// Received an advance readers copy in exchange for a fair review //

"keep adding to your life - a little bit this, a little bit that,"

I didn't know what to feel about this book at first, but I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. It made me feel giddy and nervous at the same time and that's really rare for me.

I like the family aspect of the book because not a lot of YA books do that nowadays. The book is focused on both the teen individual's life and the family in general. The plot is something that I know a low of teenagers who are going through the same thing would be able to relate to.

There are certain things about the 'love story' that I still find too cliche but even I have to admit that it was pretty cute and again, still managed to make me feel giddy.

This was so mysterious.


"but dont go with hate in your heart"


this is a lowkey beautiful book ( )

After only being available in Spanish, it’s good to see a publishing house realized what a moving story this was and deserved a shot in the English-language market so more people can have their heart broken and healed by Berla’s talent.

Particularly with everything going on in the world right now, grief is becoming a mainstay of the human conscious and Berla shows how different people handle tragic events with no right or wrong way to move through the process. She has created an emotionally moving piece that could have been just another sorrowful story but she manages through some uplifting character work to turn it into something heartwarming and educational by showcasing trauma through the balance of love and family.

By examining tragic experiences from another’s perspective it added this whole other dimension of beauty and healing. As a parent I found the story uplifting as it reminded me that parents and kids heal from the same situation differently and come out with different needs so we should be respectful and understanding that how I process things as an adult and what I want to do to move on isn’t necessarily going to work for my kids so I should give them the space to find what will.

Berla’s story was so rooted in realism you could easily walk away from this book and apply some of the character lessons to the world around us in hopes of helping others. ( )

Reviewed for Netgalley. Translation of a book published in Spanish in 2016.
Krista's life is a mess. She lives on the roof of her house and refuses to sleep in her own room because of something that has happened to her family. Her Dr father has a new relationship with his secretary and Krista seems to have only one friend at school due to the tragedy that has occurred. It is Summer two years later, and after shoplifting something from a store in the mall, a boy called Jake comes into her life. But does she deserve happiness? And what of her Grandfather from Venezuela, who has a history Krista's mother was recording before her death? And finally why is it that Krista feels compelled to keep driving to the House at 758?
Interesting if somewhat depressing at times book about families and the terrible things that can change their lives in an instant and the blame games that occur afterwards. I loved the part where Krista takes Chad and Emma ( her Dad's girlfriends' children) to the House and the resulting friendship that develops between Chad and Krista as a result.
The cockatoo part was labouring the regrowth metaphor a bit, but it was still a lovely story and I could easily recommend this to a girl from Year 7 upwards as it was very clean. ( Heck was used instead of Hell).😜
I also liked the part where Krista reminicises about family LORE and how certain stories are kept and elaborated on and retold. And how there are appropriate responses such as laughter to them now, whereas when they were actually happening, that may not have been the case. ( )