow her mother's dream and bear with her uncle's addiction to gambling. And we also follow her daughter's search for her father eighteen years later, having been lied to a whole life Angie comes across an article on her uncle, who was supposedly dead. Now she has a chance to travel all the way to LA, even if she has to beg her ex-boyfriend Sam for a hike.
There is a number of books that explore social themes very directly, this isn't one. And yet, the issues are so present it stings. I was very fond of how subtly Dellaira introduced it all. The relationship issues between Marilyn's mother and her grandmother, then between Marilyn herself and her mother, and finally between Marilyn and Angie, as each generation tries to be better than the preceding but fails in other parts for overcompensating. It's beautiful!
When I thought it would end there, the underlying problem of prejudice on Angie's paternal family side emerged. Unfortunately, that wasn't as beautiful. This book doesn't ask you to think about it, it shows the characters' reality and its consequences; it made me feels anxious at times; at others, very bitter.
Both main characters had their own way of thinking and reacting, everyone was very round and well developed. I'm not fond of drama YA's, I like have fun with them, swooning over my book boyfriends. And yet, this was so well written, it was a pleasure. Also, it had the right doses of drama, in no moment I felt the author overdid it. On the contrary, the story just kept going like life, with no time to digest.
It's a great book for a book club! And it'll also appeal to older crowds, not only for the quality of the narrative but also for the flashbacks. Having been a teenager in the 90's myself, I felt like going back in time whenever the narrator changed to Marilyn.
So why not give it five stars? It is kind of a personal system and it's inevitable to compare. This was good but it wasn't the best, if you get what I mean. Additionally, it just stood out for quality. When you think of the plot, girl searching for a father she's never met, there isn't much new there. But this just means it wasn't stellar, it's still a solid four-star read. I can't think of someone not to recommend this book.
Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.
Told in two timelines, we follow Marilyn's romance with her neighbor, who is a black boy, while she struggles to follow her mother's dream and bear with her uncle's addiction to gambling. And we also follow her daughter's search for her father eighteen years later, having been lied to a whole life Angie comes across an article on her uncle, who was supposedly dead. Now she has a chance to travel all the way to LA, even if she has to beg her ex-boyfriend Sam for a hike.
There is a number of books that explore social themes very directly, this isn't one. And yet, the issues are so present it stings. I was very fond of how subtly Dellaira introduced it all. The relationship issues between Marilyn's mother and her grandmother, then between Marilyn herself and her mother, and finally between Marilyn and Angie, as each generation tries to be better than the preceding but fails in other parts for overcompensating. It's beautiful!
When I thought it would end there, the underlying problem of prejudice on Angie's paternal family side emerged. Unfortunately, that wasn't as beautiful. This book doesn't ask you to think about it, it shows the characters' reality and its consequences; it made me feels anxious at times; at others, very bitter.
Both main characters had their own way of thinking and reacting, everyone was very round and well developed. I'm not fond of drama YA's, I like have fun with them, swooning over my book boyfriends. And yet, this was so well written, it was a pleasure. Also, it had the right doses of drama, in no moment I felt the author overdid it. On the contrary, the story just kept going like life, with no time to digest.
It's a great book for a book club! And it'll also appeal to older crowds, not only for the quality of the narrative but also for the flashbacks. Having been a teenager in the 90's myself, I felt like going back in time whenever the narrator changed to Marilyn.
So why not give it five stars? It is kind of a personal system and it's inevitable to compare. This was good but it wasn't the best, if you get what I mean. Additionally, it just stood out for quality. When you think of the plot, girl searching for a father she's never met, there isn't much new there. But this just means it wasn't stellar, it's still a solid four-star read. I can't think of someone not to recommend this book.
Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.
June 10, 2020
This is Ava Dellaira's second novel and it did not disappoint. It was not at all what I was expecting but was pleasantly surprised at the racial injustice message worked into the storyline...very pertinent to today's atmosphere. I found this novel very comforting at times. It was an easy read for hot summer days. 🙂
June 17, 2018
4.5 stars
This is just one of those books that really fill your heart and makes you sad and smile and it’s all happening at the same time you know. There’s a mystery and a love story at the base of this novel. They’ll meet in the proverbially perfect and heart-shattering middle.
The novel switches between Angie wanting to know more about her father and trying to find out if he’s dead or alive, and how it all started with her father and Marilyn, Angie’s mother. I loved seeing the romance between Marilyn and James develop and how she was welcomed into his warm family. You know that they’re not together any more and Marilyn still can’t think of him without tearing up so I was prepared for something terrible to happen but when I came to that part of the novel the impact was still bigger than I anticipated. I knew it was coming, couldn’t avoid it try as I might, and still was quite in shock.
Both plotlines, Angie’s search in the present and Marilyn’s encounter with James, at the same age but 17 years earlier, were very engrossing and it was actually fun and engrossing to read this dual timeline. Angie might have started out alone in her desire for answers but as the story progressed and the connection between Marilyn and James became bigger, we both ended up longing to know and even I hoped he was still alive.
But even if 16 year-old Angie had all my sympathy and understanding and I adored Dellaira’s skilled writing that made her turn to her favorite songs whenever she felt the need in time of worries and trouble, I loved her mother Marilyn in her younger version most of all. She’s such a good person and the attraction and romance with James was nothing other than perfect. They have such a sweet connection, I was already dreading the moment it would end. They seemed so right for each other so I couldn’t wrap my head around it, until I actually read the words.
In Search Of Us was such a lovely novel with beautiful people (the only exception being Uncle Woody who grudgingly shares his house with Marilyn and her mother), lots of cool 90’s music references and a whole lot of love. This novel is going to steal your heart, just like it did mine :-).
This is just one of those books that really fill your heart and makes you sad and smile and it’s all happening at the same time you know. There’s a mystery and a love story at the base of this novel. They’ll meet in the proverbially perfect and heart-shattering middle.
