Dahlia Adler

Place of publication transcribed from publisher's website.

Just Visiting

Nia C

5 STARS for this amazing book. Like wow. I think this was a lovely read. B for the Book Hangover I'll inevitably face now. Review to go up tomorrow, 17th. 

Just Visiting, out on Nov 17th and I REALLY RECOMMEND YOU GET IT. PRE-ORDER, PURCHASE AND READ THE HELL OUT OF THIS BOOK. 

-

Review first posted on booksfeelsandtears.wordpress.com


I received an e-ARC of this book from the author but this did not affect the review in any way.

Hey guys,

Apologies in advance for all the squealing and fangirling you might read in this review. Because Just Visiting is not just a good book, it is a great book. And for me it holds a special importance because I finally saw my culture and my people represented as something other than comedic relief sidekicks, nerds or weirdoes.

So, this book. Wow.

When I started it, I thought the description about the characters and the girls’ lives and stuff was unneeded and we could’ve just jumped directly into the plot and moved forward. But I soon realized that there wasn’t any direct plot. There are two distinct types of books, I’ve come to realize: Plot & Character. This one was a Characters book.

This book explored the extensive character development of Victoria Reyes, our Mexican protagonist and best friend to Raegan Forrester, poor white girl and other protagonist and best friend to aforementioned Victoria – both of whom want to get out of Charytan, their small town. The book takes a look at the smaller journeys in life, the literal ones that shape one’s lives. Rae and Vic visit colleges, it’s their senior year and they’ve got to make hard choices and do what their heart tells them to do.

Now, here’s all the squealing and fangirling. Rae and Vic were perfectly believable as seventeen year old teenage girls and that was my favourite bit of the entire book. One of my problems is when writers portray us as calm, cool, politely-speaking people because to be honest, I’m the completely opposite. And I connected on so many levels with the two MCs, who also threw in the occasional jab at the stereotypes and the ‘normal’ way of life propagated and built by the society we live in.

“The Sun Also Rises? Spoiler alert: it’s more of Papa Reyes’s favourite genre – White Man Lit.” – Raegan, Just Visiting.

“No one ever calls the guy slutty.” – Victoria, Just Visiting.

The book is unafraid and touches upon several key issues such as poverty, education and some others I don’t want to mention as they’ll give away key plot points. But it does it very well and not in a preachy or info-dump kinda way.

Now, the Indian stuff I’m so excited about.

This book, as I mentioned, has a vast array of diverse characters but being an Indian fangirl in Mumbai, what I adored was the fact that the hero, the ‘hot’ male character wasn’t a white jock / popular kid but a nerdy American-Indian guy who was visiting colleges checking out pre-med courses. [Indian guy, had to be pre-med or engineering, you can’t stray too far from the masses.]

Devarajan Shah, or Dev as he goes by in the book is such a cutie. And very gorgeous too. I loved the fact that the book did not make fun of his interest in comic books; in fact it was his USP! From nerdy t-shirts, to him mentioning Indian food which had me drooling when I was reading it at night, I loved every aspect of Dev. He wasn’t flawless, and that was pretty darn cool. He made mistakes and then made the effort to fix them.

“How do you feel about khandvi and samosas?” – Dev, Just Visiting.

For the record, samosas are amazing and I love them. If any of you ever come to Mumbai, feel free to drop by and have some. I can’t cook for nuts but I’ll buy you some delicious ones. I thought it might go the conventional Gujju way and offer Dhoklas and Theplas, but I like the touch of diversity and culture here too.

I also loved Victoria’s interests – fashion, where I’m from, unless you’re really good, it’s not a good choice to pursue but I did relate immensely to the part where she has to make choices – to do what she wants, what her family thinks, her friend, what society thinks etc.

