The Other Half of Happy by Rebecca Balcárcel
Release: August 20th 2019
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Source: Netgalley
The Other Half of Happy Synopsis:
Quijana is a girl in pieces. One-half Guatemalan, one-half American : When Quijana’s Guatemalan cousins move to town, her dad seems ashamed that she doesn’t know more about her family’s heritage. One-half crush, one-half buddy : When Quijana meets Zuri and Jayden, she knows she’s found true friends. But she can’t help the growing feelings she has for Jayden. One-half kid, one-half grown-up : Quijana spends her nights Skyping with her ailing grandma and trying to figure out what’s going on with her increasingly hard-to-reach brother.
In the course of this immersive and beautifully written novel, Quijana must figure out which parts of herself are most important, and which pieces come together to make her whole. This lyrical debut from Rebecca Balcarcel is a heartfelt poetic portrayal of a girl growing up, fitting in, and learning what it means to belong.
Review:
A big thank you to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for sending me an advanced e-copy of “The Other Half of Happy” in exchange for my review. There are many things I really liked about this book, and a few things that I did not.
To begin with, I loved almost all the characters in this story. I especially loved the father and how optimistic he is and tries to keep his family on track and bonds with is children. I also loved the mother’s character for being the more grounded one and looking for solutions to fix the problems. Jayden in Zuri are also wonderful friends to Quijana. Most of the characters are very dynamic and lovable and you instantly root for them. The author progresses with the storyline so smoothly that even though there is drama, it is not over dramatic. There is no unnecessary jealousy between the friendships, hardly any hostility between characters. Everybody genuinely loves one another, even if they have family issues. The author has also remarkably portrayed that no matter how many hurdles life throws as you, life keeps going, and you need to look forward to each day.
Grandmother Miller is one of my favorite characters, and I love some of the quotes she imparts, such as: “Figure out what makes you amazing” and “Embrace the adventure”. One of my favorite lines is when she tells Quijana:
“You’ll flourish in your life, that’s certain. But you’ll grieve, too. And not just for me. All your life, you’ll be letting go of things. The secret is to relish the moments as they happen, but let endings happen, too.”
The author has also thrown in wonderful quotations from Cervantes “Don Quixote”, which makes me want to pick up the book from my bookshelf and read it.
My main problem was Quijana’s character at certain parts. She appeared to be way too selfish at certain pivotal scenes and thinking only about herself. Even when her Grandmother passes away, all Quijana thinks of if she was about to fill out the bus form. She acts way to impulsive and stubborn and does not listen to others at times. Also, I felt like the author tried to highlight way too many issues in one book itself. One chapter talks about autism, another about cancer, then about a gay character coming out, then one about racism etc. Moreover, I felt that the author just touched the surface of these issues without really dwelling into it. While I agree that these are relevant topics, I think it was just too much in one book. As they say, sometimes less is more.
Don’t get me wrong. I still think this is a charming book and there are some parts which are truly beautiful. If the author has just made Quijana’s character less self-centered and annoying, I would have really enjoyed reading it. Overall, “The Other Half of Happy” is still a fun, breezy read, and I would give it a rating of 3.75 out of 5 stars.
