A story about a chance encounter on the New York Subway where millions and millions of people pass through? Yes I am here for it. Ismee Williams wrote this heart warming YA story that is character driven about Isa and Alex. Isa is Cuban-American and lives in the Upper East Side of Manhattan who is a talented and passionate ballet dancer attending a private school. Isa’s mother is dead set on her pursuing medicine. Our other protagonist is Alex, who is Dominican-American athlete who plays baseball and whose father’s dream is for Alex to go pro, but of course, Alex has other dreams of becoming a poet.
I thought the writing was beautiful, never rushed and the development of their characters and the relationship was Williams writing talent. This was a great YA book that is deep and touched upon very important issues with families and relationships in this day and age.

I enjoyed this one. It's a fun comparison between ballerina and baseball player, along with Latinx representation. The plot was entertaining, and although it wasn't always the main focus, the book also didn't shy away from addressing race issues in the U.S, which I appreciated. I'm not sure I loved all the characters, but all in all enjoyed reading this book.

Trigger Warnings for: mental health discussion and suicidal attempt, gang violence,

What a win for the Latinx community! This was such a good book and it deserves more hype. I will say if you don’t like hard hitting YA contemporary, you won’t like this book. The format in which this book was written gave it an edge, also since it was done over a period of time I grew to really care for these characters. The cover is to DIE for and I can’t wait to have this is my collection.

In many ways, this book is like a more complex version of movies like Save the Last Dance. It has the elements standard to a lot of teen fiction: privileged girl meets underprivileged streetwise boy; privileged teen adjusting to a change in circumstance; initial romance complicated by a series of misunderstandings; even the parent pressured athlete with the soul of a poet. That's a lot o cliche in one book. I have to wonder, though, if Williams is doing this intentionally. Because a lot of these cliches are just masking deeper issues. Isa is seen as a rich white girl, but has Cuban roots and family secrets. Alex is Dominican, his background obvious to even casual observers and the source of constant judgement. They are both somewhat hindered by other peoples perceptions and judgements. We're dealing with a lot of carefully orchestrated masks, hiding issues that feel too big to explain or even deal with. Williams has taken a shallow notion and granted it a surprising amount of depth. As a teen romance it's end result is fairly predictable but the journey is far more engaging than I had expected.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of This Train is Being Held by Ismee Williams.

SPOILER-ISH REVIEW

Isabelle is a successful dancer who is constantly trying to escape the attentions of men. Alex is a successful, well known ball player, who, when out of his uniform, it often profiled for his skin color. Both continue to have happen meetings on the subway that slowly morphs into a romance. But social pressures, racism and stereotypes could possibly stand in their way.

These are important stories. Even in 2020 there are still hardships in not only mixed race relationships, but mixed socioeconomic relationships as well. I felt like there were a lot of elements in the story that hit home well. However, as a parent, there was also a bit about the relationship that made me uncomfortable. I didn't like how volatile some of their behavior was, and I especially didn't like the jealousy or borderline controlling behavior. It happens, but I don't like that it was almost made acceptable, because in my opinion it's not.

Wow. The romance at the center of this book grabbed me from their first interaction and held me completely captivated through to the end. The plot however was a different story. It was a lot harder to connect to because the book takes place over a pretty long period of time and we only really get glimpses of what is going on every few weeks, so while I 100% believed in Alex and Isa's relationship (it reminded me A LOT of being a teen and having random crushes on people I would see on the train), the pacing of the story as a whole left a little to be desired. I did still really enjoy this and definitely recommend checking it out, but I would advise going in prioritizing romance over plot.

A book with so much heart and depth and vulnerability it takes your breath away.

