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Historically Inaccurate
It only takes one moment to change your life forever...
After her mother’s deportation last year, all Soledad “Sol” Gutierrez wants is for her life to go back to normal. Everything’s changed―new apartment, new school, new family dynamic―and Sol desperately wants to fit in. When she joins her community college’s history club, it comes with an odd initiation process: break into Westray’s oldest house and steal . . . a fork?
There’s just one problem: while the owners of the house aren’t home, their grandson Ethan is, and when he catches Sol with her hand in the kitchen drawer, she barely escapes with the fork intact. This one chance encounter irrevocably alters her life, and Sol soon learns that sometimes fitting in isn’t as important as being yourself―even if that’s the hardest thing she’s ever had to do.
After her mother’s deportation last year, all Soledad “Sol” Gutierrez wants is for her life to go back to normal. Everything’s changed―new apartment, new school, new family dynamic―and Sol desperately wants to fit in. When she joins her community college’s history club, it comes with an odd initiation process: break into Westray’s oldest house and steal . . . a fork?
There’s just one problem: while the owners of the house aren’t home, their grandson Ethan is, and when he catches Sol with her hand in the kitchen drawer, she barely escapes with the fork intact. This one chance encounter irrevocably alters her life, and Sol soon learns that sometimes fitting in isn’t as important as being yourself―even if that’s the hardest thing she’s ever had to do.
320 pages, Paperback
First published September 29, 2020
24 people are currently reading
2475 people want to read
About the author
Shay Bravo
1 book50 followersShay Bravo is a Mexican born author who has now lived half of her life in the USA. She began sharing her work online through Wattpad when she was fifteen years old and has connected with over 114,000 followers. Historically Inaccurate won the 2019 Watty Awards and is her first novel. Shay currently resides in Houston, Texas.
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dnf
April 23, 2021Historically Inaccurate has themes of immigration, deportation, and family separation which are incredibly important topics. There is Latina representation as well as LGBTQ+ so I was excited for this diverse read. Unfortunately, I was left disappointed mostly because of the writing as well as with Sol. Sol, the main character, has a million internal extensive monologues after anything that happens so much that she will just go on and on about her laptop being broken or that she wants a muffin, just to name some examples. It doesn’t really add to the story. The pacing is slow and quite repetitive so I found myself skimming A LOT. There are also a ton of typos so hopefully that will be fixed before publication.
I admire the fact that the author made diverse characters but they didn’t come off as well rounded because it wasn’t really blatant. For example, there is a transgender woman character and it’s never really mentioned, just in passing by misgendering. This misgendering scene really didn’t sit right with me. There are a couple of other scenes that I felt were forced including the romance which I found unnecessary. I did like that there was openness about gender and sexuality and that the characters were freely discussing it without judgement HOWEVER THE MISGENDERING HAPPENED MORE THAN ONCE WHETHER OR NOT IT WAS ON PURPOSE AND I HATED THAT.
Another random thing that bugged me was that the history club in no way resembles a history club even remotely. They just try to do crazy things without getting caught and they’re supposed to be in college, which I found hard to believe. On top of that, Ethan, a black character expressed concern with being caught by the police during these "history club excursions" and possibly killed because he is black but the main character waved it off completely, expressing nothing. Actually, that pissed me off a lot and rubbed me the wrong way.
With that being said, at least the cover is nice.
Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for sending me an arc.
I admire the fact that the author made diverse characters but they didn’t come off as well rounded because it wasn’t really blatant. For example, there is a transgender woman character and it’s never really mentioned, just in passing by misgendering. This misgendering scene really didn’t sit right with me. There are a couple of other scenes that I felt were forced including the romance which I found unnecessary. I did like that there was openness about gender and sexuality and that the characters were freely discussing it without judgement HOWEVER THE MISGENDERING HAPPENED MORE THAN ONCE WHETHER OR NOT IT WAS ON PURPOSE AND I HATED THAT.
Another random thing that bugged me was that the history club in no way resembles a history club even remotely. They just try to do crazy things without getting caught and they’re supposed to be in college, which I found hard to believe. On top of that, Ethan, a black character expressed concern with being caught by the police during these "history club excursions" and possibly killed because he is black but the main character waved it off completely, expressing nothing. Actually, that pissed me off a lot and rubbed me the wrong way.
With that being said, at least the cover is nice.
Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for sending me an arc.
August 31, 2020
Thank you Netgalley and publisher for a copy of this book for an honest opinion.
This book is about a college age girl dealing with life without her mother. Her mother was deported back to her home country so the main protagonist lives with her dad.
I wanted to love this story. Usually these story make me feel thankful for what I got. Historically inaccurate was a little bland to me. I didn't get the feelings of sadness or missing a mother. At times I found myself a little bored and had a hard time getting through this book.
This book is about a college age girl dealing with life without her mother. Her mother was deported back to her home country so the main protagonist lives with her dad.
I wanted to love this story. Usually these story make me feel thankful for what I got. Historically inaccurate was a little bland to me. I didn't get the feelings of sadness or missing a mother. At times I found myself a little bored and had a hard time getting through this book.
June 9, 2020
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.
I really wanted to like this book, specially because the main character is latina, but i was somewhat disappointed. I’ll start with the aspects I did like about this book:
It was very interesting and heartbreaking learning what it’s like having a family member deported. A lot of families in the USA have to go through this, and I feel the author really made the reader understand the situation Sol was going through.
I also loved Sol’s relationship with her parents. Even if her family was separated, they still made it work and it was very heartwarming.
Now I’m jumping into the aspects I didn’t like about this book. This part contains (minor) spoilers:
I didn’t like how dull the description of some characters was. I had a hard time picturing a lot of Sol’s friends and the people she met at the history club.
Speaking of the history club, Sol mentioned how the club was taking over her life when in reality she had only mentioned being to three meeting; taking into account that the first two were welcoming parties and the last one was to announce they would be having a group trip, I don’t really think this was an issue. I thought the book was going to be about the club, but it really didn’t have a clear theme so I found it boring in certain parts.
When a book has characters that speak in a language different than the one it is written in, I think the author should provide a translation for the readers. Sol constantly spoke Spanish with her best friend and her parents, but the author didn’t provide any form of translation for the readers. While I speak Spanish I do consider this is necessary. Sol spoke in Spanish with her father for about two pages, and those were two whole pages some readers couldn’t understand.
There were also a lot of grammar and spelling mistakes. I noticed other reviewers mentioned this too.
Now my biggest problems with this book:
One of the black characters in the book mentioned how he doesn’t want to join the club because once people join, they have to do dares that often result in illegal activities. This characters mentions how he is more likely to be shot and killed if found doing something illegal, AND SOL JUST DISMISSES HIM. She says he won’t let anything happens to him and that they won’t give him an illegal dare and the leader of the club promises too. After saying this they still send him into a museum telling him he has to stay after closing time and avoid the guards. It honestly didn’t sit right with me.
While Sol was out with one of her friends who is a lesbian, she mentioned how she wondered if people thought they were dating when they went out together. It bothered me that the author mentioned this about a queer character, when Sol hung out even more with her boy best friend but didn’t once mentioned how people might’ve thought they were dating. Just because someone is attracted to the same sex as you it doesn’t mean they like you.
Ethan kept using the pronouns “he/him” when taking about Anna. I honestly didn’t understand why he was doing this and there wasn’t an explanation provided. If it was an attempt to hint that she is trans, it was done very poorly because misgendering someone is not acceptable.
And finally, the description mentions how Sol and Ethan will uncover why the club seems to get involved in several illegal activities when doing the dares and why they have a lot of money provided by the club’s founder. They don’t really uncover this themselves. Someone else files a police report and they are just there in the aftermath of the events.
