Books I've Read: The Right Side of Reckless

 

This was a quick, easy read, but I have to say, I did not really enjoy it.  

There was a lot of potential - I love a bad boy as you all probably know by now - but I never really thought Guillermo was that bad.  He had far too good a family behind him to go too far off the rails.  In my experience, the really bad kids are the ones whose parents are either absent or just don't give a damn about them.  Kids with engaged parents who will go to wall for them might make dumb mistakes, but they usually learn something from them and can be brought back on track.  Not always, of course, but in general.

The book also suffered from the two narrators repeating the same things over and over in case we readers didn't get it in the first place.  I understood in the very first of Regan's chapters that her boyfriend was pressuring her for sex and she wasn't into it.  I didn't need to have it repeated every time she showed up.  By the third or fourth time I was ready to tell her to just break up with the dude.  She clearly wasn't feeling it.

Both kids suffered from trying to live up to their parents' expectations and that was the one thing that felt real and authentic about this story.  Regan's struggle to tell her father she wasn't interested in being an accountant and her brother's inability to tell him he hated football felt real to a point.  I found it interesting that their mother, who seemed like a very strong and independent woman, never stepped in.

Guillermo's struggle with his parents was more about trying to re-establish the trust he broke when he was arrested.  His entire family made a huge sacrifice to move to another part of town so he got a fresh start.  Guillermo's guilt over this, and his determination to become a better person was admirable.

Although this was pitched as being a kind of forbidden love story, I never felt like Reagan's mother was that scary or that her ultimatum that she and Guillermo not see each other was that strong. 

I feel like this is one of those books that could have been really good, but needed more revising or editing to get it to a point where the execution was as strong as the premise. 

That said, it was cool to see a cast of diverse characters just living their lives without the plot revolving around their identities.  I feel like there are a lot more books about diverse people out there at the moment (which is awesome), but too many of them focus solely on the issues facing them because of their diversity rather than representing them as real, fully formed people with lives to live and dreams to dream.  I certainly don't live my whole life focusing on only one part of my identity and I don't believe anyone else does either.

So while I didn't love this one, there were certainly things to recommend it.  If you read it I'd be interested to hear your thoughts too.

But don't just listen to me.  Here's the blurb:

He’s never met a rule he didn’t break… She’s followed the rules her whole life… When they meet, one golden rule is established: stay away. Sparks fly in this edgy own voices novel, perfect for fans of Sandhya Menon, S. K. Ali, and Kristina Forest.

They were supposed to ignore each other and respect that fine line between them…

Guillermo Lozano is getting a fresh start. New town, new school, and no more reckless behavior. He’s done his time, and now he needs to right his wrongs. But when his work at the local community center throws him into the path of the one girl who is off-limits, friendship sparks…and maybe more.

Regan London needs a fresh perspective. The pressure to stay in her “perfect” relationship and be the good girl all the time has worn her down. But when the walls start to cave in and she finds unexpected understanding from the boy her parents warned about, she can’t ignore her feelings anymore.

The disapproval is instant. Being together might just get Guillermo sent away. But when it comes to the heart, sometimes you have to break the rules and be a little bit reckless…