The novel switches between Angie wanting to know more about her father and trying to find out if he’s dead or alive, and how it all started with her father and Marilyn, Angie’s mother. I loved seeing the romance between Marilyn and James develop and how she was welcomed into his warm family. You know that they’re not together any more and Marilyn still can’t think of him without tearing up so I was prepared for something terrible to happen but when I came to that part of the novel the impact was still bigger than I anticipated. I knew it was coming, couldn’t avoid it try as I might, and still was quite in shock.
Both plotlines, Angie’s search in the present and Marilyn’s encounter with James, at the same age but 17 years earlier, were very engrossing and it was actually fun and engrossing to read this dual timeline. Angie might have started out alone in her desire for answers but as the story progressed and the connection between Marilyn and James became bigger, we both ended up longing to know and even I hoped he was still alive.
But even if 16 year-old Angie had all my sympathy and understanding and I adored Dellaira’s skilled writing that made her turn to her favorite songs whenever she felt the need in time of worries and trouble, I loved her mother Marilyn in her younger version most of all. She’s such a good person and the attraction and romance with James was nothing other than perfect. They have such a sweet connection, I was already dreading the moment it would end. They seemed so right for each other so I couldn’t wrap my head around it, until I actually read the words.
In Search Of Us was such a lovely novel with beautiful people (the only exception being Uncle Woody who grudgingly shares his house with Marilyn and her mother), lots of cool 90’s music references and a whole lot of love. This novel is going to steal your heart, just like it did mine :-).
July 9, 2021
"Hay algunas heridas que no cierran, y algunas pérdidas de las nunca nos recuperaremos. Pero tienes que dejar que eso sea una fuerza que te empuje, no una excusa para no intentarlo."
Lo ame 🤩
En esta historia conocemos a Marilyn y Angie, madre e hija, que nos irán contando que fue lo que paso para que su pequeña familia de 2 ahora este tambaleándose, Angie de 17 años en el presente, y Marilyn de 17 años en el pasado, van narrando la parte de esta historia de secretos familiares, culpa, amor, violencia y racismo, hasta que ambas historias se juntan y el lector tiene el contexto de todo lo que paso, y comprende, por que su pasado sigue afectando su presente.
Esta historia me hizo sentir mil cosas, destrozó mi corazón, y solo quería entrar y abrazar a estas 2 chicas. La historias se van intercalado en partes tanto del presente como del pasado, y debo admití que la historia de Marilyn me tendía más atrapada, aún así, las partes de Angie eran super fluidas y te quedabas con ganas de más.
No he visto mucho la difusión de este libro, y de verdad es una pena, por que la historia lo vale totalmente, y en mi caso, lo recomiendo mucho.
🌊🌴📸🎶
"Creo que todos llevamos dentro los fantasmas de las personas que nos precedieron..."
Lo ame 🤩
En esta historia conocemos a Marilyn y Angie, madre e hija, que nos irán contando que fue lo que paso para que su pequeña familia de 2 ahora este tambaleándose, Angie de 17 años en el presente, y Marilyn de 17 años en el pasado, van narrando la parte de esta historia de secretos familiares, culpa, amor, violencia y racismo, hasta que ambas historias se juntan y el lector tiene el contexto de todo lo que paso, y comprende, por que su pasado sigue afectando su presente.
Esta historia me hizo sentir mil cosas, destrozó mi corazón, y solo quería entrar y abrazar a estas 2 chicas. La historias se van intercalado en partes tanto del presente como del pasado, y debo admití que la historia de Marilyn me tendía más atrapada, aún así, las partes de Angie eran super fluidas y te quedabas con ganas de más.
No he visto mucho la difusión de este libro, y de verdad es una pena, por que la historia lo vale totalmente, y en mi caso, lo recomiendo mucho.
🌊🌴📸🎶
"Creo que todos llevamos dentro los fantasmas de las personas que nos precedieron..."
February 9, 2018
I received a free e-ARC through NetGalley from the publishers at Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group/Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. I fell in love with Dellaira’s writing from the first time I read Love Letters to the Dead, and I’ve read it several times since. I was so excited to get a copy of her new book!
Angie has never known her father. Raised by a single mother, Marilyn, who would do anything for her, she still feels as though an important part of herself is missing. Her dad was African American, her mother white, and there are things about growing up as a mixed-race child that Marilyn could never understand. Teenaged Marilyn dreamed only of getting out from under her mother’s oppressive illusion of making her a famous actress and going away to college. She wasn’t planning to meet James and fall in love, and she was never planning to raise their child without him. When Angie discovers that Marilyn may have been lying about her father’s death, she travels to L.A. with a friend in the hopes of finding him–and herself.
This book is really well done. The chapters alternate between Angie in the present, searching for her family in L.A., and Marilyn in the past when she met and fell in love with James. While the chapter lengths vary (a lot), it doesn’t seem to throw off the pacing, and I enjoyed the subtle crossover between the past and present–little things that Angie and James have in common, pieces of him that Marilyn passed along to her without her ever knowing. The novel really emphasizes how important personal history is. Angie’s big question is: if we don’t know our pasts and our parents’ pasts, can we ever really know ourselves?
Dellaira’s writing is as solid and beautiful as it was in Love Letters to the Dead, and I’m still in love with her style. I highlighted so many things as I was reading; it’s such a quotable book. I did have a small problem with the present tense. The entire novel, even Marilyn’s sections which are technically in the past, is written in present except for when the characters are reflecting on something, and the transitions are awkward. This is usually the kind of thing I stop noticing as I get further into a novel, but I didn’t. More than once, it jarred me right out of the story.
I really enjoyed Angie’s search for her history and the tension set up by being a mixed race child with a white mother, and those continual microagressions about how they can’t be related because they don’t look alike are especially poignant. Angie and Marilyn’s relationship is also really well done, and it’s nice to see a functional mother/daughter relationship that still has its problems (and works through them). Angie’s love interest is so bland though. There’s nothing wrong with Sam, but I was bored every minute of page time they spent together and had no interest in their little dramas.