I really wanted to like this book, specially because the main character is latina, but i was somewhat disappointed. I’ll start with the aspects I did like about this book:
It was very interesting and heartbreaking learning what it’s like having a family member deported. A lot of families in the USA have to go through this, and I feel the author really made the reader understand the situation Sol was going through.
I also loved Sol’s relationship with her parents. Even if her family was separated, they still made it work and it was very heartwarming.
Now I’m jumping into the aspects I didn’t like about this book. This part contains (minor) spoilers:
I didn’t like how dull the description of some characters was. I had a hard time picturing a lot of Sol’s friends and the people she met at the history club.
Speaking of the history club, Sol mentioned how the club was taking over her life when in reality she had only mentioned being to three meeting; taking into account that the first two were welcoming parties and the last one was to announce they would be having a group trip, I don’t really think this was an issue. I thought the book was going to be about the club, but it really didn’t have a clear theme so I found it boring in certain parts.
When a book has characters that speak in a language different than the one it is written in, I think the author should provide a translation for the readers. Sol constantly spoke Spanish with her best friend and her parents, but the author didn’t provide any form of translation for the readers. While I speak Spanish I do consider this is necessary. Sol spoke in Spanish with her father for about two pages, and those were two whole pages some readers couldn’t understand.
There were also a lot of grammar and spelling mistakes. I noticed other reviewers mentioned this too.
Now my biggest problems with this book:
One of the black characters in the book mentioned how he doesn’t want to join the club because once people join, they have to do dares that often result in illegal activities. This characters mentions how he is more likely to be shot and killed if found doing something illegal, AND SOL JUST DISMISSES HIM. She says he won’t let anything happens to him and that they won’t give him an illegal dare and the leader of the club promises too. After saying this they still send him into a museum telling him he has to stay after closing time and avoid the guards. It honestly didn’t sit right with me.
While Sol was out with one of her friends who is a lesbian, she mentioned how she wondered if people thought they were dating when they went out together. It bothered me that the author mentioned this about a queer character, when Sol hung out even more with her boy best friend but didn’t once mentioned how people might’ve thought they were dating. Just because someone is attracted to the same sex as you it doesn’t mean they like you.
Ethan kept using the pronouns “he/him” when taking about Anna. I honestly didn’t understand why he was doing this and there wasn’t an explanation provided. If it was an attempt to hint that she is trans, it was done very poorly because misgendering someone is not acceptable.
And finally, the description mentions how Sol and Ethan will uncover why the club seems to get involved in several illegal activities when doing the dares and why they have a lot of money provided by the club’s founder. They don’t really uncover this themselves. Someone else files a police report and they are just there in the aftermath of the events.
October 29, 2020
Disclaimer: An eARC was provided via The Publisher and Netgalleyin exchange for an honest review. The Thoughts, opinions & feelings expressed in the review are therefore, my own.
It’s been actually a while since I enjoyed a really well written YA coming of age novel - and Historically Inaccurate provides a light and breezy way of writing some topics that are hard hitting and would end up being a lot more hard to read.
Sol is a college student whose mom was deported to Mexico when they had an accident - so while she was dealing with a broken body, her mother was being treated as a criminal by ICE & being sent back to a country where she hasn’t been to since she was a child; away from her family.
So all Sol wants to do is, make her parents proud, study hard and save enough money to appoint a lawyer to bring her mother back to the US when she turns 21.
What she definitely wasn’t expecting was to get caught breaking and entering into an old couple’s place while trying to do an initiation ceremony for a History Club, of all thing; just to have a better resume for future applications.
Historically Inaccurate is a coming of age novel that gives its readers a young romance, with wonderfully diverse representation as well as issues that are handled with care, hope and faith!
Would definitely recommend it if you need something different and very well written!
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July 17, 2020
2.6/5 ☆ - 3-
DISCLAIMER: I recieved an DRC via Edelweiss+ from Wattpad Books in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I remember reading the first chapters of this book on Wattpad. Then I completely forgot it. Or the author decided to only leave a sample before publishing. Either way, I wanted to see how it all would unfold for real. I had higher expectations for this book than The Bro Code, but was left disappointed.
I admire the author for writing a fun story which followed a Mexican girl. The description of her culture and the family dynamic was wonderful. Unfortunately, this story did not hit off great for me.
The only characters I found interesting was Sol, her father and Anna. They actually had some personality and layers. The others just felt...like side characters whose life only revolved around the main character. Moreover, there were no clear character description, so I had a hard time figuring out how they looked like. For the majority of the book, I was wondering if Ethan was black or not.
The writing was a little bit off, as there were some parts where the plot just dragged. It started off pretty great, then there was no action, then BOOM it was the ending. The ending was incredibly rushed and I just felt everything ended too abruptly. It was a mess than I did not comprehend or understand at all. I really hated the ending, as it didn't make any sense to me.
The plotline was a bit weak, and I spent a lot time wondering what the history club really did. Like, what the hell? Obviously, these plot points works fine on Wattpad. If I'd actually read this book on Wattpad, I would have thought this was one of the good ones there. However on a published novel level, this was a bummer. Maybe I did have some high expectations? Either way, I believe book should have stayed in revising and editing instead of published in two months or so. Or maybe just stayed on Wattpad.
After all, I will say I liked the diversity and representation. However, I just don't feel it was executed as well as I hoped. In some ways, the inclusion of poc characters seemed pretty forced. It was fun reading from Sol's perspective, and I found it interesting following her experience with deportation. However, I sometimes found some things insensitive, like the misgendering of Anna.
In conclusion, this book had it's flaws. Yet I think it had a lot of potential. Stories like this can be important to someone, and I hope others will resonate with this book and like it more than I did.
Over and out. -Nora <3
DISCLAIMER: I recieved an DRC via Edelweiss+ from Wattpad Books in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I remember reading the first chapters of this book on Wattpad. Then I completely forgot it. Or the author decided to only leave a sample before publishing. Either way, I wanted to see how it all would unfold for real. I had higher expectations for this book than The Bro Code, but was left disappointed.
I admire the author for writing a fun story which followed a Mexican girl. The description of her culture and the family dynamic was wonderful. Unfortunately, this story did not hit off great for me.
The only characters I found interesting was Sol, her father and Anna. They actually had some personality and layers. The others just felt...like side characters whose life only revolved around the main character. Moreover, there were no clear character description, so I had a hard time figuring out how they looked like. For the majority of the book, I was wondering if Ethan was black or not.
The writing was a little bit off, as there were some parts where the plot just dragged. It started off pretty great, then there was no action, then BOOM it was the ending. The ending was incredibly rushed and I just felt everything ended too abruptly. It was a mess than I did not comprehend or understand at all. I really hated the ending, as it didn't make any sense to me.
The plotline was a bit weak, and I spent a lot time wondering what the history club really did. Like, what the hell? Obviously, these plot points works fine on Wattpad. If I'd actually read this book on Wattpad, I would have thought this was one of the good ones there. However on a published novel level, this was a bummer. Maybe I did have some high expectations? Either way, I believe book should have stayed in revising and editing instead of published in two months or so. Or maybe just stayed on Wattpad.
After all, I will say I liked the diversity and representation. However, I just don't feel it was executed as well as I hoped. In some ways, the inclusion of poc characters seemed pretty forced. It was fun reading from Sol's perspective, and I found it interesting following her experience with deportation. However, I sometimes found some things insensitive, like the misgendering of Anna.
In conclusion, this book had it's flaws. Yet I think it had a lot of potential. Stories like this can be important to someone, and I hope others will resonate with this book and like it more than I did.
