diversity!
Bewertet mit 3.5 Sternen
What happens when you fall in love with someone everyone seems determined to fear?
Ninety seconds can change a life — not just daily routine, but who you are as a person. Gretchen Asher knows this, because that’s how long a stranger held her body to the ground. When a car sped toward them and Gretchen’s attacker told her to run, she recognized a surprising terror in his eyes. And now she doesn’t even recognize herself.
Ninety seconds can change a life — not just the place you live, but the person others think you are. Phoenix Flores-Flores knows this, because months after setting off toward the U.S. / Mexico border in search of safety for his brother, he finally walked out of detention. But Phoenix didn’t just trade a perilous barrio in El Salvador for a leafy suburb in Atlanta. He became that person — the one his new neighbors crossed the street to avoid.
Ninety seconds can change a life — so how will the ninety seconds of Gretchen and Phoenix’s first encounter change theirs?
ah I do love a troublesome lovestory with lots of complications. From the description this should have been totally my cup of tea. And don't get me wrong, I didn't mind reading this title at all. Nothing stiked me as "bad" in this story. Sadly I just didn't cared all too much. Gretchen went thru hell and is slowly fighting her way back to life, trying her best at ordinary living.
Phoenix went thru another sort of hell, all to save his little brother, just to be separated now, and unsure about the future. Stranded in that town, he meets gretchen, a girl way out of his league.
Both see the pain in one another and the grasp of what the other had to suffer, so they feel connected to one another. The diversity in having a boy from El salvador was a nice touch, as was the subject of gang members and their life. The theme of rascism and prejudice had a continuation through the whole story and was on point.
I feared the "Love heals all" aspect, as it is nothing I believe in. i don't think you should expect other to save you, rescue you and change your life. That's up to you. While I was already annoyed with the story, for going into that direction, thankfully the author changed it! Phoenix tells her exactly that: I cannot save you. The ending really rescued this book for me, having them going apart and getting their shit together before becoming a real couple.
So in the end, this novel had it all. Controversial theme, a nice lovestory, diversity, humor ( thank you Gretchen!).