Sarah, a girl unhappy with her life, try to find a new meaning and escape her life with a trip to Latin America. Where she is kidnapped by a drug lord.
Well, when they said "Be careful on what you wish".
Hot as a chili pepper, I loved this book.
As you might have guessed if you've kept up with my reviews, I tend to be quite snobby.
As I read the blurb, I instantly placed the book into the "literature-porn" shelf.
Oh it didn't move much from there. Don't worry.
What made me place the book in the "masterpieces" section, is mostly quality.
I'll explain myself furthermore.
POSITIVE NOTES:
1. Characters
Sarah is a not-like-other-girls girl. Ana is quite literally the cultural-representation-best-friend. Pablo is the handsome villain.
Obviously, put like that, it doesn't really seems like a positive note.
But.
Pablo was raised without anything, wanting to achieve the world. Focused on wanting more and more, he daydreamed about it, achieved that, but didn't grow much. For many aspects of his character, he's a child at heart. Instantly fell in love, I have to say.
Ana clearly suffer from the "good Samaritan" syndrome. She had to translate for her parents from a young age and didn't have the easiest life.
Yet she cared for Sarah well after Sarah stopper caring for herself. She even obliged Sarah to get on the trip, even though she clearly was out of place.
Finally, Sarah.
Awkward, "big boned" and witty, she would make a perfect annoying not-like-other-girls protagonist. But she's extremely well studied.
Why would be protagonist of such a story not run away? She really has all the opportunities.
What would be a weak point of the story, though, in this case is the core of the story itself.
She doesn't ask to be saved and won't help herself, because she's a deeply traumatized girl who doesn't think she deserve it.
She's witty as a defense mechanism, big-boned because she finds comfort in food and awkward because she hates herself.
Just... perfect.
2. Details
Let's not forget the details embroidered into the characters and the story: maladaptive daydreaming for people that didn't like their current life (Pablo's thirst of money and power, Sarah need for attention and punishment of some sort), twitching for cocaine users, talking to themselves (and being embarrassed about it) for us poor writers (felt called out) and a lot of cultural differences in their dialogues.
3. Research
I know it's dumb, but it feels as if the author not only was actually in the country, but even got kidnapped. From the language (perfect Spanish) to the description of the place, the modus operandi,the villains, rituals for drinking, Netflix, Uber, everything.
Actually, a little negative note: girl, how many drugs did you try for this book?
4. Humor
This book can be hilarious. Despite the difficult situation, Sarah's humor is a constant breath of fresh air.
YOU ARE READING
Reviews and recommendation
Non-FictionStory editor here, reading and reviewing stories because this is honestly my natural environment :) As such, I don't use a voting system! Check out the first two chapters for more details. Have fun! cover by @lightmage1