I think this is why I found Marilyn’s sections so much more compelling than Angie’s. By comparison, Marilyn and James’s romance is the breath-stealing one in the book. Marilyn’s circumstances with her mother and her racist, alcoholic uncle are so much more dire, and James the far more interesting and well-developed character. While Marilyn gets Angie out of everything, it’s painful to know that their love story doesn’t work out. We don’t know quite why or how it doesn’t–whether James died in a car accident like she said, whether he’s still alive somewhere, or whether something else entirely happened–but we know that James isn’t there for Angie’s life. It’s an unexpectedly heavy novel, but it handles its issues with sensitivity and a deft hand. I would definitely re-read and recommend.
I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.
Angie has never known her father. Raised by a single mother, Marilyn, who would do anything for her, she still feels as though an important part of herself is missing. Her dad was African American, her mother white, and there are things about growing up as a mixed-race child that Marilyn could never understand. Teenaged Marilyn dreamed only of getting out from under her mother’s oppressive illusion of making her a famous actress and going away to college. She wasn’t planning to meet James and fall in love, and she was never planning to raise their child without him. When Angie discovers that Marilyn may have been lying about her father’s death, she travels to L.A. with a friend in the hopes of finding him–and herself.
This book is really well done. The chapters alternate between Angie in the present, searching for her family in L.A., and Marilyn in the past when she met and fell in love with James. While the chapter lengths vary (a lot), it doesn’t seem to throw off the pacing, and I enjoyed the subtle crossover between the past and present–little things that Angie and James have in common, pieces of him that Marilyn passed along to her without her ever knowing. The novel really emphasizes how important personal history is. Angie’s big question is: if we don’t know our pasts and our parents’ pasts, can we ever really know ourselves?
Dellaira’s writing is as solid and beautiful as it was in Love Letters to the Dead, and I’m still in love with her style. I highlighted so many things as I was reading; it’s such a quotable book. I did have a small problem with the present tense. The entire novel, even Marilyn’s sections which are technically in the past, is written in present except for when the characters are reflecting on something, and the transitions are awkward. This is usually the kind of thing I stop noticing as I get further into a novel, but I didn’t. More than once, it jarred me right out of the story.
I really enjoyed Angie’s search for her history and the tension set up by being a mixed race child with a white mother, and those continual microagressions about how they can’t be related because they don’t look alike are especially poignant. Angie and Marilyn’s relationship is also really well done, and it’s nice to see a functional mother/daughter relationship that still has its problems (and works through them). Angie’s love interest is so bland though. There’s nothing wrong with Sam, but I was bored every minute of page time they spent together and had no interest in their little dramas.
I think this is why I found Marilyn’s sections so much more compelling than Angie’s. By comparison, Marilyn and James’s romance is the breath-stealing one in the book. Marilyn’s circumstances with her mother and her racist, alcoholic uncle are so much more dire, and James the far more interesting and well-developed character. While Marilyn gets Angie out of everything, it’s painful to know that their love story doesn’t work out. We don’t know quite why or how it doesn’t–whether James died in a car accident like she said, whether he’s still alive somewhere, or whether something else entirely happened–but we know that James isn’t there for Angie’s life. It’s an unexpectedly heavy novel, but it handles its issues with sensitivity and a deft hand. I would definitely re-read and recommend.
I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.
February 14, 2018
Actual rating 3.5
I admit, I wasn't the biggest fan of Dellaira's previous work Love Letters to the Dead - the idea was stellar, the execution meh. Thankfully, this wasn't the case with In Search of Us.
This is a tale of a multigenerational conflict, told in a compelling dual POV - one is Angie, an African-American teen, the other Marylin, a white woman and Angie's mother. The story jumps back and forth between Marilyn in her teens as she falls in love with Angie's father James, and Angie living in the present, having been raised without a dad.
The "mystery part" a.k.a. finding out what happened to Angie's father was somehow my least favorite part of the book. While I did want to know what happened to him, I just didn't entirely comprehend why her mother lied about the events that took place in her youth.
For me, the strong parts in this book were the relationships - James and Justin's brotherhood, James' family in general, the budding romance between Marylin and James.
There is also Angie's relationship with her ex-boyfriend Sam that somehow both intrigued and irked me. While at times I completely understood why she treated him the way she did, other times it felt just like the conflicts were staged to add more tension to a story that didn't need it.
Still, I kept reading on. Something in this story that I can't quite make out kept drawing me in. Perhaps it was the fact that some parts hit too close to home - Marylin doesn't want to be what her mother wants for her, but she does it regardless, Angie wants to know more about her family but needs to hide it from her mother to not make her cry. The mother-daughter relationships in this book are complicated ones and they were also the most fascinating part of this book. YA rarely focuses on fleshed-out, complex mother-daughter relationships and it was like a breath of fresh air in this comtemporary.
All in all, a compelling, at times heart-wrenching read that I'd recommend to anyone looking for complex familial relationships.
*thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review*
I admit, I wasn't the biggest fan of Dellaira's previous work Love Letters to the Dead - the idea was stellar, the execution meh. Thankfully, this wasn't the case with In Search of Us.
This is a tale of a multigenerational conflict, told in a compelling dual POV - one is Angie, an African-American teen, the other Marylin, a white woman and Angie's mother. The story jumps back and forth between Marilyn in her teens as she falls in love with Angie's father James, and Angie living in the present, having been raised without a dad.
The "mystery part" a.k.a. finding out what happened to Angie's father was somehow my least favorite part of the book. While I did want to know what happened to him, I just didn't entirely comprehend why her mother lied about the events that took place in her youth.
For me, the strong parts in this book were the relationships - James and Justin's brotherhood, James' family in general, the budding romance between Marylin and James.
