Francesca Padilla’s YA debut, What’s Coming to Me, examines grief, poverty and retaliation through a poignant and sometimes messy lens. Minerva Gutiérrez is barely keeping afloat. Her mother’s health condition has deteriorated beyond hope, she is skipping school, and working a tedious job in order to build up her “Probable Orphan Fund.” To outsiders, Minerva appears to be an apathetic teen with no motivation who is just going through the motions. But Minerva is not okay. She is not dealing with her anticipatory grief, but is actively avoiding it. She doesn’t want to talk about her mother because then everything will be real and in order to get up every day, even to a life that is starting to feel more and more hopeless, she has to close herself off from this reality. It is a defense mechanism that often has her retreating into herself and often lashing out at others. She is angry and desperate to get out of her small town. This desperation leads her into dangerous territory when she and a friend decide to rob her shady boss. What’s Coming to Me starts off slow and made me wonder where it was going, but once its plot found its footing, it sunk its claws into me and never let go. Padilla’s debut is about the lengths people will go to to survive, what justice can look like when conventional avenues aren't available to you, and how protecting yourself from grief can sometimes leave you drowning anyways.

Just go and read the blurb cause it sounds wild and it was but it was a lot deeper than I was expecting?! I didn’t expect this to be emotional in anyway, I just thought it would be Minerva getting revenge on her disgusting boss, which was fun to tag along with, but there was so much more that made this a brilliant read.

Min was such an interesting character. I did get frustrated with her at times and questioned a couple of her decisions but I was really rooting for her throughout. There’s a sort of twist halfway ish and I’m so annoyed that I didn’t realise it sooner. As soon as this thing happens it seems so obvious and I immediately felt like an idiot for not clocking it earlier! But it adds so much context to everything that’s gone before it and after and kind of broke me a little

Now usually I’m a bit of a villain lover. Even really horrible people I still want to see a bit of redemption for them. But Anthony. Fucking hated that guy. Not sorry at all. No. Yuck. I’m not okay. Even just taking one thing - the cameras?!?!? Why is this guy allowed to run a business where young innocent people work??

Eli I loved and felt anger towards but I still loved him and that’s that.

Mary and CeCe. Both of their characters were intensely different and while they both made mistakes, I was still rooting for them too!!

Fun, sad, chaotic, brilliant, dickhead destroying - what more could you want??

This book has some characters I fell in love with, and some amazing themes weaved into a 'will they succeed with this crazy weird unwise unlikely plan????'-plot. There were times I wanted to give the protagonist and her friends a good shake - just like I imagine Nicole wanted to do quite often. I think the mom's cousin was my favourite character of all, no matter how annoying Min thought she was. I must admit that a chunk of the plot felt slow at times, but those great characters and wanting to know what would come to them in the end kept me going. Let's say I was not disappointed.

Minerva’s voice is very authentic, as is the portrayal of poverty. I really appreciate those elements and the depth it gives the story. This is a very strong debut. I’m not sure that I will use it in my creative writing classes, but it is one I’ll recommend to students, especially to those who either haven’t seen their Dominican identify portrayed much on the page or don’t fully understand their privileges, whether it be race, stable family, or finances.

This is a really interesting one for me, because, I didn't necessarily love this reading experience but I also really enjoyed this book? I think I went it with much different expectations than what this book ended up being..

Still giving this one four stars, because I think it's super unique and it feels special. It's like a hard-hitting contemporary meets a thriller, and I love that it's set in Long Island and discusses poverty. I feel like most LI stories are all glitz and glamor. The writing feels very literary, but not in an off-putting way.

The characters are nuanced and show a lot of growth. There's twists but nothing feels outrageous. Overall, I think this could be a really big hit with several types of readers. Padilla manages to avoid many overused tropes, and our characters feel very much like real people. I'm excited to see what she does next.

This book started off quite strongly. I immediately liked the writing style which made me feel drawn into the story. Initially, I found it easy to empathise with Minerva, the female mc, but sadly as the story went on, I found myself feeling extremely distanced from the relationships she has with her friends, family members, and especially the love interest.