I found myself rooting for these characters from the very beginning. Two kids leading two seemingly different lives but both feeling pulled towards each other in an almost alchemical way.. Isa and Alex are a contemporary Romeo and Juliet, their story is sweet, romantic and harrowing. The way they treat each other, for better or for worse, is so real to how young adults would behave when facing situations like this. Normally, I would find their behavior annoying, but I think that I didn't here because this was so well written. They kept things from each other because they were things that were too big for themselves to carry and couldn't imagine putting that on someone else's shoulder for fear of rejection. Who didn't feel that way when they were 16?

There's a lot covered in this novel, from the light to the deep, racism, female sexuality, mental health, coping mechanisms, the pressure to succeed, racial profiling, gangs, suicide. And while that seems like so much that a book couldn't possibly manage it all, Williams pulled it off in such a refreshing and simple way. She let the issues have full arcs, whether long or short, that treated them with the attention and care they deserved. I'm so impressed, this was definitely not a sophomore slump.

This Train is Being Held is a heartfelt book about love, family, and the secrets we keep. Isa and Alex are both complex, flawed, and sympathetic characters with their own families, dreams, and worries. Isa's passion for ballet and Alex's love for poetry were tangible and instrumental in defining their characters and expressing their sentiments. Their romance is tender but weighed down by the tensions of words unspoken. Through the juxtaposition of these two characters, their families, and their friends, the story explores the insidious effects of racism, colorism, and classism, which create walls between people with privilege and people with less. I enjoyed the loving but complicated relationships Isa and Alex had with their respective families and appreciated that the conflicts between them were ultimately addressed, even if the outcome wasn't ideal in all cases.

Of all the loves I have, New York City and trains are amongst my most enduring. When I heard about This Train Is Being Held by Ismée Williams, a story about chance encounters on the New York subway, I knew I had to read it.

What attracted me the most was the promise of a character-driven story about two Latino teens whose lives couldn't be more different. Living in an exclusive Upper East Side apartment and attending private school, Isa wants nothing more than to be a ballet dancer but her Havana-born mother wants Isa to become a doctor. She certainly doesn't want her blonde-haired, light-skinned daughter dating Latino boys.

Alex is an extremely talented Dominican-American baseball player. His parents have long split up and all his father cares about is Alex going pro. While that would certainly solve his family's financial woes, it isn't what Alex wants to do. He has a secret talent and wants to be a poet.

When Isa and Alex meet on the downtown 1 train, they can't help noticing each other. Isa remembers Alex's green eyes and good manners, while Alex notices Isa's easy rich-kid confidence. Over the course of the next three years, their encounters increase until they are irrevocably drawn into each other's lives.

Wait, what? Three years? This Train Is Being Held is a massive slow-burn of a book. There were so many times that I almost gave up on this novel because it moves very slowly - exactly as you'd imagine chance encounters on a train to move - and for the longest time it just felt like a romance but it is so much more.

This Train Is Being Held by Ismée Williams | Superior Young Adult Fiction | Book Review For the patient ones who stick with this book, and I do recommend that you do, there is the reward of an incredibly rich tapestry of themes. Alex's story focuses on racism, the prejudice he encounters because of his dark skin and the ever-present scourge of gangs. He dreams of being better, achieving at sport and becoming something but he wants to become something else too, a writer and a dreamer.

Isa has a rich, spoiled and privileged background but she wants to be a dancer and sticks to that dream despite the extremely challenging events in the book and the devastating impact of bipolar disorder on her family.

The hardest thing about This Train Is Being Held was how much Isa and Alex pushed each other away to deal with stuff that should have been shared. It was also very realistic and indicative of life in the digital age. It is so easy to ghost and block people when living in a city of millions of people but sometimes you need to let people in.

Ultimately, I loved so much about This Train Is Being Held. I loved the New York setting and want to go back so badly now. The fact that most of the story took place on trains also made the trainspotter in me extremely happy.

I tore through those last pages, holding my breath with my heart pounding out of my chest. Despite initially moving slower than a train at a red-signal, I give This Train Is Being Held an excellent four out of five stars and recommend to readers seeking diverse voices and explorations of themes such as mental illness and racism.