There is also Angie's relationship with her ex-boyfriend Sam that somehow both intrigued and irked me. While at times I completely understood why she treated him the way she did, other times it felt just like the conflicts were staged to add more tension to a story that didn't need it.
Still, I kept reading on. Something in this story that I can't quite make out kept drawing me in. Perhaps it was the fact that some parts hit too close to home - Marylin doesn't want to be what her mother wants for her, but she does it regardless, Angie wants to know more about her family but needs to hide it from her mother to not make her cry. The mother-daughter relationships in this book are complicated ones and they were also the most fascinating part of this book. YA rarely focuses on fleshed-out, complex mother-daughter relationships and it was like a breath of fresh air in this comtemporary.
All in all, a compelling, at times heart-wrenching read that I'd recommend to anyone looking for complex familial relationships.
*thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review*
April 21, 2018
4.5 stars
I went into In Search of Us not really knowing much about the book, I’d seen Sam give the book a five star rating and that’s all I needed to give this book a go. To be honest I really did struggle with the beginning of the book, the chapters alternate with perspectives from Angie in the present and her mum Marilyn in the past. And I found myself more interested in following Angie’s perspective, I wanted to follow her story and longing in discovering the truth in what happened with her father. But as the story progressed, I began to understand the importance of getting Marilyn’s story from the past, it played such an integral part to how far Marilyn had come and the person Angie had become today.
Dellaira gave us such a beautiful story with In Search of Us, I enjoyed going on this incredible journey with Angie to discover the truth about her father, the risks she took to get there and the fear that she had to deal with when she found out the truth. Angie was a character who I immensely liked, yes, she made mistakes along the way when she just had one focus in mind, but what 17-year-old would travel to LA to try and find her uncle, with only titbits of information? Yes, she was going behind her mum’s wishes, but I could understand her sense of longing and answers that she needed after she had first discovered the photo of her parents. I kind of had a feeling about how things would end up for Angie when she got to LA, but nothing could have prepared me for her story. It was heartfelt and raw, and left such a lasting impression with me.
In Search of Us was just a beautifully written story, I couldn’t praise Dellaira enough in giving us such a wonderful story. The overlap in stories from Marilyn and Angie was done majestically, with Dellaira constantly keeping us on our toes with us not knowing what could be around the corner. In Search of Us was really a gem of a read, one that I will be constantly thinking and talking about in the upcoming weeks.
I went into In Search of Us not really knowing much about the book, I’d seen Sam give the book a five star rating and that’s all I needed to give this book a go. To be honest I really did struggle with the beginning of the book, the chapters alternate with perspectives from Angie in the present and her mum Marilyn in the past. And I found myself more interested in following Angie’s perspective, I wanted to follow her story and longing in discovering the truth in what happened with her father. But as the story progressed, I began to understand the importance of getting Marilyn’s story from the past, it played such an integral part to how far Marilyn had come and the person Angie had become today.
Dellaira gave us such a beautiful story with In Search of Us, I enjoyed going on this incredible journey with Angie to discover the truth about her father, the risks she took to get there and the fear that she had to deal with when she found out the truth. Angie was a character who I immensely liked, yes, she made mistakes along the way when she just had one focus in mind, but what 17-year-old would travel to LA to try and find her uncle, with only titbits of information? Yes, she was going behind her mum’s wishes, but I could understand her sense of longing and answers that she needed after she had first discovered the photo of her parents. I kind of had a feeling about how things would end up for Angie when she got to LA, but nothing could have prepared me for her story. It was heartfelt and raw, and left such a lasting impression with me.
In Search of Us was just a beautifully written story, I couldn’t praise Dellaira enough in giving us such a wonderful story. The overlap in stories from Marilyn and Angie was done majestically, with Dellaira constantly keeping us on our toes with us not knowing what could be around the corner. In Search of Us was really a gem of a read, one that I will be constantly thinking and talking about in the upcoming weeks.
April 26, 2018
In Search Of is the parallel love story, told by a mother and daughter when they are aged just seventeen. Marilyn is new in Los Angeles, pushed into the spotlight by her fame hungry mother but still living in the poverty of hopefulness. Angie feels suffocated by her mothers grief, torn apart by her mothers protective gaze and her need to know her fathers roots.
As you flip between the views of Marilyn and Angie you begin to see not only correlations but cause and consequence of actions years before. It explores the way parents directly affect their childrens lives and how they will in turn raise their children.
Angies racial heritage is discussed in the book as she is raised by a white single mother but is mixed race. The sections where she talks about strangers making assumptions about her and her not having a feeling of belonging are heartbeaking. In Marilyns sections her interracial relationship is spoken about especially in regards to her Uncle who openly dislikes James, her boyfriend, for no other reason than his skin colour.
The mystery surrounding Angies fathers death makes this much more gripping than you usual contemporary Young Adult book. It had me gripped until the very end.
As you flip between the views of Marilyn and Angie you begin to see not only correlations but cause and consequence of actions years before. It explores the way parents directly affect their childrens lives and how they will in turn raise their children.
Angies racial heritage is discussed in the book as she is raised by a white single mother but is mixed race. The sections where she talks about strangers making assumptions about her and her not having a feeling of belonging are heartbeaking. In Marilyns sections her interracial relationship is spoken about especially in regards to her Uncle who openly dislikes James, her boyfriend, for no other reason than his skin colour.
The mystery surrounding Angies fathers death makes this much more gripping than you usual contemporary Young Adult book. It had me gripped until the very end.
September 19, 2019
No fue el libro que creí que era.
No fue una historia de amor feliz.
Fue un recuerdo de las tantas injusticias de este mundo.
Fue algo bonito y cruel.
No me esperaba el desenlace de la historia y no me imagine que lloraría por él. Creo que leérmelo en dos sentadas dice mucho… Fue imposible parar.