The book is very positive: from the stand on slut-shaming, to the diversity being brought out to the forefront, it is a wonderful book. And I think you should give it a go. If only to meet Dev. Yeah, it’s the first time I’ve seen an Indian book boyfriend and you’re gonna be hearing about it – a lot. I was so happy, and a Gujju too, one who eats the spicy food I do, watches and reads similar stuff, was probably brought up with the same values and knows the same things I do about my country.

Thank you, Dahlia Adler for creating Dev. Someone said it, we need diverse books so people like me (POC and LGBTQ+) can see ourselves represented in books. It is so important.

Five stars for this book, and a B, because I’m still under a hangover.

Lisa ✩ @lifeinlit

When I first read the synopsis for Just Visiting, my initial thought was ROAD TRIP!!! I adore road trip books of all kinds. The thought of getting to travel with these two besties to different schools made me all kinds of giddy inside. I was ecstatic when the eARC arrived in my email, and I immediately dove right in.

Reagan and Vic couldn't be more different. Reagan, who has a pretty horrific family and home situation, spends most of her time at Vic's loving home where she gets nice conversation, a warm shower, and peace and quiet. Reagan's trailer park home would be fine IF she had electricity... and parents that gave a darn about her. The parental involvement in this book are shown at two extremes: one set totally absent, the other with a very close and personal relationship with their daughter.


  


Okay... so you're probably thinking this story is full of cliches. And at first, I thought that was going to be the case. Let's face it, the first few chapters weren't exactly screaming "unique and original". But the good news is that the good definitely outweighed the bad in this case. And though it was rather cliche, there was so much going for it that I was able to completely accept that and move on with the story.

Reagan may be our stereotypical YA character, but Vic was her own form of creative and quirky. I loved how she had a wonderful sense of style all her own, that she had dreams of being a clothing designer to share those visions with the world. But it gets better... her parents were actually interested in her life!! Yes, that's right... we have present parents here, people!! *cheers from the crowd* Yup, that's right. A mother who was very much a mother, yet also trusting and affectionate enough that Vic actually wanted to confide in her. Her mother and father actually worked together, which we rarely see in YA, and her entire family dynamic was pretty admirable. I also appreciated the fact that Vic's mother was deaf, so ASL was used throughout the story... yet this fact never became a crutch to further the story along, it just WAS. Gotta love it!


  


More good stuff, you ask? Well, get ready because there is, in fact, more! I adored the friendship between Vic and Reagan. They had ups, downs, and all the in-betweens of a typical friendship, with none of the hateful mean-girl fights we read about far too often. They really were the epitome of good friends through thick and thin. Both had secrets, past experiences that were holding them back, and a look at the future that was filled with confusion. They didn't always see eye-to-eye on boys, clothing, and even college selection... but through thick and thin, they stuck together. Yay for a positive friendship!!!

Still looking for more reasons to read this story? (Seriously?! You're not convinced yet?!?) The boys were totes adorbs!! I couldn't even handle how adorably awkward and out of place Dev was at times, it made my heart just melt for him. He was the perfect match for Reagan to bring her out of her shell and get her to live a little! And Vic's boy interests... I don't want to give anything away, so let's just say there were a few, some more involved than others, and I enjoyed how different they were and how they brought out Vic's uniqueness throughout the story.

Lastly, I LOVE that this story was told through alternating points of view of these two best friends, NOT a girl and a boy! That's right... no romantic flipping of POVs here. Nope. Just besties at their finest!! Having the two very different perspectives was so enlightening when it came to getting to know these girls. It couldn't haven't been done better.

So to wrap up:

 
	 Amazing Friendships ✓ 
	 Adorable Book Boyfriends ✓ 
	 ROAD TRIPS! ✓ 
	 Involved and Successfully-Parenting Parents ✓ 
	 Humorous and Fun-tastic Banter ✓ 
 

Just Visiting was such a fun and entertaining story. If you're looking for something a little different, this is definitely one to check out. 

(Thanks to Dahlia Adler for the review copy!)

Find this review and others like it at Lost in Literature!

Just Visiting

Reviews