Over and out. -Nora <3
September 24, 2020
This was a good and fast read, I was able to zoom through it! It was also pretty light despite the heavy topic that looms over it and some other shenanigans the characters get up to. The pacing was a little off, but I also think that contributes to the fact that it was (to me) considered a fast read. I honestly liked that it was a faster read, I feel like contemporaries now-a-days are getting to be as long as a fantasy!
I liked Sol as a character, she seemed pretty relatable and realistic, when it came down to it. She was given insecurities that didn’t have to do with her body. I appreciated that she had anxieties over things like bills and even dating. It was honestly refreshing to see a character worry about something other than if she was too fat or not enough this. It also somewhat felt like I was just reading a text or email from a distant friend because it was all pretty summed up and not too much description. The world building was very minimum, which isn’t a bad thing because it doesn’t take away from the rest of the story. The other characters were also fun to read about, and pretty diverse. But again not a lot of description on how anyone looked, which leads back to me saying it felt like an email from a friend.
So the story, it covers a lot! From the deportation of her mother, the financial struggle with her father, trying not to get into trouble with the law because of her club, and of course sprinkled in some romance. The meet cute was so funny that I could honestly see it happening in a show. I couldn’t stop laughing. I liked Ethan as a character too.
There were some minor inconsistencies in the story, and hopefully by the time this is published they’ve edited those out. As well as the pacing was off ( I mentioned this before). Like I said it almost felt like we should be familiar with the characters and Sol. None of this is necessarily a bad thing, just stuff that I noticed.
This book has Latinx representation, BIPOC characters, and LGBTQ characters.
To see my full review with additional content follow the link below
https://fallintoreading.wordpress.com...
I liked Sol as a character, she seemed pretty relatable and realistic, when it came down to it. She was given insecurities that didn’t have to do with her body. I appreciated that she had anxieties over things like bills and even dating. It was honestly refreshing to see a character worry about something other than if she was too fat or not enough this. It also somewhat felt like I was just reading a text or email from a distant friend because it was all pretty summed up and not too much description. The world building was very minimum, which isn’t a bad thing because it doesn’t take away from the rest of the story. The other characters were also fun to read about, and pretty diverse. But again not a lot of description on how anyone looked, which leads back to me saying it felt like an email from a friend.
So the story, it covers a lot! From the deportation of her mother, the financial struggle with her father, trying not to get into trouble with the law because of her club, and of course sprinkled in some romance. The meet cute was so funny that I could honestly see it happening in a show. I couldn’t stop laughing. I liked Ethan as a character too.
There were some minor inconsistencies in the story, and hopefully by the time this is published they’ve edited those out. As well as the pacing was off ( I mentioned this before). Like I said it almost felt like we should be familiar with the characters and Sol. None of this is necessarily a bad thing, just stuff that I noticed.
This book has Latinx representation, BIPOC characters, and LGBTQ characters.
To see my full review with additional content follow the link below
https://fallintoreading.wordpress.com...
June 21, 2022
*2.5 stars;
i mean i enjoyed this; i mostly liked sol as a character & she had a lot of relatable aspects but sometimes there were parts that were just trying too hard to be relatable & were just annoying. the romance between her and ethan was cute at times but i wasn't that invested. loved the family dynamic
also the whole club plot line was confusing to me. sol made a big deal about how the club was taking over her life but she barely even described what she did for/with the club besides initiation & a few meetings. also the climax/ending felt so rushed & i just feel like nothing really came out of it.
*thank you to netgalley & the publisher for an advanced copy of this book
i mean i enjoyed this; i mostly liked sol as a character & she had a lot of relatable aspects but sometimes there were parts that were just trying too hard to be relatable & were just annoying. the romance between her and ethan was cute at times but i wasn't that invested. loved the family dynamic
also the whole club plot line was confusing to me. sol made a big deal about how the club was taking over her life but she barely even described what she did for/with the club besides initiation & a few meetings. also the climax/ending felt so rushed & i just feel like nothing really came out of it.
*thank you to netgalley & the publisher for an advanced copy of this book
September 24, 2020
Historically Inaccurate by Shay Bravo
Despite having a protagonist in community college, Historically Inaccurate is written for a younger reader: probably in the 15-19 age range. The editing could have been tighter, characters were reduced to tropes, and the narrative drifted due to the first person POV. These structural issues could be easily forgiven by younger readers who want something fun and light-hearted, despite the themes of immigration, deportation, and transphobia.
The technical problems include light editing. The novel could have been tightened and more impactful without Sol’s heavy-handed over-explanation. For example, in one scene Sol bites her thumb because she’s forced to have an uncomfortable conversation. The intent behind the gesture is clear, but then Sol narrates: “It’s an old habit I’m trying to beat, but it’s hard under stress.” Overnarration like this is rampant in the text and weakens the actions in the novel.
Another problem was the characters. I used a level of deductive skills akin to translating Middle English to Modern English when trying to deduce if Ethan was Black. The only blaring clue was when Ethan said he was scared of the police being called because of how they treat people like him. This was mentioned 30% into the book when this character was introduced in the first scene. Then, Sol consistently brushing off his concerns about police violence rubbed me the wrong way, but I suppose it’s accurate to Brown folks waving off the concerns of the Black community. There’s also a cringy misgendering trope that occurred. Though these are concerns and problems that people in these marginalized groups deal with, these moments felt trope-ish and lacked emotional impact. Even though these scenes could have been well-intentioned, it comes off as stereotypical.
This book was not for me. That was clear in the first chapter, but I continued on hoping that I would enjoy it. Thank you NetGalley and Wattpad for an ecopy for an honest review.
Despite having a protagonist in community college, Historically Inaccurate is written for a younger reader: probably in the 15-19 age range. The editing could have been tighter, characters were reduced to tropes, and the narrative drifted due to the first person POV. These structural issues could be easily forgiven by younger readers who want something fun and light-hearted, despite the themes of immigration, deportation, and transphobia.
The technical problems include light editing. The novel could have been tightened and more impactful without Sol’s heavy-handed over-explanation. For example, in one scene Sol bites her thumb because she’s forced to have an uncomfortable conversation. The intent behind the gesture is clear, but then Sol narrates: “It’s an old habit I’m trying to beat, but it’s hard under stress.” Overnarration like this is rampant in the text and weakens the actions in the novel.
Another problem was the characters. I used a level of deductive skills akin to translating Middle English to Modern English when trying to deduce if Ethan was Black. The only blaring clue was when Ethan said he was scared of the police being called because of how they treat people like him. This was mentioned 30% into the book when this character was introduced in the first scene. Then, Sol consistently brushing off his concerns about police violence rubbed me the wrong way, but I suppose it’s accurate to Brown folks waving off the concerns of the Black community. There’s also a cringy misgendering trope that occurred. Though these are concerns and problems that people in these marginalized groups deal with, these moments felt trope-ish and lacked emotional impact. Even though these scenes could have been well-intentioned, it comes off as stereotypical.
This book was not for me. That was clear in the first chapter, but I continued on hoping that I would enjoy it. Thank you NetGalley and Wattpad for an ecopy for an honest review.