Cada vez que veo el libro en mi estantería siento que no se le ha dado el reconocimiento que merece, creo que no fue un libro muy popular, no recuerdo haberlo visto en ningún canal de YouTube, ni que tuviera mucha promoción y es una pena.
'Quienes solíamos ser' vale mucho, se los recomiendo sinceramente... Léanlo, lloren y sientan el dolor que muchos han sentido y agradezcan por lo que tienen. Compártanlo, sean comprensivos y enseñen que las diferencias solo pueden unirnos.
Calificación real 4,5 ⭐
No fue una historia de amor feliz.
Fue un recuerdo de las tantas injusticias de este mundo.
Fue algo bonito y cruel.
No me esperaba el desenlace de la historia y no me imagine que lloraría por él. Creo que leérmelo en dos sentadas dice mucho… Fue imposible parar.
Cada vez que veo el libro en mi estantería siento que no se le ha dado el reconocimiento que merece, creo que no fue un libro muy popular, no recuerdo haberlo visto en ningún canal de YouTube, ni que tuviera mucha promoción y es una pena.
'Quienes solíamos ser' vale mucho, se los recomiendo sinceramente... Léanlo, lloren y sientan el dolor que muchos han sentido y agradezcan por lo que tienen. Compártanlo, sean comprensivos y enseñen que las diferencias solo pueden unirnos.
Calificación real 4,5 ⭐
March 9, 2018
Rating: 4.5 Stars
I had wanted to read this book for many reasons. One, I really enjoyed Love Letters to the Dead. Two, I love multigenerational stories. Three, coming of age tales always work for me. Four, I never pass up a good romance. I am not quite sure what I was expecting from this book, but it delivered a total feelsplosion and was so beautifully tragic, I am kind of choked up right now just thinking about it.
•Pro: I wasn't sure at first, but I grew to love the alternating timeline. Contrasting Angie and her mom at the same age was quite fascinating.
•Pro: The romance between Marilyn and James was so swoony and gooey. I just couldn't get enough of them. They had these aspirations and were working together to try and make their dreams come true.
•Pro: James' family was really special. They experienced a lot of heartbreak, but they worked hard to fill those cracks with love. They were extraordinary people, who opened their home and hearts to Marilyn, and gave her the affection she was yearning for.
•Pro: Marilyn's grief ran so deep, and she carried it around with her for so many years. I ached for her, and was so happy that Angie went on this quest to find the girl in the picture.
•Pro: Sam was sort of broody, but he blew me away with his honesty and deep adoration for Angie. I totally understood his need for self-preservation, but also admired his willingness to support Angie after the way things went down.
•Con: I would have liked to have a gotten a little more resolution as it pertained to Angie. The ending was sweet, and I felt really good about where we left Marilyn, but I still had quite a few questions about Angie.
•Pro: The story is peppered with a great songs and all these amazing book quotes. I found myself wistfully revising the 90s, while pondering all these thoughts Dellaira shared with me.
•Pro: Dellaira really made us wait to get the truth about Angie's dad. I kept concocting things in my mind. I had two theories, and it looked like my second one could be right, but then the truth was so much more devastating.
•Pro: I have so many emotions. My heart actually hurts for what was lost, but I am comforted by the way things eventually played out.
Overall: This was a an utterly exquisite experience for me. This book was fraught with emotion and meaning and so many wonderful characters to love. It tugged on my heartstrings, and made me weep, but it also made me smile.
*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
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I had wanted to read this book for many reasons. One, I really enjoyed Love Letters to the Dead. Two, I love multigenerational stories. Three, coming of age tales always work for me. Four, I never pass up a good romance. I am not quite sure what I was expecting from this book, but it delivered a total feelsplosion and was so beautifully tragic, I am kind of choked up right now just thinking about it.
•Pro: I wasn't sure at first, but I grew to love the alternating timeline. Contrasting Angie and her mom at the same age was quite fascinating.
•Pro: The romance between Marilyn and James was so swoony and gooey. I just couldn't get enough of them. They had these aspirations and were working together to try and make their dreams come true.
•Pro: James' family was really special. They experienced a lot of heartbreak, but they worked hard to fill those cracks with love. They were extraordinary people, who opened their home and hearts to Marilyn, and gave her the affection she was yearning for.
•Pro: Marilyn's grief ran so deep, and she carried it around with her for so many years. I ached for her, and was so happy that Angie went on this quest to find the girl in the picture.
•Pro: Sam was sort of broody, but he blew me away with his honesty and deep adoration for Angie. I totally understood his need for self-preservation, but also admired his willingness to support Angie after the way things went down.
•Con: I would have liked to have a gotten a little more resolution as it pertained to Angie. The ending was sweet, and I felt really good about where we left Marilyn, but I still had quite a few questions about Angie.
•Pro: The story is peppered with a great songs and all these amazing book quotes. I found myself wistfully revising the 90s, while pondering all these thoughts Dellaira shared with me.
•Pro: Dellaira really made us wait to get the truth about Angie's dad. I kept concocting things in my mind. I had two theories, and it looked like my second one could be right, but then the truth was so much more devastating.
•Pro: I have so many emotions. My heart actually hurts for what was lost, but I am comforted by the way things eventually played out.
When his eyes met hers and she "snapped" her picture, it was her own version of love at first sight.
Overall: This was a an utterly exquisite experience for me. This book was fraught with emotion and meaning and so many wonderful characters to love. It tugged on my heartstrings, and made me weep, but it also made me smile.
*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
BLOG | INSTAGRAM |TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | FRIEND ME ON GOODREADS
September 14, 2020
⭐4.5
Leer esta historia ha hecho que mi corazón se sienta feliz y triste a la vez.
Fue algo tan lindo leer cómo las historias de Marilyn y Angie, madre e hija, se iban entrelazando a medida que transcurría el libro.