A modern romance inspired by West Side Story, This Train is Being Held is full of beauty and heartache, touching on young love, mental health, and racism. Isabelle and Alex meet on a subway train in NYC, and so begins the saga of their love story against all odds, often featuring the subway.

Isa is a white-passing Cuban-American ballet dancer who attends a private school and dreams of being a professional dancer while her mother pushes her toward medicine. Her family life is complicated with both her mom and older brother being diagnosed as bipolar, and a mom who has racist tendencies toward anyone with darker skin.

Alex is a Dominican boy and talented baseball player, pushed by his over-zealous father to focus all his attention on the sport. He is very aware of his brown skin and regularly experiences micro-aggressions and has had negative experiences with the police. One of his friends is slipping into gang activity and he doesn't know how to help.

Isa and Alex fall hard and fast for each, but their lives are complicated and both of them are hiding significant struggles from each other. They have a very sweet relationship, with Alex hiding poetry under train seats for Isa to find, but I was very frustrated with their lack of communication. The author is definitely self-aware about this and there is an arc of growth late in the book, but and a former oversharer, I had a difficult time relating. I can't imagine falling in love and not sharing such critical information as Isa and Alex hide. That said, there is a lot to love here.

We get a rich and nuanced portrayal of mental health, racism, and Latinx culture. The author is Cuban-American and there is a great deal of Spanish woven into the text. Non-speakers might be frustrated with the lack of translation, but I thought it was beautiful and well-done. I didn't go in expecting this to hit on such serious issues. While it is a romance, it also has elements of a hard-hitting contemporary, so do check content/trigger warnings if you need them. Ultimately, I really enjoyed this book and thought the author did a great job of weaving so much in. I would check it out! I received an advance copy of this book for review via NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

CW include racist language and microagressions, police violence, attempted suicide, depictions of bipolar, borderline emotional child abuse

4.5 stars

Trigger warning: One of the side characters does attempt suicide, gang violence is also present.

This Train Is Being Held is told in dual perspectives of Isa a dancer and Alex a baseball player. Both have very different lives, passions, and responsibilities yet they see each other often on the train going to and from there after school activities.
While seeing each other every so often they decided to finally talk to one another and over time gain friendship and then a relationship.
We get to see both of their lives and how they live and their families and while they both are very different you can still feel the love in both of there families and how they just want the best for Isa and Alex and for them to excel and become successful adults.
On the opposite side though we have one of them being pushed towards their activity becoming the only thing they do, and the other is being pushed to give up the activity to focus on becoming a doctor.

Overall I loved this book. It covers so many different things in a realistic way that has you feeling all the feels for the characters and rooting for them to succeded. One of the things that stuck out to me throughout this story is even though the two didn't get to see each other very often they still cared and made the most of the time they did have together. In so many young adult novels the love aspect of the story becomes the main focus and everything else gets thrown aside, while in this story it was very present, but the characters were still focused on themselves. Family, and friendships, and passions were also a priority and the main focus of the characters.
Another part of this story I enjoyed was how the divide between things was present and addressed. It was very realistic and showed how you don't always realize things are happening to those you love until you talk about it.
We also get to see mental health from a family member's perspective and how it affects them while also seeing how it affects the person with the illness.
I'm looking forward to reading more by this author in the future.

Wow, what a great read! I really enjoyed the concept of the story, following Isa and Alex as they encounter each other multiple times on the subway and form a relationship over the course of two years. The characters were well written and the pacing was great. Isa frustrated me a bit because she didn't know how to let anyone in and kept things from Alex and her family. It's hard to watch someone make choices that hurt themselves and others, I just wanted to jump in and help her. Alex is a great guy and I love that he helped anyone who needed it. His relationship with his little brother Robi was adorable.
This has so much emotion and I loved the Latinx representation! The friendships were great and I loved seeing people support others. The poetry was sweet and heartwarming and I'm excited for this to come out so everybody can check it out!