September 26, 2020
Historically Inaccurate // by Shay Bravo
I have some mixed feelings about this book. I looked forward to this title for a while and while I am still happy that I got to read it, there were a few things that fell short for me. I want to start off by saying that I loved the main character, despite her flaws. Or maybe even because of those because they very much reminded me of myself. The overthinking and worrying is a familiar feeling to me and I disagree with those saying that it was overdone. It felt very realistic to me and even evoked some of the same feelings as I was reading. What I personally struggled with is that I felt like this book could not decide between being plot-driven or being character-driven. I very much enjoy both of those but throughout my reading of this book could not really decide which one it was. I did feel like there was a buildup to a climax that ended up not being dramatic enough to pull us through to the end, which ended up feeling rather flat. I did love all the themes that were discussed throughout the book, such as immigration and family separation, LGBTQIA+ and racism, though I was not a big fan of the misgendering because that just did not seem to fit Ethan's character very well at all. There are a lot of pros and cons for me but I do think there is a lot of potential for this new author and I am curious to see what she will show us in the future.
Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
I have some mixed feelings about this book. I looked forward to this title for a while and while I am still happy that I got to read it, there were a few things that fell short for me. I want to start off by saying that I loved the main character, despite her flaws. Or maybe even because of those because they very much reminded me of myself. The overthinking and worrying is a familiar feeling to me and I disagree with those saying that it was overdone. It felt very realistic to me and even evoked some of the same feelings as I was reading. What I personally struggled with is that I felt like this book could not decide between being plot-driven or being character-driven. I very much enjoy both of those but throughout my reading of this book could not really decide which one it was. I did feel like there was a buildup to a climax that ended up not being dramatic enough to pull us through to the end, which ended up feeling rather flat. I did love all the themes that were discussed throughout the book, such as immigration and family separation, LGBTQIA+ and racism, though I was not a big fan of the misgendering because that just did not seem to fit Ethan's character very well at all. There are a lot of pros and cons for me but I do think there is a lot of potential for this new author and I am curious to see what she will show us in the future.
Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
September 27, 2020
Soledad Gutierrez is joining her community college's History Club, mostly to please her parents and get a social life after a car crash the previous year that resulted in her mother being deported back to Mexico. However, in order to join the Westray Community College History Club, Sol must go through a strange initiation; her task is to steal a fork from Westray's oldest house. The task doesn't go quite as planned when the grandson of the owners, Ethan, shows up. Sol escapes the house and suddenly realizes just how tenuous her situation is and how easily she could have been arrested. Sol's incident follows her around however, as Ethan joins the History Club. This makes things way more complicated, but also opens Sol up to everything she can be.
Historically Inaccurate is a contemporary tale of overcoming adversity, family and friendship. Sol's character goes on a journey of self-acceptance throughout the story. At first Sol seems to just be going through the motions of life until she is old enough to start the process of getting her mother back into the USA. While the concept of how the history club functioned is a little far-fetched, I really enjoyed Sol's participation and the diverse range of members. I appreciated Sol's point of view as the daughter of Mexican immigrants; some of her hardships were expected, and some unexpected. Sol and Ethan's relationship was sweet and slower paced. Ethan's personality is a great match for Sol's needs, pushing her just a little bit, but not changing who she is. The pacing of the story was a bit bumpy at times, going on some unnecessary tangents; however the ending brought it all together with some great unexpected turns.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
Historically Inaccurate is a contemporary tale of overcoming adversity, family and friendship. Sol's character goes on a journey of self-acceptance throughout the story. At first Sol seems to just be going through the motions of life until she is old enough to start the process of getting her mother back into the USA. While the concept of how the history club functioned is a little far-fetched, I really enjoyed Sol's participation and the diverse range of members. I appreciated Sol's point of view as the daughter of Mexican immigrants; some of her hardships were expected, and some unexpected. Sol and Ethan's relationship was sweet and slower paced. Ethan's personality is a great match for Sol's needs, pushing her just a little bit, but not changing who she is. The pacing of the story was a bit bumpy at times, going on some unnecessary tangents; however the ending brought it all together with some great unexpected turns.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
February 28, 2021
Thank you so much to @wattpadbooks for sending me this book.
Soledad “Sol” Gutiérrez is trying to deal with college after her mom was deported to Mexico. She decides to join her college History Club by completing an initiation process.
I was interested in reading this book because as a Latina woman I’m always on the lookout for more Latinx authors. Immigration stories are something that are very near and dear to my heart.
Sadly I didn’t love this one. I found myself skimming a lot which is something I hate to do. I felt like there was a lot of useless information that took up a lot of the book, Sol’s inner dialogue went on forever at times.
While this book centers around her mothers deportation, I felt like it was actually a small part of the plot. It mostly revolves around Sol’s random thoughts and her crush for a boy.
Overall I was disappointed with the story
Soledad “Sol” Gutiérrez is trying to deal with college after her mom was deported to Mexico. She decides to join her college History Club by completing an initiation process.
I was interested in reading this book because as a Latina woman I’m always on the lookout for more Latinx authors. Immigration stories are something that are very near and dear to my heart.
Sadly I didn’t love this one. I found myself skimming a lot which is something I hate to do. I felt like there was a lot of useless information that took up a lot of the book, Sol’s inner dialogue went on forever at times.
While this book centers around her mothers deportation, I felt like it was actually a small part of the plot. It mostly revolves around Sol’s random thoughts and her crush for a boy.
Overall I was disappointed with the story
October 21, 2020
legit could not get even 50% through this, I was bored out of my mind. This is a wattpad book and boy could I tell...
July 6, 2020
*arc received from netgalley*
This book was definitely a very interesting read. First of all, I really enjoyed the main character and I really feel in love with the personality and auror she gave off in this book. I absolutely loved the overall concept of this book and the family dynamics were so beautiful to see throughout my read. I also did really enjoy the topics that were discussed, however I did feel as though the writing style was very simple and almost juvenile, and I found the plot as well as many of the characters to be very underdeveloped, leaving me to feel no connection to many of the characters and relationships. I would definitely say that I’m glad I read this book and loved the diversity, however this definitely isn’t a book I see myself reaching for again.
This book was definitely a very interesting read. First of all, I really enjoyed the main character and I really feel in love with the personality and auror she gave off in this book. I absolutely loved the overall concept of this book and the family dynamics were so beautiful to see throughout my read. I also did really enjoy the topics that were discussed, however I did feel as though the writing style was very simple and almost juvenile, and I found the plot as well as many of the characters to be very underdeveloped, leaving me to feel no connection to many of the characters and relationships. I would definitely say that I’m glad I read this book and loved the diversity, however this definitely isn’t a book I see myself reaching for again.
October 10, 2020
Actual rating: 3.5 stars!
Review on my blog!
Review on my blog!
July 13, 2020
I give this book a 2.5/5 stars. Before I get into my review of this book, I want to preface this by saying that I have a lot of respect for the author for writing a fun, quirky story about college students centered around a diverse set of characters.
Personally, however, I did not love this book.
I felt that the writing of this novel could be improved. There were parts where I did like the writing (like the entire section when Ethan and Sol snuck into the historical archive) but it did not feel cohesive throughout the novel. Almost as if the narrative voice was not fully fleshed out. I also think the dialogue could have been better. There were many points in the novel where there would be a complete tone shift during conversations and then back again that made the dialogue feel unnatural and not organic within the context of the scene. For example, when the characters would be having a light-hearted conversation and then one of them says something really deep out of nowhere.
However, I did like the humor imbued in the writing. The book made me laugh a few times.
I wasn’t particularly a fan of the romance between Ethan and Sol. It didn’t feel like they had any real chemistry between them, especially the first third of the book. The two of them felt very forced, probably because all the other characters were “shipping” them from the beginning for seemingly no reason. If all the characters were not immediately shipping them and if Ethan and Sol didn’t start forming feelings until after they spent more time together, it would have felt more natural.
As far as the other characters, I thought Sol’s interactions with her friends, Carlos and Diane, were sweet and felt much more natural than the ones she had with Ethan.