Al comienzo no me convencía mucho la historia entre los adolescentes Marilyn y James (los padres de Angie), pero luego terminé queriéndolos y sufriendo. Por otro lado, la historia entre Angie y Sam me pareció, no-se-qué, porque Sam era tan lindo, y siento que la manera de actuar de Angie ante sus asuntos personales proyectándolos hacia Sam no era justo para nada.
Bien es cierto, la historia no era 100% romance, sino más relación madre e hija, así como la importancia de conocer tu pasado, de conocer tus raíces para así poder saber realmente quién eres, cuál es tu identidad, y hacia dónde vas.
No soportaba a Sylvie, la mamá de Marilyn. Su personaje es ese tipo de persona por la cual llego a pensar "¿para eso tienen hijos? ¿para explotarlos y que los saquen de su mala situación económica?" En serio, no la soportaba.
Y, Dios, ni hablar delson of a bitch tío de Marilyn. No merece ni que lo mencione aquí.
A mitad de libro yo ya iba triste, con el corazón en la mano porque, a pesar que ya desde el comienzo sabía que algo le pasaría a uno de los personajes, ya iba teniendo en mente qué era lo que podía pasarle, y sufría al leerlo porque no quería que nada malo le sucediera.
Cuando por fin cuentan lo que le pasa a ese personaje, era algo que no esperaba de esa manera, y lloré a moco tendido desde ese momento hasta que terminé el libro.
Creo que me quedo satisfecha con el final del libro, tal vez hubiese querido saber, (como siempre), qué pasó algunos meses después del final. Pero creo que así estuvo bien.
Una historia a la que le tenía muchas ganas desde hacía años, no por hype, sino por su sinopsis. Y soy feliz de que me haya gustado más de lo que hubiera imaginado.
Leer esta historia ha hecho que mi corazón se sienta feliz y triste a la vez.
Fue algo tan lindo leer cómo las historias de Marilyn y Angie, madre e hija, se iban entrelazando a medida que transcurría el libro.
Al comienzo no me convencía mucho la historia entre los adolescentes Marilyn y James (los padres de Angie), pero luego terminé queriéndolos y sufriendo. Por otro lado, la historia entre Angie y Sam me pareció, no-se-qué, porque Sam era tan lindo, y siento que la manera de actuar de Angie ante sus asuntos personales proyectándolos hacia Sam no era justo para nada.
Bien es cierto, la historia no era 100% romance, sino más relación madre e hija, así como la importancia de conocer tu pasado, de conocer tus raíces para así poder saber realmente quién eres, cuál es tu identidad, y hacia dónde vas.
No soportaba a Sylvie, la mamá de Marilyn. Su personaje es ese tipo de persona por la cual llego a pensar "¿para eso tienen hijos? ¿para explotarlos y que los saquen de su mala situación económica?" En serio, no la soportaba.
Y, Dios, ni hablar del
A mitad de libro yo ya iba triste, con el corazón en la mano porque, a pesar que ya desde el comienzo sabía que algo le pasaría a uno de los personajes, ya iba teniendo en mente qué era lo que podía pasarle, y sufría al leerlo porque no quería que nada malo le sucediera.
Cuando por fin cuentan lo que le pasa a ese personaje, era algo que no esperaba de esa manera, y lloré a moco tendido desde ese momento hasta que terminé el libro.
Creo que me quedo satisfecha con el final del libro, tal vez hubiese querido saber, (como siempre), qué pasó algunos meses después del final. Pero creo que así estuvo bien.
Una historia a la que le tenía muchas ganas desde hacía años, no por hype, sino por su sinopsis. Y soy feliz de que me haya gustado más de lo que hubiera imaginado.
October 21, 2018
I cried my heart out.
Okay, so I know people say things like that all the time, (and granted, I do too), but I’m pretty sure my heart actually broke while reading this. My friends can vouch for me- I texted that I was crying and they facetimed me and the first thing they saw was my distraught expression with tears streaming down my face.
So that happened.
Really, though, this was one of the most beautiful books I have ever read. The mother-daughter bonds made me think of Gilmore Girls, except a lot deeper and not as light and funny. I am so glad that my friend insisted I read this story because I don’t know where I would be without it. I even read it all in one sitting because I was so entranced in the plot.
I don’t want to tell you why I was crying, because that would give away a lot, but I promise that it will shatter you.
Okay so that was dramatic, but very, very true. It’s just so moving, but also horribly wrong and actually gives you a little bit of insight on police brutality, which I was not expecting.
Please read this book. It is unlike any other that I have ever read. So many characters are struggling between what they want and what someone else wants. It’s just somehow relatable and sweet at the same time.
Okay, so I know people say things like that all the time, (and granted, I do too), but I’m pretty sure my heart actually broke while reading this. My friends can vouch for me- I texted that I was crying and they facetimed me and the first thing they saw was my distraught expression with tears streaming down my face.
So that happened.
Really, though, this was one of the most beautiful books I have ever read. The mother-daughter bonds made me think of Gilmore Girls, except a lot deeper and not as light and funny. I am so glad that my friend insisted I read this story because I don’t know where I would be without it. I even read it all in one sitting because I was so entranced in the plot.
I don’t want to tell you why I was crying, because that would give away a lot, but I promise that it will shatter you.
Okay so that was dramatic, but very, very true. It’s just so moving, but also horribly wrong and actually gives you a little bit of insight on police brutality, which I was not expecting.
Please read this book. It is unlike any other that I have ever read. So many characters are struggling between what they want and what someone else wants. It’s just somehow relatable and sweet at the same time.
December 17, 2018
3.5 stars. I dove right into this one without recalling exactly what it was about, but I certainly couldn’t make myself stop turning the pages every time I picked it up. There was something compelling about this story, about Angie’s present day experiences and Marilyn’s moments more than a decade before, and I ended up really getting into it overall. The writing style took a little acclimatization, and it’s a heavy book, and I would have certainly liked to see more of both characters interacting with each other. But it was a solid read overall.
November 23, 2017
Qué libro más nostálgico y autentico.
