Melissa de la Cruz

First sentence: The plane bucked with unexpected turbulence on its final descent, sending Josh’s stomach into his chest and causing him to grip the armrests so tightly his knuckles turned white. He’d finally dozed off while watching the in-flight movie when he’d been jolted awake by the sudden drop. Instinctively, he reached out to the seat next to him, only to find it empty. Of course, he’d forgotten. Amelia hadn’t boarded with him.

Premise/plot: Josh Reuter loves Amelia Ashley. show more Yet when these two get into a fight in Rome, Italy, he leaves for the States without her. That's when she goes dark. She disappears from social media. She doesn't respond to calls or texts. She vanishes. Her friends alert the police. Josh is questioned. Blood is found in his suitcase. He claims he's innocent. That she was alive and well--perhaps not mentally well, but physically well--the last time he saw her. As the police grow more and more suspicious, and the internet becomes more cruel, Josh faces a dilemma.

Amelia Ashley is--or was, or is???--a social media star. Her "category" is food/travel. She's got quite a devoted following to her accounts. She shares her lives through photographs, videos, and blog posts. Josh Reuter is NOT a social media star. And that's the way he likes it. He may be a photographer, but, his private life is private. She includes him in several videos and posts. After she goes missing, he's tormented/bullied by his girlfriend's fans.

Harper plays a pivotal role in this one. She was not a fan of Amelia Ashley before she goes missing. Josh is a nameless familiar face. They share a class--abnormal psychology. Yet her side-business, her illegal side-business, gives her the tools she needs to get to the bottom of this missing person's case. Her discoveries--which she does not share with the police--reveal that BOTH Josh and Amelia have deep, dark secrets.

The jacket flap pushes the idea that this one is "ripped from the headlines," and certainly on the surface that is true. The book also seems to be pushing the idea that coverage of missing persons is unjust, unfair, warped, racist, bigoted. While I don't negate that conclusion in its entirety, I'd just add that any person with a large following, a social media star, a person who has thousands of photographs, thousands of videos, media that is easy to "grab" for journalists...is naturally going to get more coverage. It is more of a news story--because those images, those videos, those words--are an easy hook to fit into allotted space. Another thing that I think is not considered enough in this one, is that the other missing person case explored in this one is of a girl who while yes is biracial and therefore "not white" she's also someone who has a) a history of running away b) a history of running away c) a history of going off her medication and....you guessed it...running away. That doesn't mean it's okay for the police to make all sorts of assumptions about her disappearance. (They assume that she has gone off her medication and run away.) So the conclusion that the reason this girl did not have a "trending hashtag" or a headline story simply because she was biracial...unfair at best. I think the trending hashtag has everything to do with her being a social media star....and not the color of her skin. As for headlines--I think there's more there to that argument.

My thoughts: I found this one super-compelling. It had multiple narrators--Josh, Harper, Amelia--and the points of view were so fascinating. As the mystery unfolded, it was just impossible to put down. I kept changing my mind with every chapter. show less

This book was everything.

As a Filipino American I have never read a book about my culture until this. This book proves that representation matters. I related to all the Filipino parts. I loved the use of Tagalog words and Filipino food throughout the novel. One of my favorite quotes was when Jasmine described her brother as being “louder and more dramatic than anybody else, which really means something when you come from a Filipino family” (40). That is so damn true.

Thank you so much show more Melissa de la Cruz for writing this book. I’ve been waiting for her to write another book about the Filipino experience and this book couldn’t have been any more timely. It perfectly encapsulates the experiences undocumented immigrants go through. I really felt Jasmine’s frustration.

Overall, this is a must read for young adults in today’s world and hopefully this book can inspire future leaders to make positive changes in regards to immigration. show less

The Encanto's Curse is the second book in The Encanto's Daughter duology by Melissa de la Cruz. I enjoyed the first book very much and was looking forward to reading this one, hoping that it would be as good as the first. I can happily report that it was. MJ is a new queen and she's trying to find her way, and find out why she can't seem to call her magic to her anymore. She's also wondering about some crazy dreams she's been having, where she's a monster who craves blood and wants to tear show more anything with a heartbeat to pieces. When she finds out that there is a creature out attacking her subjects, just like the creature in her dreams, she puts 2 and 2 together and realizes that she's the monster here. She immediately sets out to find out what's happening to her, and why, and of course, that's when trouble shows up in the form of Prince Qian of the Jade Empire, and the brother of her best friend, Nix. She now has to deal with 2 crises, which is going to go about as good as you think it will.

While this was the second book in the series, it actually had a whole new feel to it, which worked so well with these characters and this author. The mystery was unique and engaging, the characters were well fleshed out and likeable, and the pacing was spot on. And, just like in The Encanto's Daughter, the world building was phenomenal!

All in all, this was a very satisfying conclusion to this story and I highly recommend it.

5/5 stars.

*** I would like to thank NetGalley, Penguin Young Readers Group, and Melissa de la Cruz, for the opportunity to read and review The Encanto's Curse. show less

Emphatically booting this out the door. I will try all things Alcott. But this is an abomination.
The authors can’t keep track whether they are featuring Jo March or Louisa May. And several other offenses…

On the first page, they have Jo, at age 17, turning in her manuscript for Little Women. Excuse me? Jo doesn’t become a successful novelist till Jo’s Boys and Louisa May is 36 when Little Women is published.

The second large sin is eliminating Marmee and replacing her with Mama Abba. show more Why? Marmee is correct for both Jo and Louisa.

And somewhere in there Jo toys with the idea of having Laurie marry Beth in her writings.
Agh!!!
Yes, Beth does die, but these authors make so little of it, it’s hard to find.
And what of the great love between Jo and Professor Bhaer? Discarded.

This is simply a stupid stupid book.
But it did have me pulling out the originals again. show less