Aisha Y., Monarch Global Academy
Like a Love Song by Gabriela Martins follows the main character, Natalie, as she ventures through ample amounts of heartbreak, superficialness, and desperation. It utilizes the stereotypical “PR Relationship” trope.
I have a bone to pick with this book. Though it’s marketed as a “Young Adult book”, it doesn’t seem like it’s for young adults. The book has a strong disconnection from reality, but the main problem is that it’s not a fantasy and takes place in a world just like ours. Applications like Instagram and Twitter still exist along with the sayings that people like to brandish as “Gen Z slang”. Overall, the character’s lexicons are unrelatable and seem fake. That is what makes some of the characters so unlikeable. They make you cringe.
It’s like a young adult book made for people who are entering their late thirties. It just isn’t relatable for young audiences and seems like it’s written based on an outside perspective of how young people act. Although those criticisms are evident in the story, it isn’t entirely unenjoyable. There are still parts of the book that make you want to keep on reading, as it is somewhat interesting. It’s just that the book is somewhat difficult to read without closing it and asking yourself, “What did I just read?”.
Like a Love Song doesn’t really seem like it would fit all young audiences, but I find it very plausible that a young person will enjoy it. It’s a romance story, so if you’re like me and enjoy the sappy stuff, I think you will find the book tolerable.
Click here to check out Like a Love Song by Gabriela Martins.