Hermoso.
Hermoso.
June 7, 2018
3.5 stars
It's midnight. I'm ugly sobbing.
In Search of Us is the kind of book that creeps up on you. I had a hard time connecting to two main characters (Angie & Marilyn) in the beginning, but only in the end did I realize that I had started to care for them somewhere along the way. All the other characters basically shot straight through to my heart, which is also the reason for the ugly sobbing.
So as I said I struggled with the MCs in the beginning and I also had to get used to Ava Dellaira's writing style. It wasn't really until the last 150 pages that it clicked for me. That's mainly why I didn't give it more stars. It might also be because I read the Dutch edition, and the prose might have sometimes gotten lost in translation. Nevertheless, it's a beautiful story that is both modern and old school. Perfect summer read, I'd say.
It's midnight. I'm ugly sobbing.
In Search of Us is the kind of book that creeps up on you. I had a hard time connecting to two main characters (Angie & Marilyn) in the beginning, but only in the end did I realize that I had started to care for them somewhere along the way. All the other characters basically shot straight through to my heart, which is also the reason for the ugly sobbing.
So as I said I struggled with the MCs in the beginning and I also had to get used to Ava Dellaira's writing style. It wasn't really until the last 150 pages that it clicked for me. That's mainly why I didn't give it more stars. It might also be because I read the Dutch edition, and the prose might have sometimes gotten lost in translation. Nevertheless, it's a beautiful story that is both modern and old school. Perfect summer read, I'd say.
October 12, 2017
4,5
Me gustó muchísimo, incluso más que Cartas de amor a los muertos (libro que tampoco llegué a amar). Los personajes son increíbles y el cambio de perspectiva entre Marilyn y Angie está muy bien hecho (debo admitir que me interesaba mucho más la vida de Marilyn cuando era joven que lo que contaba Angie, pero esto no quiere decir que su perspectiva me aburriera)
Ampliaré más en un próximo Wrap up, pero sepan que es un libro sumamente recomendable.
Me gustó muchísimo, incluso más que Cartas de amor a los muertos (libro que tampoco llegué a amar). Los personajes son increíbles y el cambio de perspectiva entre Marilyn y Angie está muy bien hecho (debo admitir que me interesaba mucho más la vida de Marilyn cuando era joven que lo que contaba Angie, pero esto no quiere decir que su perspectiva me aburriera)
Ampliaré más en un próximo Wrap up, pero sepan que es un libro sumamente recomendable.
May 18, 2018
This was such a beautiful story - loved the two timelines, the characters and the story overall <3
Full review coming soon! :)
Full review coming soon! :)
December 28, 2021
3.5⭐
"Algunas personas heredan un futuro, pero tú debes construir el tuyo"
Este libro es muy hermoso, nos cuenta la historia del pasado de Marilyn y como su hija intenta descubrir su identidad, la relación entre James y Marilyn es preciosa, un amor tan hermoso, lleno de vida, con un gran camino por delante, esto para mi es una de las cosas por las cuales el libro me gustó, ahora, Sam no me agrado para nada, las partes del libro que más me gustaban eran los flash del pasado, el presente mmmm no tanto.
Ahora el final es demasiado trágico, doloroso pero con un gran trasfondo
"Algunas personas heredan un futuro, pero tú debes construir el tuyo"
Este libro es muy hermoso, nos cuenta la historia del pasado de Marilyn y como su hija intenta descubrir su identidad, la relación entre James y Marilyn es preciosa, un amor tan hermoso, lleno de vida, con un gran camino por delante, esto para mi es una de las cosas por las cuales el libro me gustó, ahora, Sam no me agrado para nada, las partes del libro que más me gustaban eran los flash del pasado, el presente mmmm no tanto.
Ahora el final es demasiado trágico, doloroso pero con un gran trasfondo
May 23, 2022
That was an amazing coming of age read!
October 10, 2018
Veľmi sa ospravedlňujem knižke a veľmi sa ospravedlňujem aj autorke, o ktorej som pochybovala skôr, než som knižku vôbec držala v ruke.
Nebudeme si klamať. Na YA pomaly, ale isto začínam zanevierať, pretože to už nie je, čo bývalo. Áno, je to aj mojim pribúdajúcim vekom, no aspoň podľa mňa je množstvo YA kníh taktiež ladených vo veľmi podobnom duchu a originality, či kvality sa človek nedočká. No vždy je tu svetielko nádeje a ja som ho práve našla.
Už dlho sa mi nestalo, aby som sa zabudla. Doslova. Aby som prestala vnímať okolie a najmä prežívala dej, tak veľmi, až by som nedokázala fungovať počas dňa. A nebodaj vyhŕknuté slzy na krajíčku? To je u mňa rarita. No, verte alebo neverte... Nenachádzam tie správne slová na vyjadrenie krásy ukrytej v tomto príbehu. Aj teraz, ako sa k vám prihováram, kúsok zo mňa akoby bol ešte stále s postavami, s ktorými prežil nečakanú cestu a našiel prazvláštne pravdy. Táto kniha mi dala všetko a možno aj viac. Prihovorila sa mi slovami, ktoré som potrebovala počuť, no ani som o tom netušila.
Autorka sa od jej poslednej preloženej knihy, ktorá bola zároveň jej prvotinou, nepopísateľne, výrazne zlepšila. Svoj štýl písania, ktorý predtým nestíhal jej dobrým nápadom, vycibrila a nadobudla tak prekrásnu autentickosť, ktorou mi pohladila dušu.
Nebudeme si klamať. Na YA pomaly, ale isto začínam zanevierať, pretože to už nie je, čo bývalo. Áno, je to aj mojim pribúdajúcim vekom, no aspoň podľa mňa je množstvo YA kníh taktiež ladených vo veľmi podobnom duchu a originality, či kvality sa človek nedočká. No vždy je tu svetielko nádeje a ja som ho práve našla.
