#FilipinoFriday [2]
Una & Miguel
- Lilledeshan Bose
- Lilledeshan Bose
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A couple of months ago, I received an advanced Valentines' Day gift from a friend (shoutout to my fab bookish friend, @WalkinLibrary!) It was a book he's been recommending to me because he knows how much I support locally published works (and he said that the lead character reminds him of me lol) Since it fits the theme of the annual celebration (and it was a gift for that event), I decided to spend Valentines reading this beauty :)
So today, although it seems waaaay overdue, I'm sharing my thoughts about my Feb. 14 read: Lilledeshan Bose's Una & Miguel :)
Una and Miguel are total opposites! He’s the village heartthrob, part of the good-looking “in” crowd while Una is popular for the wrong reasons. She writes songs, plays the harmonica, wears a hemp anklet, and has equally eccentric friends–not all the type of girl Miguel and his friends go for. They call her and her friends outcasts.
For these two, love is truly a long shot. But when they’re forced to work together as punishment for a prank-gone-wrong, they find that falling in love might not be so impossible at all. Will opposites attract? Or will they repel?
For these two, love is truly a long shot. But when they’re forced to work together as punishment for a prank-gone-wrong, they find that falling in love might not be so impossible at all. Will opposites attract? Or will they repel?
UNA GARCIA IS ME.
Well, a little bit. I do agree with my friend that Una reflects some of my key features (physically and some of my hyper-isms and quirks that made me go "omg that is so me!" lol) but that doesn't mean that I automatically like her because much as she is adorable, I can't see myself agreeing with most of the choices that she has made. Same goes for her love interest, Miguel who I consider as an "extreme character." The feelings I felt for him were not in the average. It's either I like him a lot (when he is truly being himself) or I hate him a lot (when he is a hands-down douche. I mean, seriously *spoiler* kissing a girl and then saying "we're friends" right after? NOPE. *end of spoiler*) No in betweens, really. Also, I think that both of them acted differently than their age.
However, the pick-uppers in the character department were surprisingly the secondary characters. They were all very distinct (and yay for diversity and weirdness!) which allowed me to enjoy the story more even though there was a bit of struggle with the leads. I especially Gracie and Choke and the fact that they were always looking out for Una (D'Awww) and plus points because even though I don't really know why, Choke kinda reminded me of iZOMBiE's Ravi haha!
Another side-character that I enjoyed was Tonnie. Although I didn't like her much at first, eventually she proved herself different from the stereotypes I initially associated with her. Yay for redemption!
Speaking of defying stereotypes, plot-wise, I appreciated how this book made use of unique circumstances to prod the story on. Una and Miguel's meet-cute was DEFINITELY cute although I found it a little bit unbelievable at some aspects (for me anyway). Meanwhile, the "grand gesture" at the end was cool but I wish that it could have been fleshed out more. Same goes with the actual ending which felt abrupt. I wanted more dialogue and more heart especially because the concept of "forgiveness" was easily dealt with. Lilledeshan Bose made use more of "telling" more than "showing" so I could say that her writing still didn't fit me.
Overall, I really did enjoy this one. Despite not really full-on liking Una, it was fun being able to relate to her in some levels (obsessive listmaking? Liking blue? Glasses and braids? Into films? Not much into makeup? A plethora of useless knowledge? Hemp anklets? Me.) It was a fast read (I finished within exactly 2 hours!) and as swoony as I was promised it would be. I just think that my younger self would have enjoyed this more than I have.
Well, a little bit. I do agree with my friend that Una reflects some of my key features (physically and some of my hyper-isms and quirks that made me go "omg that is so me!" lol) but that doesn't mean that I automatically like her because much as she is adorable, I can't see myself agreeing with most of the choices that she has made. Same goes for her love interest, Miguel who I consider as an "extreme character." The feelings I felt for him were not in the average. It's either I like him a lot (when he is truly being himself) or I hate him a lot (when he is a hands-down douche. I mean, seriously *spoiler* kissing a girl and then saying "we're friends" right after? NOPE. *end of spoiler*) No in betweens, really. Also, I think that both of them acted differently than their age.
However, the pick-uppers in the character department were surprisingly the secondary characters. They were all very distinct (and yay for diversity and weirdness!) which allowed me to enjoy the story more even though there was a bit of struggle with the leads. I especially Gracie and Choke and the fact that they were always looking out for Una (D'Awww) and plus points because even though I don't really know why, Choke kinda reminded me of iZOMBiE's Ravi haha!
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| RAVIIIIII! <3 |
Another side-character that I enjoyed was Tonnie. Although I didn't like her much at first, eventually she proved herself different from the stereotypes I initially associated with her. Yay for redemption!
Speaking of defying stereotypes, plot-wise, I appreciated how this book made use of unique circumstances to prod the story on. Una and Miguel's meet-cute was DEFINITELY cute although I found it a little bit unbelievable at some aspects (for me anyway). Meanwhile, the "grand gesture" at the end was cool but I wish that it could have been fleshed out more. Same goes with the actual ending which felt abrupt. I wanted more dialogue and more heart especially because the concept of "forgiveness" was easily dealt with. Lilledeshan Bose made use more of "telling" more than "showing" so I could say that her writing still didn't fit me.
Overall, I really did enjoy this one. Despite not really full-on liking Una, it was fun being able to relate to her in some levels (obsessive listmaking? Liking blue? Glasses and braids? Into films? Not much into makeup? A plethora of useless knowledge? Hemp anklets? Me.) It was a fast read (I finished within exactly 2 hours!) and as swoony as I was promised it would be. I just think that my younger self would have enjoyed this more than I have.
"Because Best Friends should know you so well that they can tell you things you should do when you don't have the will power to do it yourself. Like, keep away from guys who are bad for you." -Una
"If there's anything I learned in the past months, it's that I don't think there's a way for you to compare girl (...) And liking a girl, in the end, like choosing your favorite fruit, is all just a matter of preferences." -Miguel
"But some people, if they're weak (like Miguel) can love other people and then when it's over make themselves believe that they never did, because it's easier that way. " -Una
"I'm sure I can do that too - play down this intense stabbing pain in my chest (...) I could probably live my life like I never threw my emotions around for other people to access." -Una
I'm on the fence in rating this one because despite my major issues with some parts of the book, I can still say that I enjoyed reading it fairly enough. I liked the use of "uniqueness" and as a fan of weird /quirky/out-of-the-ordinary stuff, the characters and scenes in Una & Miguel definitely fits the description.
Three out of five rating for Lilledeshan Bose's Una & Miguel!
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| 3/5 Rating! :) |
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