Name: Sierra's review of The Signs and Wonders of Tuna Rashad by Natasha Deen
Item: The Signs and Wonders of Tuna Rashad
Rating: 3
Author: Sierra

Natasha Deen

Aspiring screenwriter Altuna Rashad has big plans for the last summer before she leaves Ontario, California, for the college in Georgia, the most important of which is securing the loving attention of her crush, Tristan Dangerfield; however she also has to get out from the obsessive over-protectiveness of her older brother, Robby, who mocks their family's devotion to the old Caribbean traditions and superstitions, while grieving the loss of his life partner, David--Tuna is convinced the omens prove that the ancestors are on her side, but sometimes the ancestors need a little help from the living.

The Signs and Wonders of Tuna Rashad

Genesis (@whisperingchapters)

Sierra

The premise for this book sounded rather promising at a first glance, but this YA contemporary romance left some to be desired.

The plot of this book wasn't bad as it was centered on Tuna and her ancestral beliefs, her desire to help her brother Robby overcome grief, and her goal to date her crush Tristan. I loved how Tuna was passionate about her beliefs and seeing signs from her ancestors in every little thing and how so many incidences did seem tied to them, but like Tuna's best friend Fi pointed out, Tuna is rather detached from reality and treats everything in life as one of her screenwriting scripts. I also really liked how grief was portrayed differently in the characters and how it addressed how differently people experience it. It was more of the romance portion that I didn't care for as it didn't feel genuine and it felt like the friendship/relationship was forced at times between the two characters. I just didn't really see the connection there, especially after Tristan disregarded Tuna's beliefs so much and she still liked him despite their major personality differences and clashes in beliefs. The end felt a little off and just didn't seem to resolve as much as I had hoped and I disliked the characters more by the end than I did at the beginning.

As for the characters themselves, I found them all to be rather interesting, but I didn't really love any of them. Tuna was annoying quite often and was very selfish in her treatment of others. With Robby handling his grief so differently from Tuna, she had no respect for it and took it upon herself to attempt to push him along and therefore causing chaos in the midst of it all. I did like her interest in screenwriting and found that trait rather unique. Tristan was okay, but I just never felt like he was putting his all into anything, and while he claimed to like Tuna, it didn't really show in his actions or even a lot of the dialogue. I did like Fi and how she was the voice of reason for Tuna (even if Tuna rarely listened) and helped keep her grounded. 

The writing itself was okay, but so many of the descriptions were lengthy, unnecessary, and even deterred from the scenes themselves. So many jokes were overexplained, and while I understand the narrative is from Tuna reflecting and "editing" her story, her rambling made it feel like a chore to read some parts. There were some good scenes though that I did enjoy, but not enough to make it a read to really connect with.

Overall, this book is okay, but not something I would jump to recommend. I am glad I read it as it did have some good qualities like strong cultural beliefs, conveyed the series topic of grief well, a little bit of LGBTQ+ rep, and a BIPOC main character. It just didn't have a "wow factor" or anything notable that made me love it as a YA coming-of-age story.

(Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for providing me with an eARC in exchange for honest feedback!)

Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &
The Signs and Wonders of Tuna Rashad by Natasha Deen

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Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &The Signs and Wonders of Tuna Rashad by Natasha Deen

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Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &
The Signs and Wonders of Tuna Rashad by Natasha Deen