Anna Banks

"A popular guy and a shy girl with a secret become unlikely accomplices for midnight pranking, and are soon in over their heads--with the law and with each other."--Provided by publisher.

Joyride

Who says opposites don't attract? It's been several years since Carly Vega's parents were deported. Carly lives with her older brother, studies hard, and works the graveyard shift at a convenience store to earn enough to bring her parents back from Mexico. Arden Moss used to be the star quarterback at school. He used to date popular blondes and have fun pranking with his older sister. But now all that's changed, and Arden needs a new accomplice. Especially one his father, the town sheriff, will disapprove. All Carly wants, at first, is to stay under the radar and do what her family expects. All Arden wants is to not do what his family expects. When their paths cross, they each realize they've been living according to the wishes of others. Carly and Arden's journey toward their true hearts - and one another-- is funny, romantic, and sometimes harsh. Just like real life.

Annika Arguemore

Disappointing to say the least, since the blurb held a lot of promise. I didn't really finish this, because it seemed like a bad soap opera the way the author was trying to convince the reader that the male lead and the female lead had chemistry. The guy seemed too creepy, and their conversations were always so stilted and poorly written. Could have been better.

Viry

Third book I've read for Hispanic Heritage Reads.

Here is my spoiler-free review: https://youtu.be/MVFX58nlktU

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I'm not really sure how I feel about this book yet, there were aspects I liked. For example I felt like Carly's story of having to live with her brother since her parents were deported and then having to working constantly in order to bring her parents to the United States (illegally) was interesting. Although there are more aspects that I disliked. I wasn't a fan of the change in perspectives every chapter going from first person with Carley and switching to Arden in third person, I don't know why it was done like this but it was weird to me. As well as Julio (Carly's brother) making me want to slam my head into a wall half of the time.

Joyride is a book that deals with serious issues and combines the romance of two "star-crossed" lovers. I appreciated the Hispanic representation not being stereotypical or ignored. I guess I would recommend this book to anyone interested in a contemporary novel with a Hispanic lead although it was not my favorite and ended abruptly with little to no closure.

Lisa ✩ @lifeinlit

2.5 stars

Carly, the daughter of Mexican immigrant parents, isn't your typical teenager. Her parents were previously deported, so she spends every waking hour that she's not in school working her butt off and saving every penny, along with her brother, to help get her parents back into the country. She doesn't have time for boys or friends... just work, work, work. And at a pretty unsafe job, to make matters worse. Carly meets Arden, one of the most popular guys in school, and finds herself forming a friendship with one of the most unlikely guys she thought she would ever be seen with. They realize they do have something in common... that they're living their lives based on others' expectations. Carly's passiveness got on my nerves a bit, and so did Arden's extreme cockiness... but again, I quickly fell in love with these two and completely respected them for who they were and how they acted. This unsuspecting friendship blossoms and changes both of them in more ways than one.



  "Pessimism and reality are usually mistaken for each other."



I think I liked this story? I'm honestly not too sure. There were parts that I really, really liked... and then some parts where I was rolling my eyes and even considered DNF'ing. Weird, right? I don't know what it was, but parts just kind of bothered me. I can't even put my finger on why. 

Here's what I liked: Carly and Arden. I liked their opposites-attract type of relationship, how different and unique they each were. Carly was 100% devoted to her family and knew no other way. She had thoughts that Americans in general were spoiled and didn't work for the benefit of their parents like she was accustomed to. Arden thought people like Carly were far too devoted to their parents and families, and spent little to no time or energy on themselves, which was completely unacceptable to him. Arden liked to have fun and enjoy life, while Carly didn't even know how to have fun. Two extremes that at first didn't mesh well, but after a while really started to feed off each other.

The fluffiness and cutesy romance was enjoyable. I liked their little pranks and the time they spent together. But really the bigger picture of the story revolved around illegal immigrants, a topic I'm honestly not too familiar with. I think readers that are more familiar with this topic and have experienced these issues firsthand would better relate to this book.

Okay, now here's my number one complaint: the switching from first and third person! It was very disjointed and, honestly, pretty confusing. Carly's characters were told in first person, but then Arden's were in third. I've never read a book that switches like this, and I would have enjoyed if the entire book was written in first person. I have no idea why it was done this way, but I wasn't a fan of it.
 

  

 
Overall, I did enjoy a majority of this book. I'm not sure that I would recommend it, unless it was to someone who had first-hand interactions with immigration. I'm assuming the facts and stereotypes in this story were accurate, though since I'm not closely connected with this topic I really can't vouch for their accuracy. I think there will be differing opinions surrounding this book, and it seems like a good book club read where discussion can be had. I'll definitely be interested in seeing what Anna Banks comes out with next.


Audiobook Impressions:
I was having difficulty finding time to read my ARC copy of Joyride, so when I saw the audio was available I grabbed a copy and started it immediately. The fact that it had two narrators was a bonus! Both narrators did a really great job. Again, I was thrown off by the flip-flopping of first person and third person, especially with the two separate narrators. It's weird to hear Kyla saying "I" and Andrew saying "He", but I got used to it after a while.

(Thanks to Feiwel & Friends for the review copy!)

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Joyride

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