I thought the synopsis sounded great but this book was not for me. I found it a bit disjointed and in need of more thorough editing. I’m giving it 3 still because I think it’s decent first novel

Thank you Wettpad books for the e-copy.
a 3.5 star read for me just because I do wish I was 16 again when I would've loved it.
This is an amazing young adult book that I wish I had read when I was a bit younger.
As a 22 year old, I really enjoyed this one. It was a quick, fun and important read, as well as an heartbreaking one at times.
Soledad’s mom has been deported, she just started college and lives with her dad. I loved the characters and the history club and their adventures through the story.
The book immediately has you hooked in and it was such a fun read.
Would really recommend this book to everyone.

Much thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

And what a book!!! I love teen romances, I always have. My teen years were stubbornly unromantic and I didn't actually meet the love of my life till I was 35, so there you go.

I loved Sol. She is intelligent, determined and, above all, honourable. Her mother has been deported and her father works hard to look after them all. She, more than others in her History Club, can see how certain initiation rites could turn into something else for some members of the club. But is it actually a History Club? They don't seem to do much history. Romance ensues from her initiation, and this is gorgeous. I love reading about how people date in America, especially young people. It doesn't really happen like that here.

It's also a very diverse cast of characters. This is how most of the colonised world lives, with friends from all sorts of different backgrounds. I don't live and socialise in a white only world (thank the gods). I appreciate a book, specially a YA book, that bothers to show that, despite hazing rituals, despite authority, despite mainstream media, despite TV show and films, that try to claim it's a white man's world, the rest of us live our lives together. Of course, that's not true for everyone, but I don't want to read about white people in their white world. I want to read about everyone!

#historicallyinaccurate #netgalley

Historically Inaccurate is a poignant read with a great story line and a lovable cast of characters. I really enjoyed following Sol's adventures and found that she was relatable and funny throughout the book. The book offered a lot of great social commentary and felt really relevant, making it easy to be sucked in. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for future novels by Bravo!

Sadly my phone which I was using to read this book screen had broken and so sadly I couldn't finish the book because it was past the archive date and I couldn't download it onto a different device. I only got a chapter or so read but the storyline was hooking, I really wished I could of finished this book.

Historically Inaccurate dives into the heartache of having a long-distance parent due to deportation and the strain that may put on the child mentally. I haven't read many novels that securitize that dynamic but I'd loved the way Bravo explored it in this one. Sol dreams to give her mother residency status, but new laws have made the process even longer, so Sol convinces herself the burden is all on her. This becomes a major arc for Sol throughout the novel and reading that progression mixed with the antics of the History club makes Historically Inaccurate a great weekend read.

I really enjoyed this story.
It's a great coming of age story; discovering yourself again after tragedies.
Sol is and honest character still searching for herself. Unsure of where to turn. It was a real view at how families that have dealt with deportation struggle to keep their bonds strong from a distance.
The added love story was beautiful.

I want to thank Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As a Latinx reader and reviewer, I really wanted to enjoy this book. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this as much as I hoped I would. I will say that I enjoyed the fact that this book tackles an important real-life issue- the effects of deportation on family members. I also enjoyed that this book gives Latinx readers a character they can see themselves in. I will also say that the author did a good job capturing something at the heart of hispanic culture- family. It was clear how much Sol's family meant to her.

I also really enjoyed the Spanish that was included in the story. This gave me something I could relate to Sol with. However, for readers that don't speak Spanish the Spanish conversations could've become very frustrating because there was no provided translation.

Unfortunately, these positives could not make up for the negatives I found. First, I found Sol to not be a very likeable character. She also had these internal monologues that really dragged out the story and bored me as a reader. In addition, Sol and the other characters were not well developed. Some characters were just thrown in and not developed so that I had trouble both seeing them and caring about them.

I also really struggled with the fact that this book, while attempting to tackle struggles of the Latinx community, completely ignores the struggles of other underrepresented communities. Sol completely brushed off a Black character's concerns about police brutality, and a transgender character is misgendered several times. This author failed to be respectful of the struggles of other underrepresented groups, and that is incredibly disappointing.

Again, I really wished I could've loved this book, but I couldn't get past the many issues I came across.

HISTORICALLY INACCURATE is an own-voices YA book that follows Sol’s first year in college. Her mother has recently been deported and Sol is now living in a new apartment with her dad, commuting to school via bike, and juggling a whole lot between work and school. And history club! The most unique element of this in certain ways is the life and character that the club takes on. I ended my college career 11 years ago, so maybe I just don’t get it, but this club is way different than any I experienced. They do hazings and we start the story by meeting Sol as she attempts to steal a fork from a neighboring house. It turns out, someone is home after all, and the arc of Sol and her out-of-left-field interest Ethan is the main focus of the plot.

There are a lot of things this novel does right. There’s great inclusivity of characters. There’s representation of immigrants and college kids of color from diverse backgrounds and economic disparities. There are some things that will evolve as the author grows and writes more - some of the wording got a little clunky, some of the pacing a little slow or filled with details that will TOTALLY work for some folx but might feel like a bit too much for other readers.

This is definitely crush-driven plot and I think younger readers will enjoy this a lot, but there is also a lot of depth to it. It has representation, relatable characters, and is quite readable. I’m super excited to see what Shay does next!

'Historically Accurate' is an unembellished story, free from the knots that makes a book thrilling. It's more about the life of a Mexican American teenager with a hardworking father and a deported mother. She grew up with the pressure to be the perfect daughter and make their parents proud, because they do everything to make sure all her needs are fulfilled, despite the distance (her mother has been deported back to Mexico, following a car accident).

