I lived for the drama, with Esmé and Lucia at the beginning. It had me offended at that point, what Esmé said was CRAZY but honestly understandable when she wanted to really live out her final year of high school. Their relationship had me absolutely REELING because it was such an emotional rollercoaster, yet was happy all managed to end up well.

Lucia and Esmé also had me absolutely losing my mind with the whole “infatuated with a sophomore when they are literal seniors” mostly because Lucia had to mention him being in the same grade as her sister, it's weird to think about being interested after someone who is your sister’s age in my opinion. That part constantly plagued the back of my mind, but it could not compare to how baffled I was by Noah instead. That was what kept me awake at night.

I had such conflicting feelings about Lucia’s mom, it was easy to feel irritated with her and then the next moment you feel bad. It was gut-wrenching the way she struggled with the debutante ball and her just wanting to be at the same level as the other members of her own family. I loved Lucia's character and how relatable she was, she was truly so “human” with how she knew she had flaws and she knew she had regrets but all she could do was push through it. I loved how internally conflicted she was with the whole situation, she was trying so hard and you could really see her struggle. Also, her TikTok arc had mE losing it because it was such an unpredictable move I was not expecting it to come up. I really loved Lucia and it was so lovely to read through her experiences.

The story honestly had a really abrupt ending, I wasn’t expecting it to end so soon and cut to the epilogue to fast as it did. With the way that the story had such a great lengthy build-up, it was lacking when it ended so suddenly because I was ready to expect so much more from it. I really wish I could have seen more of what happened with her father in the end, that was what made me really curious.

Before I get into the actually story, lets get a round of applause for this cover. The colors are so wonderful, the illustration is so beautiful, amazing. Now, the plot: it blew me away just as much. This story of the battle between being a dutiful daughter and doing what you think is right for you is a story I am quite familiar with. However, I often hear it told from the perspective of Hispanic children. It is so important to see this told through a different cultural lens. Filipino culture is one I rarely see in popular novels as well, and this really showcased aspects of that culture. My maternal side of the family is from Laos so I am often frustrated when all Asian representation is Chinese or Vietnamese (though I am happy they are breaking into this Caucasian-dominated-market), so this book was really refreshing (even if it was an emotional story) as it brought a culture so close to the one I grew up with.