I also think that Sol and Ethan’s motivations for why they did certain things were very weak and that their actions were done only for the convenience of the plot.
I wasn’t really sure where the story was trying to go which is not necessarily a bad thing. However, when I finally reached the “plot twist” toward the end I was kind of annoyed. It felt like it was only done to spice up the plot a bit and add extra drama to Ethan and Sol’s romance.
I wish there wasn’t such an emphasis on the illegal club activities and the (forced) romance.
This could’ve just been a story about Soledad trying to get through her depression after her mother got deported and trying to figure who she is and what she wants to do with her life by joining a quirky club and making amazing new friendships. We could’ve gotten to learn so much more about the other characters, their backstories, etc and their friendships with each other.
All that being said, there were still things I really liked about this story.
I liked how the story focuses on Sol trying to adjust to her new reality. Her mother being deported, moving from her childhood home, and starting college is a lot of change for her to deal with. I think it makes a lot of sense that Sol is as flawed a character as she is because she is lost, depressed, and no longer knows how to navigate within her own reality. She spends so much time trying to act like a “normal” college student and ultimately it leads her to making many mistakes.
Another thing I liked is the very candid conversation of sexuality in this book. The book discusses the idea of not understanding one’s own sexuality and being okay with not forcing any one label. The message is basically that it is okay not to know or not to have one answer. I really appreciated that.
Overall, I think the concepts and ideas this book has are really good and that it’s mainly the execution of these ideas that can be improved upon. As far as my personal enjoyment of the novel, my feelings are very lukewarm. I did not love nor hate this book. This is still a decent debut novel and I would be interested in other things the author writes.
While I didn’t love it, I think a lot of other people would enjoy this novel.
Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC.
Personally, however, I did not love this book.
I felt that the writing of this novel could be improved. There were parts where I did like the writing (like the entire section when Ethan and Sol snuck into the historical archive) but it did not feel cohesive throughout the novel. Almost as if the narrative voice was not fully fleshed out. I also think the dialogue could have been better. There were many points in the novel where there would be a complete tone shift during conversations and then back again that made the dialogue feel unnatural and not organic within the context of the scene. For example, when the characters would be having a light-hearted conversation and then one of them says something really deep out of nowhere.
However, I did like the humor imbued in the writing. The book made me laugh a few times.
I wasn’t particularly a fan of the romance between Ethan and Sol. It didn’t feel like they had any real chemistry between them, especially the first third of the book. The two of them felt very forced, probably because all the other characters were “shipping” them from the beginning for seemingly no reason. If all the characters were not immediately shipping them and if Ethan and Sol didn’t start forming feelings until after they spent more time together, it would have felt more natural.
As far as the other characters, I thought Sol’s interactions with her friends, Carlos and Diane, were sweet and felt much more natural than the ones she had with Ethan.
I also think that Sol and Ethan’s motivations for why they did certain things were very weak and that their actions were done only for the convenience of the plot.
I wasn’t really sure where the story was trying to go which is not necessarily a bad thing. However, when I finally reached the “plot twist” toward the end I was kind of annoyed. It felt like it was only done to spice up the plot a bit and add extra drama to Ethan and Sol’s romance.
I wish there wasn’t such an emphasis on the illegal club activities and the (forced) romance.
This could’ve just been a story about Soledad trying to get through her depression after her mother got deported and trying to figure who she is and what she wants to do with her life by joining a quirky club and making amazing new friendships. We could’ve gotten to learn so much more about the other characters, their backstories, etc and their friendships with each other.
All that being said, there were still things I really liked about this story.
I liked how the story focuses on Sol trying to adjust to her new reality. Her mother being deported, moving from her childhood home, and starting college is a lot of change for her to deal with. I think it makes a lot of sense that Sol is as flawed a character as she is because she is lost, depressed, and no longer knows how to navigate within her own reality. She spends so much time trying to act like a “normal” college student and ultimately it leads her to making many mistakes.
Another thing I liked is the very candid conversation of sexuality in this book. The book discusses the idea of not understanding one’s own sexuality and being okay with not forcing any one label. The message is basically that it is okay not to know or not to have one answer. I really appreciated that.
Overall, I think the concepts and ideas this book has are really good and that it’s mainly the execution of these ideas that can be improved upon. As far as my personal enjoyment of the novel, my feelings are very lukewarm. I did not love nor hate this book. This is still a decent debut novel and I would be interested in other things the author writes.
While I didn’t love it, I think a lot of other people would enjoy this novel.
Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC.
September 29, 2020
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.
I was really excited about this book, and I thought that it would be a concept that I would like. Unfortunately, pretty much all I enjoyed was the concept, as the execution fell flat.
The concept includes themes on immigration, deportation, the fallout of having a parent deported, and finding who you are. But the way the author chose to go about these themes was like I was staring at a puzzle, thinking I had all the pieces, but as I tried to fit them together I realized they wouldn't connect. The characters all felt two dimensional until the second half of the book, and I think they only started to come together a little more since I had read so many pages about them already. This includes Sol, the main character. I think the author tried to give her wisdom through her internal monologues, but that didn't click with Sol's inability to figure out who she is or make important decisions. It became a tool to try to teach the reader instead. There also wasn't a goal or driving force behind a lot of what Sol was going through, so the story ended up being more about her moving through her life instead of being an active participant. The biggest goal that I feel Sol wanted was to change her mom's immigration situation, but it's stated multiple times that Sol has to wait until at least her twenty-first birthday to start along this path, so it hardly drove the story at all.
The other thing I really didn't like about the story was Sol's supposed college experience, especially with the history club. Sol is forced to do something shady to get into the club, which in my book crosses all the hazing lines. It also didn't make sense to me that a history club had meetings for the whole book and the single remotely nerdy thing they did was dress up as historical figures. If they were actually meeting to discuss their shared love of history, the least they could do would be open the club meetings with an interesting history fact someone learned that week. That would have kept my suspension of disbelief intact instead of questioning the whole operation for the duration of the book.
Pretty much the only redeeming quality I can list about this book is that it has representation for readers of the Latinx, immigrant, Black, and LGBTQ+ communities. However, that representation is not written well nor executed well, so I would certainly recommend a different story that includes representation over this one if that is what the reader is looking for.
Buy, Borrow, or Bypass: Bypass. You can safely not read this book and not miss adding anything crucial to your reading experience. Like I said at the beginning, I really wanted to like this book, but the writing just didn't make it worth it in the end. I guess the final thing I can thank the book for is giving me an exercise in how to critically analyze what works and what doesn't when you want to tell a story. This was an example of what doesn't work.
I was really excited about this book, and I thought that it would be a concept that I would like. Unfortunately, pretty much all I enjoyed was the concept, as the execution fell flat.
The concept includes themes on immigration, deportation, the fallout of having a parent deported, and finding who you are. But the way the author chose to go about these themes was like I was staring at a puzzle, thinking I had all the pieces, but as I tried to fit them together I realized they wouldn't connect. The characters all felt two dimensional until the second half of the book, and I think they only started to come together a little more since I had read so many pages about them already. This includes Sol, the main character. I think the author tried to give her wisdom through her internal monologues, but that didn't click with Sol's inability to figure out who she is or make important decisions. It became a tool to try to teach the reader instead. There also wasn't a goal or driving force behind a lot of what Sol was going through, so the story ended up being more about her moving through her life instead of being an active participant. The biggest goal that I feel Sol wanted was to change her mom's immigration situation, but it's stated multiple times that Sol has to wait until at least her twenty-first birthday to start along this path, so it hardly drove the story at all.
