I loved this book so much I don’t even know what to say right now, except maybe that Rat Park is hands-down the best Marina Vivancos I’ve read so far. I knew I hit the jackpot when I felt myself tearing up at that dedication, though. ( )

While not a bad story, Rat Park really needs more development - as in space and location type development. The city the characters live in is nondescript and rather formless. I'm not sure what continent this story even takes place on. After a while, my brain kind of rebelled and finally settled on Florida, given the Latino community and references to the ocean. Don't ask me why - the vague descriptions just don't fit California* ... The characters speak what seems to be a hybrid of U.S. English and English spoken either in England or Australia. What gave the game away are sentences like "My mom wouldn't let me stay at hers" (in US English this would be an unfinished sentence), the use of the term "autumn" rather than "fall" to describe the season, and other similar statements.

As for Dominic, MC? He's had an unfun life for sure, growing up with a neglectful mother and being introduced to drugs fairly early in his life, Dominic's not had the best path until he gets kidn-er-adopted by the Romero family and introduced to a life free of drugs. Despite his own doubts and fights with his addiction, Dominic finds himself with a family who cares and eventually a boyfriend in the son of the house, Flor. He tries though and wins through the obstacles, even if he's got blinders on about his own potential. I will give him that.

Overall, not a bad read, but more like watching a slow motion train wreck read rather than an enjoyable one.
[Edited to add]
The rather predictable ending left me hanging really. I never could get into the relationship between Dominic and Flor. Not because it's not a good relationship, but because I just never truly connected with the characters; the writing kept this reader and the characters separate. Distant.

And, to borrow from Uncle in The Jackie Chan Adventures, "one more thing!" Weary=/=wary! Weary means to be tired. Wary means to be cautious. I'm weary of the constant misuse of weary to mean wary. sigh.

*Yes, I'm being biased here. For all I know, this story really is set in Australia or New Zealand, but not Canada. Canadians have the RMCP and don't need no Sheriffs (one of the characters run for sheriff in the story, not that we get to see the campaign). ( )