Už dlho sa mi nestalo, aby som sa zabudla. Doslova. Aby som prestala vnímať okolie a najmä prežívala dej, tak veľmi, až by som nedokázala fungovať počas dňa. A nebodaj vyhŕknuté slzy na krajíčku? To je u mňa rarita. No, verte alebo neverte... Nenachádzam tie správne slová na vyjadrenie krásy ukrytej v tomto príbehu. Aj teraz, ako sa k vám prihováram, kúsok zo mňa akoby bol ešte stále s postavami, s ktorými prežil nečakanú cestu a našiel prazvláštne pravdy. Táto kniha mi dala všetko a možno aj viac. Prihovorila sa mi slovami, ktoré som potrebovala počuť, no ani som o tom netušila.
Autorka sa od jej poslednej preloženej knihy, ktorá bola zároveň jej prvotinou, nepopísateľne, výrazne zlepšila. Svoj štýl písania, ktorý predtým nestíhal jej dobrým nápadom, vycibrila a nadobudla tak prekrásnu autentickosť, ktorou mi pohladila dušu.
July 5, 2018
Star Rating: 3.5 Stars
Well that was better than I expected.
The story is beautifully written. However, it starts out rather slow, but the middle really delivers. And I wasn't totally satisfied with the ending. I thought it wrapped up a little to nicely.
Well that was better than I expected.
The story is beautifully written. However, it starts out rather slow, but the middle really delivers. And I wasn't totally satisfied with the ending. I thought it wrapped up a little to nicely.
January 23, 2020
The book got off to a slow start but eventually it had me hooked. The last few chapters pulled my heartstrings.
April 2, 2020
Reseña completa: http://elcaosliterario.blogspot.com/2...
Hasta que llegó este libro a mí no había leído ninguna historia que estuviese centrada en conocer los orígenes de la protagonista. La forma en la que está narrada me ha parecido muy original.
La autora ha definido muy bien la personalidad de las protagonistas para sacar lo mejor de ellas. La historia de Marilyn me ha parecido impactante y no he podido parar de leer.
El principio me ha resultado un poco confuso y mejora bastante al pasar el primer tercio del libro. De igual manera no supone un problema porque es una introducción pero tardé un poco en entrar en la historia.
Me gustaron mucho las referencias musicales que se encuentran en esta historia porque me parecen una forma muy original de conectar con cada momento.
En resumen: la magia de saber de dónde venimos para saber quiénes somos y a dónde vamos, narrada en una historia juvenil muy original con unas protagonistas que sorprenden página tras página. Quizá esperaba un poco más de esta novela, pero me ha gustado.
Hasta que llegó este libro a mí no había leído ninguna historia que estuviese centrada en conocer los orígenes de la protagonista. La forma en la que está narrada me ha parecido muy original.
La autora ha definido muy bien la personalidad de las protagonistas para sacar lo mejor de ellas. La historia de Marilyn me ha parecido impactante y no he podido parar de leer.
El principio me ha resultado un poco confuso y mejora bastante al pasar el primer tercio del libro. De igual manera no supone un problema porque es una introducción pero tardé un poco en entrar en la historia.
Me gustaron mucho las referencias musicales que se encuentran en esta historia porque me parecen una forma muy original de conectar con cada momento.
En resumen: la magia de saber de dónde venimos para saber quiénes somos y a dónde vamos, narrada en una historia juvenil muy original con unas protagonistas que sorprenden página tras página. Quizá esperaba un poco más de esta novela, pero me ha gustado.
April 22, 2020
Más bien un 4'25.
Este es el primer libro que leo de la famosísima autora de Cartas de amor a los muertos y ahora entiendo el amor hacia ella. La otra novela no me llamaba demasiado la atención pero ahora después de haber leído esta novela tengo claro que la leeré.
Está contada bajo dos puntos de vista: madre e hija. Marilyn (la madre) me ha encantado por completo. He conectado desde el primer momento con su personaje. Me pareció muy bien caracterizado y desarrollado y he sufrido y disfrutado a partes iguales de su historia.
Las partes narradas por Angie (la hija) me gustaban pero no tanto como las de Marilyn. Angie es una chica con muchas preguntas sin responder, que intenta enmendar su vida hacia algún sitio y por ello mismo empieza a buscar respuestas a todas aquellas preguntas que ha tenido durante sus 17 años. No es que haya sido un mal personaje porque para nada es así, pero teniendo a Marilyn, Angie se quedaba corta para mi.
He sufrido muchísimo con la historia por todo lo que me ha hecho sentir pero ha sido muy especial. Demasiado. No quería que terminara nunca. Si buscáis una buena lectura contemporánea, leedlo. Eso sí, preparaos para sufrir un poquito.
Este es el primer libro que leo de la famosísima autora de Cartas de amor a los muertos y ahora entiendo el amor hacia ella. La otra novela no me llamaba demasiado la atención pero ahora después de haber leído esta novela tengo claro que la leeré.
Está contada bajo dos puntos de vista: madre e hija. Marilyn (la madre) me ha encantado por completo. He conectado desde el primer momento con su personaje. Me pareció muy bien caracterizado y desarrollado y he sufrido y disfrutado a partes iguales de su historia.
Las partes narradas por Angie (la hija) me gustaban pero no tanto como las de Marilyn. Angie es una chica con muchas preguntas sin responder, que intenta enmendar su vida hacia algún sitio y por ello mismo empieza a buscar respuestas a todas aquellas preguntas que ha tenido durante sus 17 años. No es que haya sido un mal personaje porque para nada es así, pero teniendo a Marilyn, Angie se quedaba corta para mi.
He sufrido muchísimo con la historia por todo lo que me ha hecho sentir pero ha sido muy especial. Demasiado. No quería que terminara nunca. Si buscáis una buena lectura contemporánea, leedlo. Eso sí, preparaos para sufrir un poquito.
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