I definitely enjoyed the idea of the story which centers around different kinds of grief and finding one‘s place in the world. However, the plot was quite all over the place and I was rather bored for about two thirds of the book, which probably mostly has to do with not being able to connect to Minerva beyond the grieving part of her character.

My biggest problem with this book might just be that I felt like the ice cream parlour plot was rushed and I didn’t really get the motivation behind Minerva‘s actions. I feel like if these two had been connected a bit better and elaborated on more, I would have enjoyed my reading experience much more.

2.5/5 stars.

Seventeen-year-old Minervia is going through tough times. Her mother’s hospitalization for congenital heart failure has left Min alone and lonely. Min’s grades sunk and she got expelled from school for fighting. Her only bright spot is that she landed a coveted job at a beloved neighborhood ice cream stand. Except she hates working there because of her creepy boss. When the ice cream stand is robbed at closing one night, old rumors about lots of cash hidden in the stand resurface. Min is desperate for change- to flee poverty, to flee her crummy apartment, to flee her memories. Min and her neighbor CeCe, also desperate for cash to get away, become obsessed with finding the treasure hidden in the ice cream stand. They decide to risk everything for the chance at new lives.

What’s Coming to Me is a notable debut novel featuring a Dominican girl. I really liked Minervia’s voice. She sorrows and struggles were heartbreaking. Minerva’s grief and desperation lead her to make some bad choices but she’s a kid in a world of hurt. But she’s smart, determined, and resilient. I couldn’t help but root for Min as she learns to accept help, reconnects with her best friend, and finds love.

This book will appeal to fans of Elizabeth Acevedo and Tiffany D. Jackson and readers who enjoy realistic fiction and family drama.

What’s Coming to Me is a wonderful summer read, with mystery, secrets and unlikely friendships.

I really enjoyed this! Minerva is a very strong character, working at an Ice Cream shack with a sexist boss and unfriendly coworkers. Her friendships with CeCe and Molly are very well written and portrayed, as well as the ups, downs and everything in between. The romance is also very sweet, and I enjoyed it very much.

This book explores a heavy topic with an authentically teen voice. At times though. the anger in the MC got a bit redundant. I know what happened to her but at times the rage didn't seem so much like a trauma reaction but more like a coming and going mood that knew no end. Maybe it was the writing style as it could be very, very internal at times.

I mostly enjoyed this book.
The character was the highlight of the story. Minerva is such a resilient character. An absolute surviver who also has so many flaws. I found her extremely relatable. The author did a very well job, of depicting and describing the teenage experience. I loved all of the side characters as well!

The plot sadly fell short for me. It was too slow paced, which sadly didn’t work for this story. The writing bored me at times as well. I didn’t find it exciting or enticing.

This is a decent book. It started strong for me but the middle seemed to plateau and I found myself putting it down quite often. At moments it seemed to drag. And I couldn't quite grasp what the the focal point was. Not terrible writing. The characters were decent. The storyline and execution were quite average.

What’s Coming to Me follows a teen girl named Min as she and her friends plot revenge on her creepy, predatory boss. After the ice cream shop Min works at is robbed she learns that it happened because of a local town legend that says that there’s lots of money hidden in the building. Min dreams of escaping her hometown and sees the money as a way to both escape her town, and get revenge on her boss for preying on his female employees. She, her neighbor CeCe, and her best friend Mary come up with schemes to find and steal the money.

This was such a quick and fun read. Min’s going through serious pain in her life between her mother’s recent hospitalization, her terrible job, and her previously thriving academic life falling apart. The book never brushes over that and definitely shows the reader Min’s periods of devastation and what a difficult spot she’s in. But somehow the book is still fun. It’s fun to wonder whether the money really does exist. It’s fun to see what Min and her friends will discover next, or what new plans they’ll come up with to find the money. Min is relatable to me (for one thing she has a face that makes everyone think she doesn’t like them… 😬) and I respect her determination and intelligence. She and her friends are so different from each other that it’s weird that they get along, but it works. I usually don’t like having to read about romances, especially between teens, but I didn’t mind reading about the relationship between Min and her love interest at all!

