BOOKS

In the new novel Something in Between by Melissa de la Cruz, we meet Jasmine de los Santos, a Filipino-American, college-bound teen in her senior year of high school. Hard working and focused, Jasmine is offered the opportunity of a lifetime: a National Scholar award, something that will give her a full-ride through college. But her happiness is soon cut short when her parents—immigrants from the Philippines—use this as an opportunity to reveal that their visas expired years ago and the family has been living in the country illegally ever since. With her scholarship at risk, college now on the back burner and her entire family at risk of being deported from the US, Jasmine's head begins to spin. She must fight for her right to stay in the country, which is no easy feat for a high-schooler. All the while she must also manage—for once in her life—to just be a regular teen.

Check out the trailer below to get to know the book even better...

Want more Something in Between? Read the excerpt here! Then, check out what real GL girls just like *you* thought after taking the book for a spin...

My thoughts? I absolutely loved it!

I definitely recommend it. The book deals with a serious topic that does face a lot of people in the US, so it made me feel less ignorant to what is going on in some parts of our country. I think that Something In Between is a good way to learn about the topic while also getting hooked on a good book.

In three words: Hopeful, romantic, enjoyable

It made me feel... inspired to work hard so that I can go to a good college and be whatever I want in the future.

I loved her writing style! I thought it was simple, yet complex. It keeps you immersed in the book and makes you feel like you are not reading a story, but seeing real life happen.

My favorite quote: "No one...can define who you are. The only person who can do that is you. Even though you can't control the things that happen to you, you can control your perspective and your actions. There's never a moment you can't choose who you want to be."

I felt a rainbow of emotions. The entire time I was reading, I was upset for Jasmine and her family. They struggled in a way I never will have to. It made me so frustrated that people are actually struggling with these issues, and that I can't change it or make things easier. However, I always shared hope with Jasmine that things would somehow work out for her, and when they did I was filled with joy! Overall, it was motivational, politically relevant and socially aware.

Melissa de la Cruz is amazing. I admire the author for writing about topics that many people are too terrified to even speak of!

My favorite quote: "We experience certain things that change us for a reason. It's not what happens to us that matters, what matters is how we react to it."

In three words: Authentic, surreal, thought-provoking, eye-opening, inspiring

Something In Between is now available from Harlequin at bookstores everywhere and right HERE.

by Sydney Adamson | 9/27/2016