SEPTEMBER NOTES: READING LOG || SEPT. 15-21

    There was no reading log last week because I didn't read last week. I underestimated how much time my essay would take up and didn't read anything. I actually have another essay due on Saturday but it's not as intense as the other one so I'll be able to work quickly on it. 

September 15, Tuesday

   Today is the first day for Latinx-A-Thon and I'm reading You Had Me At Hola by Alexis Daria first. All I know about it is that the two mains are celebrities known for being in soap operas and telenovelas. They're working together on a new show? movie? and will probably fall in love because that's how these things go. I got my copy at Target and on the front cover it has a little thing that says "Diverse Book Club Pick" with the Target logo. There's even an authors note at the beginning that starts with 'Dear Target Reader" and it's cute. The author talked about social distancing and imagining how someone got their copy of this book. 

5:46 p.m - Jasmine is part Filipino!!

6:15 p.m - Omg he has a son.

September 16, Wednesday

    I'm so slow to read this. I think it's just because I'm not used to reading adult contemporary. I am enjoying the book so far. Whenever someone is spoken in the "script", I mind myself mouthing the words as if I'm acting. 

September 17, Thursday

    4:31 p.m - I just read a tiny part that made me laugh. So Ashton, the love interest, had a son with another telenoval star and the book says "As a devout Catholic, she'd done her duty by giving birth". I know they mean that they didn't get an abortion, but ~as a devout Catholic~ I would think she would have been against sex outside of marriage. 

    4:55 p.m - Ashton flew to Puerto Rico for like a day?? Love that.

    5:07 p.m - Jasmine is talking to her cousins and she says she thinks she likes Ashton and then kind of retracts that and says she's attracted to him. She said that when she looks at him, she likes what she sees but if he's as handsome as this book describes him it's safe to say everyone would like what they see?? You can like how someone looks and not have any feelings about them whatsoever. And then the book goes on to talk about the four levels of when Jasmine falls in love and how she doesn't do crushes??? She just develops feelings and must act on them and I'm like bro, you're an adult. You should be able to process feelings better, especially if it means you have to be professional and not act weird around your costar. The way Jasmine talks about relationships makes me feel like I'm reading a YA novel.

I just read Cindy Pham's review of this book and she addressed the same thing about I just talked about. From what she said, it doesn't seem like it'll get any better and I'm really close to DNFing this 😬

    11:32 pm - Okay I've read some more and now Jasmine and Ashton have had kissing scenes and now Jasmine just can't control her feelings. I truly feel like I'm reading about teenagers. I just don't understand why she's stressing out about being attracted to get co-star. It's fine!!! You can be attracted to him and not do anything about it. 

    12:52 pm - Just read a section where Jasmine talks about how she's been called clingy since middle school and that she never did the dumping in relationships because she's afraid of being alone so she stays with guys that she knows she should break up with. I just don't want to read this anymore so I'm officially DNFing it. I'm sad that my first book for Latinx-A-Thon was a fail but I don't want to continue reading it when I'm not enjoying it.

Here is Cindy's review that I completely agree with

September 18, Friday

September 19, Saturday

    2:17 p.m - I've finished and submitted my essay so I'm free to read all weekend! I started reading. We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia. This is about a girl who had been attending an girls school where they're trained to be the future wives of sons from rich and powerful families. The book starts with a riot happening in front of the school and rebels got into the school grounds. When the police had arrived, students and staff had to be all accounted for. They need to check everyone's identification papers and it turns out Daniela's papers are false. Before she could be checked by the police, a "medic" takes her away saying that she needs to be checked over for any sort of trauma over the events. It turns out that this medic is a member of a resistance group and he somehow knew Daniela's papers were fake and then he hands her new ones that could get through the new verification system. But they never explain how they knew? Daniela also didn't react like how I would have expected her to. She was very calm considering the situation. The next day Daniela got married during the graduation ceremony, which is customary for the school, and when she moved in her husband's home, she found a note on her bed from the rebel. Again, no explanation on how Daniela is involved, why she was singled out, how the guy even got into the house. 

    5:54 p.m - Sota, the dude who's a member of the rebel group, is at Daniela's new home pretending to be a gardener and he wants her to spy for the resistance. I truly don't know if I just missed a part of their first conversation where Sota explained why he singled her out but it's pretty obvious now that it's because her husband's family is very powerful I feel absolutely no sense of urgency while reading this. It's obvious there's some kind of uprising about to happen and Daniela is going to be involved but I don't get that feeling at all.

September 20, Sunday

 

    I'm almost halfway through and nothing's happened? I feel zero connection to this story.

September 21, Monday

    2:13 p.m - Wow they really went with the "I was afraid of you finding out the truth so I acted like I hated you and made your life miserable all these years when really I wanted to be your friend" thing.

     2:14 p.m - WTF???? WHERE DID THAT EVEN COME FROM. I don't understand Daniela at all!!

4:31 p.m - I just got to the part where the protestors have swarmed the marketplace and I feel! no! urgency! This is a rebellion!!! I feel nothing! 

Hi hello, I've finished the book. I thought it would get better but it was the same throughout. The romance felt like it just came out of nowhere, it would have been better if it was built up in this book and it actually happens in the sequel. Cindy Pham also wrote a review for this and it sums up my feelings as well so I'll leave it here.