Sol, through extensive monologues, muses on the perils of being a second-generation immigrant, and growing up with a mother in a distant land. She struggles with the usual problems of a teenager and to top it all, makes bad decisions just to be a part of a cult-ish club for her resume. Sol is rash, just like any teenager and is quick to trust people. The romance in the story isn't obnoxious which is great because Sol's self-deprecating nature can be too much sometimes.
I guess what worked for me was how effortlessly the writing flowed (minor hurdles aside). The story did lack a purpose though.

I was super interested in reading this OwnVoices novel by Mexican born author. I think it talks about important issues like immigration and deportation but for me it fell a little bit short and wasn't my favorite I have read. I don't know know if the storyline was a little out there in regards to the club and the romantic aspect of the book felt a little under developed. There is also some misgendering in the novel. Even though the main character corrects the individual who misgendered, it't still important to note. There are many parts of the book that I enjoyed, such as the family dynamics, the food discussed, and the drive/ambition of the main character. I think this is a great first published novel from the author and I would be interested in possibly reading more from her.

The story went from Point A to Point B and I was able to follow and enjoy it. I give it 3.5 stars but will round up to 4 stars,

“𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘄𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲, 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲.“⁣
⁣
How much more can someone really relate to a fictional character? For myself, Sol was the character that made me feel seen. From personal experience and similar fear, I felt connected to Sol as she went through the stress, heartbreak, and unknown of having her mom be deported. I too was an immigrant once upon a time and this was a real fear we lived in until we were able to go through the process of residency and finally citizenship. ⁣
⁣
This book wasn’t just emotional, it was also very funny, Sol uses humor as a coping mechanism and through out the book, I was cracking up with her attempts at lightening up the mood. As awkward as it was, I think this made Sol seem real. Like this girl could be anyone I might actually meet someday. This book was relatable, funny, raw, and all together one of the most heartwarming reads this year so far. ⁣
⁣
Sol finds herself in a way, she realizes that she doens’t need to fit in. She has to just be happy with who she is. Life is hard but you can make the best of it be creating something for yourself. To be proud of yourself and your own accpmplishments. This book was really good and really enjoyed the hard topics it addressed as well.

Historically Inaccurate is about a college girl who joins a society and things get really out of control.
I enjoyed the beginning, it was fast paced and exciting. But then the story got repetitive and mundane. I think my younger self would have enjoyed it during my wattpad days but this book wasn't for me. The story line was interesting and unique. And Sol's character was likeable.

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. (See links for picture)

Thank you @wattpadbooks and @netgalley for the ARC for my honest review.

Rating:🌞🌞🌞🌞

🔑

*Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an early copy of this book for review, all opinions are my own*

This book is cute, it has a really cool vibe.
But you can see it in writing and even in some parts of the story that has a little fanfic in it, but nothing that makes the story less fun or the writing less enjoyable to read.
I really liked the characters, the club and I also loved that takes place in college.
Sol is an incredible and very real character, you can understand what she's going through and her dilemmas that range from very serious issues and life-changing to dramas of young adult life. The romance was cute but a little bit instalove.
I highly recommend it if you want something light and pleasant to read but that still bringing very important topics to the surface.

Historically Inaccurate by Shay Bravo follows the life of Sol during her freshman year in college, explaining more aspects of her life through flashbacks. Although at times hard to follow, this book is worth sticking with. The hero of this book is Sol and her mother's relationship. Sol's mother was undocumented and eventually deported to Mexico. The book's description of Sol and her mother's relationship after the deportation offers valuable insight into what undocumented individuals experience and the trauma that accompanies it.

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!

2020 has given me both great reading and complete duds. Its also been the year of great YA. This book was fantastic. The book had you cheering for the characters. The author developed the characters at a great pace and the book read quickly. It had enough substance to make you think, but also kept the pages turning (love a book that keeps me engaged and wanting to read quickly). Great writing, likeable characters, YA, diverse characters and situations= a win!

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.

One word: relatable. This is one of the most relatable books I have read in a long time. I could really see myself through Sol, the main character, and her decision and troubles. Also, all the Mexican reference really resonated with me, as a proud Mexican girl myself. It’s always nice being able to say ”Oh, I know that.” whenever your are reading a book.

In general, it was a very easy, funny and enjoyable read. Once it captured me I couldn’t let it go, so in less than two days I was already at the end of the book. Besides, it really helped that the romance was adorable. I was definitely in love with Ethan as much as Sol herself, from the first encounter I was already rotting for those two. (It really made me wonder if maybe I need to steal fork in order to finally find someone to date haha). But not only the romantic relationships, but also the friendships were something very important in the book and to the story, it showed how important and crucial certain people can be in your life.

By the way, I just really want to add how much I felt like joining the ”History Club” while reading about it, I mean it sounded like so much fun and, honestly, made miss collage so much, even the sleepless nights working on projects or studying. Shay Bravo really managed to capture the experience of being a collage student, that it just made me feel like I was back in collage myself.

The story touched certain important subjects, like the struggles of undocumented people in the United States, racism, even mentioned the problems of violence in Mexico, but I think the main focus was the conflicts of being a young person trying to find yourself. Trying to make decisions about the future and the pressures we put on ourselves to find who we are, even trying to put labels to describe our selfs. And, obviously the stupid decision we can make in the way. To which, I think we all can relate.

In conclusion, I recommend this book, specially if like the contemporary genre, you will really enjoy it.