The other thing I really didn't like about the story was Sol's supposed college experience, especially with the history club. Sol is forced to do something shady to get into the club, which in my book crosses all the hazing lines. It also didn't make sense to me that a history club had meetings for the whole book and the single remotely nerdy thing they did was dress up as historical figures. If they were actually meeting to discuss their shared love of history, the least they could do would be open the club meetings with an interesting history fact someone learned that week. That would have kept my suspension of disbelief intact instead of questioning the whole operation for the duration of the book.
Pretty much the only redeeming quality I can list about this book is that it has representation for readers of the Latinx, immigrant, Black, and LGBTQ+ communities. However, that representation is not written well nor executed well, so I would certainly recommend a different story that includes representation over this one if that is what the reader is looking for.
Buy, Borrow, or Bypass: Bypass. You can safely not read this book and not miss adding anything crucial to your reading experience. Like I said at the beginning, I really wanted to like this book, but the writing just didn't make it worth it in the end. I guess the final thing I can thank the book for is giving me an exercise in how to critically analyze what works and what doesn't when you want to tell a story. This was an example of what doesn't work.
October 20, 2020
I have been immersed in Latinx reads this week and this was another. I wasn’t sure what to expect because I’ve never read a book from a Wattpad author, but overall, it was okay. The synopsis sounded promising o I was ready to dive in. It was a pleasant coming of age read. We see Sol, the main character, go through so many small and big changes in a small period of time after her mom is deported.
I was surprised that this was set in college because I did get more of a private high school kind of feel from it. Setting that aside I did enjoy seeing the character development of Sol. Her awkward, sarcastic nature reminded me a lot of who I was as a teenager. However, it was the only thing I could relate to. Sol is not perfect, and I appreciated that. She doesn’t always say the right things, may make some decisions and is willing to jump into a challenge. Although these are redeeming qualities, there were parts of the story where Sol seem a bit insensitive to some of her friends concerns. Hearing the story through Sol’s perspective was an interesting approach and I was intrigued to hear some of the shenanigans the history club got into.
Speaking of history club, this was vastly different than any club I have been a part of. Was I mad about this, no. It was a unique approach that gave ways to some daring, dangerous and odd adventures. It was a bit refreshing to have that different approach of a club in a story you were expecting it to be in. Now, in regard to the supportive characters, Sol’s father and Anna had the most layers to their stories. Through their dialogue we were able to see just how close the family was and how they were working together to deal with their life being turned upside down. We were able to get some bit of the other supporting characters, but I did want to see more development to them since they helped bring together Sol’s story. I also wanted more of the romance because I saw so much potential with that story line, but I settled for cute contemporary romance I received.
Overall, it was an okay read. The pacing was a bit off and the writing style took some adjusting too, but the author has potential to create a good story with some tweaking and fine tuning. Did I enjoy the read? Yes. It was quick and easy read with a simplistic feel.
I was surprised that this was set in college because I did get more of a private high school kind of feel from it. Setting that aside I did enjoy seeing the character development of Sol. Her awkward, sarcastic nature reminded me a lot of who I was as a teenager. However, it was the only thing I could relate to. Sol is not perfect, and I appreciated that. She doesn’t always say the right things, may make some decisions and is willing to jump into a challenge. Although these are redeeming qualities, there were parts of the story where Sol seem a bit insensitive to some of her friends concerns. Hearing the story through Sol’s perspective was an interesting approach and I was intrigued to hear some of the shenanigans the history club got into.
Speaking of history club, this was vastly different than any club I have been a part of. Was I mad about this, no. It was a unique approach that gave ways to some daring, dangerous and odd adventures. It was a bit refreshing to have that different approach of a club in a story you were expecting it to be in. Now, in regard to the supportive characters, Sol’s father and Anna had the most layers to their stories. Through their dialogue we were able to see just how close the family was and how they were working together to deal with their life being turned upside down. We were able to get some bit of the other supporting characters, but I did want to see more development to them since they helped bring together Sol’s story. I also wanted more of the romance because I saw so much potential with that story line, but I settled for cute contemporary romance I received.
Overall, it was an okay read. The pacing was a bit off and the writing style took some adjusting too, but the author has potential to create a good story with some tweaking and fine tuning. Did I enjoy the read? Yes. It was quick and easy read with a simplistic feel.
September 30, 2020
Historically Inaccurate is an own-voices, coming of age, LatinX novel with diverse group characters and strong themes on friendship, familial relationships, and discovering one's self and sexual identity. After an unfortunate accident, Soldad (Sol) loses her mother to the US Government to be deported back to Mexico which leaves her life astray. Dealing with the grief of losing her mother and her house in the course of a year, Sol wants nothing but getting her life back to normal and hence joins the Westray Community College where her best friend, Carlos, recruits her into its History Club, in an attempt to cheer her up. Little did she know that induction into the club entails to performing a pretty wacky initiation task which is to break into the oldest building of the neighborhood, grab a fork, click a selfie with the fork and steal the same fork!
Here's where the love interest, Ethan (house owner's grandson), comes into play and catches Sol amidst her whole "endeavor". The story takes off from there and revolves around Sol transforming from her self-deprecating and sarcastic self to eventually loving herself for what she truly is.
The novel also broadly explores systemic racism and how society is mold in a way to benefit certain groups over others.
Sol:
“𝓘’𝓵𝓵 𝓽𝓻𝔂 𝓽𝓸 𝓬𝓱𝓮𝓮𝓻 𝓾𝓹 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝔂𝓸𝓾.”
Ethan:
“𝓕𝓸𝓻 𝓶𝓮?”
“𝓝𝓸, 𝓢𝓸𝓵, 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓷𝓮𝓮𝓭 𝓽𝓸 𝓫𝓮 𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓹𝔂 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝔂𝓸𝓾, 𝓫𝓾𝓽 𝓲𝓯 𝓘’𝓶 𝓲𝓷𝓿𝓸𝓵𝓿𝓮𝓭 𝓲𝓷 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓹𝓻𝓸𝓬𝓮𝓼𝓼 𝓸𝓯 𝓶𝓪𝓴𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓵𝓸𝓸𝓴 𝓵𝓮𝓼𝓼 𝓼𝓮𝓻𝓲𝓸𝓾𝓼, 𝓘’𝓵𝓵 𝓫𝓮 𝓰𝓵𝓪𝓭 𝓽𝓸 𝓱𝓮𝓵𝓹 𝓪𝓵𝓸𝓷𝓰 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝔀𝓪𝔂.”
Ethan and Carlos were undoubtedly my favorite characters! I loved how they were always there for Sol and making her life far more bearable and eventually helping her find herself. However, I feel like I would've enjoyed the book a bit more if I'd read it at a younger age. Nonetheless, I enjoyed my time reading it and it was a sweet and heartwarming read, and had me feeling giddy at times!
Thanks to Smith Publicity and Wattpad Books for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Here's where the love interest, Ethan (house owner's grandson), comes into play and catches Sol amidst her whole "endeavor". The story takes off from there and revolves around Sol transforming from her self-deprecating and sarcastic self to eventually loving herself for what she truly is.
The novel also broadly explores systemic racism and how society is mold in a way to benefit certain groups over others.
Sol:
“𝓘’𝓵𝓵 𝓽𝓻𝔂 𝓽𝓸 𝓬𝓱𝓮𝓮𝓻 𝓾𝓹 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝔂𝓸𝓾.”
Ethan:
“𝓕𝓸𝓻 𝓶𝓮?”
