Before I go though, I loved that Rishi, Alex's bestie and crush was Indo-Guyanese, you hardly ever see desis of Guyanese origin in mainstream novels. I loved it so much, its just when it rubs you wrong, it affects your feeling about the story. I would've given it a five had it not been for that. It may not be as obvious to non-black latinx folx, but you can always tell by the description tags when an author isn't black. As an afro-latinx person, I totally understand our culture does blend a number of cultures, but a lot of the black people were in passing, had skin described as food or night, or were kind of magical negros(I'm sure it wasn't intentional). Alex even went as far to say she was plain because she had brown eyes. Nova had blue-green eyes, and his features were often described with much more flattering tags than brown eyes and skin. The parts I struggled with only centered on the way eurocentric features were exhaulted over the latter. It was also cool that she was reluctant to be a receiver of her great power, and wasn't just "ready" like a bunch of ya books. I adored that Alex, the mc, was bisexual and liked both her love interests were of color, despite one of them being passing. I loved that it was a story by, for and centered on latinx culture. I loved it, but I admit I struggled with some parts.
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