I actually don’t have any specific complaints about this book. The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is that it didn’t have that extra punch that makes me give a book 5 stars. I don’t think that’s because of a flaw in the book. I think it’s because YA contemporary just isn’t one of my preferred genres.

I read this book in one day. I love a quick read, so that’s another point in its favour.

I recommend What’s Coming to Me!

The feminist icon you did not know you needed - Minerva is fabulous and inspiring. It made me reflective of past experiences and see them through a different light, this the book that stays with you days after you finish!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy. I enjoyed this debut novel and will definitely keep an eye out for future books by Padilla. I thought she did an excellent job capturing the essence of her characters and the difficult life situations they were in. I do think the plot needed a little work - the whole heist aspect almost wasn’t even necessary and felt like an afterthought thrown in the book just for the sake of having some action. I enjoyed Minerva and Cece and learning about their lives more than I cared about the heist and the ice cream shop drama. Overall, this was a good one!

I had a hard time with this one and DNF at 75%. The writing style wasn’t for me. I guess going in after reading the synopsis I had a different idea of what the book would be about. It was completely different from what I thought.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

An excellent debut novel!

I truly loved everything about this book. From the authors note (I love when authors do this) to the story. The characters and story made you feel like you are right there with them. While this is a HEAVY read, I enjoyed it and felt this was a story that needed to be told.

Actual rating 3.5

This book follows the story of Minerva (Min) as she copes with her mother's failing health, her relationships, her creepy boss and all the feelings that come along with that.


What I liked:
* Min was portrayed really realistically. She has been going through hell and is flawed, angry, guilty and everything else you'd expect a teenager to feel in her situation.
* I loved watching her relationships develop throughout the book.
* The exploration of a lot of heavy topics e.g. drugs, poverty, race, gender, etc.

What missed the mark for me:
* The story felt like it dragged in some places.
* I felt that with all the risk that was involved in Cece's plan in the ice cream shop should have had me on the edge of my seat but there wasn't enough tension.
* Everything wrapped up so quickly at neatly at the end of the book. I feel like there should have been more emphasis on things starting to change rather than everything suddenly being perfect.

Overall, I did enjoy this book. It was an interesting look into dealing with a chronically ill parent and the effect it can have on a child.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I felt like this was a very strong debut, the author has nice writing style which helps to bring their characters to life. The topics covered in this were handled really well too.

I wouldn't rate this higher for me personally as I felt it was just ok, I found it did take me a little while to get through and I think that was due to the actual plot itself, as I never truly got into this.

I really thought I would like this a lot more unfortunately.

I loved the premise of this book. The setting and thoughts that the author educates readers on is especially inspiring. The characters are also awesome and so well written.

What’s Coming To Me follows Minerva, working serving ice-cream in a place she hates with a sexist boss after she is kicked out of school. Following a robbery one day while she works, Minerva and her friend CeCe work to find money hidden in the ice-cream shop. This idea pulled me in and intrigued me as I started the book. Unfortunately it failed to hold my interest. What should have been a very high stakes and interesting plot simply fell short. It felt drawn out, and slow paced, which works for some plots but not one like this.
One of the highlights of this book was the character of Minerva. She was resilient and clever, but also flawed in extremely relatable ways. I like that this book didn’t paint her as a perfect person, but instead created a very nuanced and realistic depiction of the teenage experience, something that is often done badly in books. The side characters were great too, and I found them all compelling and fleshed out.
However the characters were not enough to make me love this book. The writing style bored me at times, turning what should be exciting and suspenseful scenes into overly drawn-out ones. Overall I think this book had a lot of potential, but it should have either leaned into the introspectiveness more heavily, or picked up the pace a little.
My main takeaway is that I wish I had enjoyed this book more than I did. There were so many elements that I love, and I had rather high expectations, however it was not executed in a way that I found compelling unfortunately. This book is by no means bad, I still had a good time with parts of this book, and I think the writing style could work for some people, just not me.