“𝓝𝓸, 𝓢𝓸𝓵, 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓷𝓮𝓮𝓭 𝓽𝓸 𝓫𝓮 𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓹𝔂 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝔂𝓸𝓾, 𝓫𝓾𝓽 𝓲𝓯 𝓘’𝓶 𝓲𝓷𝓿𝓸𝓵𝓿𝓮𝓭 𝓲𝓷 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓹𝓻𝓸𝓬𝓮𝓼𝓼 𝓸𝓯 𝓶𝓪𝓴𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓵𝓸𝓸𝓴 𝓵𝓮𝓼𝓼 𝓼𝓮𝓻𝓲𝓸𝓾𝓼, 𝓘’𝓵𝓵 𝓫𝓮 𝓰𝓵𝓪𝓭 𝓽𝓸 𝓱𝓮𝓵𝓹 𝓪𝓵𝓸𝓷𝓰 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝔀𝓪𝔂.”
Ethan and Carlos were undoubtedly my favorite characters! I loved how they were always there for Sol and making her life far more bearable and eventually helping her find herself. However, I feel like I would've enjoyed the book a bit more if I'd read it at a younger age. Nonetheless, I enjoyed my time reading it and it was a sweet and heartwarming read, and had me feeling giddy at times!
Thanks to Smith Publicity and Wattpad Books for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
October 24, 2020
Historically Inaccurate is a young adult contemporary by Shay Bravo. I enjoyed Historically Inaccurate but I didn't love it as much as I was initially hoping. I picked it up because I am a big history nerd and I was super excited to see a book featuring a college history club, which we will get into later but it didn't end up being what I thought it was going to be. Overall, it was a cute read that has a diverse cast of characters, which I enjoyed and a nice romance that was sweet. I liked this one, but it didn't blow my socks off.
In Historically Inaccurate we meet our main character Sol, who is still reeling from her mother being deported. When Sol gets to college she joins a history club that has some strange initiation tasks for its' members. Sol is tasked with breaking into this house and stealing a fork, and during that task she meets Ethan, who becomes her love interest in the book. I liked Ethan a lot and I liked Sol well enough. It's interesting because I really liked who she is as a person, but she rubbed me the wrong way sometimes with how much she seems to chatter about nothing in her thoughts. Her thoughts and thought process were a large part of the story, which I didn't mind, but they tended to wander off in directions that didn't seem to have anything to do with the plot, and that was a little confusing for me. I loved how close Sol was with her family, and I was really happy to see that depicted in the story even with her mom being deported, which was obviously tough on Sol and her Dad.
Sol and Ethan were the highlight of the story for me. I thought it would be the history club, but there was very little history to the club. Instead it seemed to just be a mischief making club, which was fun, but unexpected. If you are looking for a book that features a diverse cast with many different minority representations present, hijinks and serious issues interwoven, then I think you will want to check out Historically Inaccurate. This was a decent read for me.
In Historically Inaccurate we meet our main character Sol, who is still reeling from her mother being deported. When Sol gets to college she joins a history club that has some strange initiation tasks for its' members. Sol is tasked with breaking into this house and stealing a fork, and during that task she meets Ethan, who becomes her love interest in the book. I liked Ethan a lot and I liked Sol well enough. It's interesting because I really liked who she is as a person, but she rubbed me the wrong way sometimes with how much she seems to chatter about nothing in her thoughts. Her thoughts and thought process were a large part of the story, which I didn't mind, but they tended to wander off in directions that didn't seem to have anything to do with the plot, and that was a little confusing for me. I loved how close Sol was with her family, and I was really happy to see that depicted in the story even with her mom being deported, which was obviously tough on Sol and her Dad.
Sol and Ethan were the highlight of the story for me. I thought it would be the history club, but there was very little history to the club. Instead it seemed to just be a mischief making club, which was fun, but unexpected. If you are looking for a book that features a diverse cast with many different minority representations present, hijinks and serious issues interwoven, then I think you will want to check out Historically Inaccurate. This was a decent read for me.
June 13, 2020
I received this book through NetGalley.
While I do like YA literary fiction/coming of age stories, this novel felt a little flat for me.
I liked the family dynamic and the experience that Sol is going through; a lot of young people are no doubt experiencing something similar and so in that way woulf probably find it quite relatable.
I also liked some of the more existential discussions between the characters and the general comments on life and the diversity of individual experience.
However, I didn't feel that the characters were very substantial. I know when people are young and in college they are still 'finding themselves' and working out who they are, but there was so much of the characters and plot that felt glossed over.
There didn't really seem to be any reason for the characters to join the history club or to participate in the activities. There wasn't anything that really substantiated why they might be happy in their lives and rebelling in some way.
I felt like Historically Inaccurate real potential, but just could have been a lot better.
While I do like YA literary fiction/coming of age stories, this novel felt a little flat for me.
I liked the family dynamic and the experience that Sol is going through; a lot of young people are no doubt experiencing something similar and so in that way woulf probably find it quite relatable.
I also liked some of the more existential discussions between the characters and the general comments on life and the diversity of individual experience.
However, I didn't feel that the characters were very substantial. I know when people are young and in college they are still 'finding themselves' and working out who they are, but there was so much of the characters and plot that felt glossed over.
There didn't really seem to be any reason for the characters to join the history club or to participate in the activities. There wasn't anything that really substantiated why they might be happy in their lives and rebelling in some way.
I felt like Historically Inaccurate real potential, but just could have been a lot better.
July 10, 2020
Historically Inaccurate follows Soledad a year after her mother has been deported to Mexico. Following her mother's advice, Sol joins the history club. But before she can join she has to do an initiation.
This book is okay. Just okay. It did not blow me away. I liked Sol's interactions with Carlos and Ethan but this is not a book that I would reread or something. While reading, I just did not know where it was going. I think because it is very character-driven but even then I was not sure what I wanted to see. It was too vague for me personally. I hope that others may enjoy it more than I did.
This book is okay. Just okay. It did not blow me away. I liked Sol's interactions with Carlos and Ethan but this is not a book that I would reread or something. While reading, I just did not know where it was going. I think because it is very character-driven but even then I was not sure what I wanted to see. It was too vague for me personally. I hope that others may enjoy it more than I did.
November 1, 2020
First of all I would like to thank Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book.
This was a coming of age story that was very entertaining and even romantic. I really connected with Soledad's character she seemed so young yet full of purpose especially having to deal with the deportation of her mother.
The History Club was also quite interesting making this an overall decent read. The only criticism I have is that I would have liked a little more action though. There were some parts in the middle where the book seemed to drag on longer than it should have. Apart from that for me it was a nice young adult novel.
This was a coming of age story that was very entertaining and even romantic. I really connected with Soledad's character she seemed so young yet full of purpose especially having to deal with the deportation of her mother.
The History Club was also quite interesting making this an overall decent read. The only criticism I have is that I would have liked a little more action though. There were some parts in the middle where the book seemed to drag on longer than it should have. Apart from that for me it was a nice young adult novel.
October 26, 2024
What an odd read. I could not figure out why the stakes of being part of a history club were so high. But I guess I found out at the end.
The true takeaway of this book is: DO NOT TALK TO COPS WITHOUT A LAWYER. And definitely don’t go voluntarily to the police station??? That part made zero sense. Glad it’s done.
The true takeaway of this book is: DO NOT TALK TO COPS WITHOUT A LAWYER. And definitely don’t go voluntarily to the police station??? That part made zero sense. Glad it’s done.
September 1, 2022
The book takes place after the deportation of the main character's mother. I love that it accurately depicts life after the event. The character still griefs while balancing their life and relationships. The book goes over the long immigration process and how that shapes the decisions of people while they wait to even present a case.
August 21, 2020
2 stars for trying
September 30, 2020
I think my teenage self would have enjoyed it a lot during my wattpad days.
I'm really happy to see Wattpad authors getting recognition tho 😍
I'm really happy to see Wattpad authors getting recognition tho 😍
April 22, 2022
ethan you are the blueprint
April 26, 2021
This a coming-of-age story about Sol, a latina girl, whose mother got deported back to Mexico, due to being illegal in the USA. She is in the community college where she lives with her dad, and decides to get into the History club. The catch: their initiation process is a bit out there.
As a brazilian girl, I always love seeing Latinx rep in literature, specially for youger readers who are in college. Even though the writing was pretty simple, there was something about Sol as a main character that I could really relate to and admire about her. Her parents were well developed, but I wish her friend from the club were a bit more layered.
The plot was interesting, but what made me like it more than most readers was that connection with the immigration discussion, and discovering who you are and your place in the world. Also, the romance was quite cute and sweet.
I'll be definitely trying more from Shay Bravo in the future!
As a brazilian girl, I always love seeing Latinx rep in literature, specially for youger readers who are in college. Even though the writing was pretty simple, there was something about Sol as a main character that I could really relate to and admire about her. Her parents were well developed, but I wish her friend from the club were a bit more layered.
The plot was interesting, but what made me like it more than most readers was that connection with the immigration discussion, and discovering who you are and your place in the world. Also, the romance was quite cute and sweet.
I'll be definitely trying more from Shay Bravo in the future!
September 25, 2020
3.75 out of 5 stars
HISTORICALLY INACCURATE follows college student Soledad Gutierrez, a year after her mother is deported to Mexico, following a car accident.
As a first generation, Mexican-American with immigrant parents, Soledad's story really hit home for me. The way this book handled the realities of deportation and immigration issues in the United States was very raw and honest. Shay did an excellent job showing how the deportation impacted Soledad, and it felt very raw and real. And while the story handles such heavy topics like these, and racism, it still manages to be light-hearted enough, and many moments shared between Soledad and her parents felt realistic and in tone with what teenagers today may see in their own family dynamics.
I genuinely appreciated the Mexican representation in this book; from the food and music mentioned, and the Spanish spoken between Soledad, Carlos, and her parents, I felt right at home among Shay's written world.
I also really enjoyed the history club sub-plot. I didn't think it would end up being such a big part of the story, but I thought Shay did a good job of tying it in with the other aspects and issues Soledad was facing in her life. Soledad herself is such a dynamic character, and is a great lead/hero in this story! She was such a great representation of your typical/not-so typical college student, and it made me remember my own years in college as a confused, insecure young adult! I also enjoyed the friendships she had with Carlos and Diane, and thoroughly appreciated how much she loved and cared for these characters, and demonstrated what healthy friendships as adults can look like.
I also enjoyed seeing such a diverse cast of characters through the history club, and how they didn't feel forced or fell flat. However, I do believe the author could have done a better job at mentioning that the love interest (LI), Ethan, was black. It felt somewhat tokenized for that rather important piece of information to be mentioned almost halfway through the story.
I would also like to mention, as a content warning, that Ethan (LI) does misgender a transgender character twice in the story. This is used to reveal that the character is trans to readers, but I do think it needs a warning for those it may be triggering to.
And finally, Ethan as the love interest was wonderful. I thought he was a well rounded, genuine character! He and Soledad had such cute interactions and I truly enjoyed their friendship and budding relationship.
Overall, I think this is a wonderful debut, and as an own voices reviewer, a book full of wonderful, and much appreciated representation and quality.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my opinions.
HISTORICALLY INACCURATE follows college student Soledad Gutierrez, a year after her mother is deported to Mexico, following a car accident.
As a first generation, Mexican-American with immigrant parents, Soledad's story really hit home for me. The way this book handled the realities of deportation and immigration issues in the United States was very raw and honest. Shay did an excellent job showing how the deportation impacted Soledad, and it felt very raw and real. And while the story handles such heavy topics like these, and racism, it still manages to be light-hearted enough, and many moments shared between Soledad and her parents felt realistic and in tone with what teenagers today may see in their own family dynamics.
I genuinely appreciated the Mexican representation in this book; from the food and music mentioned, and the Spanish spoken between Soledad, Carlos, and her parents, I felt right at home among Shay's written world.
I also really enjoyed the history club sub-plot. I didn't think it would end up being such a big part of the story, but I thought Shay did a good job of tying it in with the other aspects and issues Soledad was facing in her life. Soledad herself is such a dynamic character, and is a great lead/hero in this story! She was such a great representation of your typical/not-so typical college student, and it made me remember my own years in college as a confused, insecure young adult! I also enjoyed the friendships she had with Carlos and Diane, and thoroughly appreciated how much she loved and cared for these characters, and demonstrated what healthy friendships as adults can look like.
I also enjoyed seeing such a diverse cast of characters through the history club, and how they didn't feel forced or fell flat. However, I do believe the author could have done a better job at mentioning that the love interest (LI), Ethan, was black. It felt somewhat tokenized for that rather important piece of information to be mentioned almost halfway through the story.
I would also like to mention, as a content warning, that Ethan (LI) does misgender a transgender character twice in the story. This is used to reveal that the character is trans to readers, but I do think it needs a warning for those it may be triggering to.
And finally, Ethan as the love interest was wonderful. I thought he was a well rounded, genuine character! He and Soledad had such cute interactions and I truly enjoyed their friendship and budding relationship.
Overall, I think this is a wonderful debut, and as an own voices reviewer, a book full of wonderful, and much appreciated representation and quality.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my opinions.
October 1, 2020
Soledad “Sol” Gutierrez is a diligent college student who gets good grades and works hard. She wants to belong to her school and have something to add to her resume so she joins her schools history club since it aligns with her major. Though this club has some questionable initiation practices and is very secretive for a regular club Sol goes along with what they ask of her.
During her initiation which is definitely questionable she meets a young man who she then sees everywhere. She has to explain herself and why she was doing what she was doing, this forces her to look internally at why she didn't question them, all the while developing feelings for this person.
This whole time Sol is dealing with the deportation of her mother which she blames on herself and feels she has to care for her father which is why she chose this community college over being independent at a different school.
I enjoyed this book! I belonged to a business fraternity in college and hazing is not allowed but you know you hear things. I still am active with my fraternity as an alumni and go to the national events all over the country so I definitely think they are worth joining. I mean I probably would've done anything they asked me lol it was business by day party at night. Well the alumni do that too. We even would go on trips to Tahoe in the Winter and do God knows what. Lol shhhh. So I totally relate to this experience.
This cover is so pretty and I was half way through when I took the picture didn't even get to the sunflower reference yet. ☺️ But Sol means sun so it would've fit regardless.
Thank you Watt Pad Books and Net Galley for the ARC for my honest review.
During her initiation which is definitely questionable she meets a young man who she then sees everywhere. She has to explain herself and why she was doing what she was doing, this forces her to look internally at why she didn't question them, all the while developing feelings for this person.
This whole time Sol is dealing with the deportation of her mother which she blames on herself and feels she has to care for her father which is why she chose this community college over being independent at a different school.
I enjoyed this book! I belonged to a business fraternity in college and hazing is not allowed but you know you hear things. I still am active with my fraternity as an alumni and go to the national events all over the country so I definitely think they are worth joining. I mean I probably would've done anything they asked me lol it was business by day party at night. Well the alumni do that too. We even would go on trips to Tahoe in the Winter and do God knows what. Lol shhhh. So I totally relate to this experience.
This cover is so pretty and I was half way through when I took the picture didn't even get to the sunflower reference yet. ☺️ But Sol means sun so it would've fit regardless.
Thank you Watt Pad Books and Net Galley for the ARC for my honest review.
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