Thanks to NetGalley and Amulet Books for this ARC!

A cute story, but a really overused plot. which makes it hard to think of new twists. It was a nice read with strong characters,

⭐️⭐️ 2 stars
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Thank you NetGally and Amulet Books for giving me a free copy for an honest review. Release date - February 11th 2020
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I think it’s time for me to officially break up with “hard hitting” YA Contemporaries. My patience has dwindled to nothing, and find myself frustrated more often than not.
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I love the concept of this book - two teens from different worlds meeting on a train that is heading in opposite directions, somehow finding love with each other. It sounds like the fluffy love story we all need in our lives. Unfortunately, this book bit off more than it could chew.
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How can a book less than 350 pages accurately depict important subjects like depression, gang violence, interracial relationships, suicidal behavior and dysfunctional families - just to name a few. These (and more) are all important topics that deserve a well rounded exploration, and not just a passing glance. I appreciate what the author was trying to do, but it needed to be handled with more grace. (Also, the romance annoyed me... a lot😑)
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If YA contemporaries are you jam, please pick this one up. You might get more out of it than I could. Do look into the TW if you are sensitive to certain topics.
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I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't love this book. I couldn't follow the story and it really just felt unfinished. I usually love books with alternating perspectives, but this was lacking. I didn't enjoy it at all.

It was challenging for me to read this manuscript primarily because of the poor formatting in the PDF file, but more importantly, because I wasn't able to connect with the characters.

I found my desire to read this waning when I realized that the story incorporated some tired negative stereotypes about Latinx folx. I also felt that the way Spanish was "incorporated" into the story felt forced and inauthentic. The words themselves were technically correct, but the flow of the sentences didn't mimic any kind of speech patterns I've ever heard within my Latinx community.

All in all, this story gets a passing grade, but it didn't have any kind of profound impact on me. It's unfortunate that I wasn't able to forge a strong connection with the text, but I'm glad I gave it a try anyway.

I really really wanted to like this one, the story sounds emotional and heartfelt, but I just couldn’t get into the writing, and therefore it is yet another DNF this month.

Almost immediately there was a situation in the first chapter where main character Isabelle is on the train on her way to a dance audition and gets leered at creepily by a man. When other main character Alex takes notice, he stands in front of her to block the creepy guy’s view. That seemed nice, but then when Isabelle thanks him, she says she probably deserved to be leered at based on the clothing she was wearing. Uhm…what? No. No no no no no. Alex then tells her she should wear whatever she wants. To me this was seemingly innocent upon first reading, because yeah, she should wear whatever she wants and not have to worry about getting weird and unwanted attention from doing so. But then I thought about it and just felt like it was a situation used for Alex to be coined at the “Good Guy” who solves all of her problems for her, and I wasn’t really into that.

The book is told in alternating first person POVs from Isabelle and Alex, and while their two voices are very distinct, I couldn’t get into the story or the writing or the tropes.

I’m sure this will work for someone, but I had to put it down.

*Thank you to Amulet Books and Netgalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review. *

While rushing to ballet audition, a kind stranger, Alex, held the train door for Isa. Over the next few months, they continued to cross paths on this train line, which led to friendship and more.

• Pro: The premise was fantastic! In a city of more than 8.6 million, these two kept bumping into each other. The universe was definitely trying to tell them something! I found it all terribly romantic, and also, so New York.

• Pro: The romance developed over quite a long period of time. There were gaps between each train encounter, and I liked having that time to get to know Alex and Isa separately before getting to know them as a couple.

• Pro/Con: My heart went out to Isa. She was dealing with a LOT of upheaval in her life, but I HATED the way she dealt with it, and I also HATED the way it affected Alex. Those were a few dark chapters for me, but...

• Pro: I adored Alex. He made a few choices I was not super happy about, however, I was such a fan of him as friend, a big brother, and a son. He was often quite sweet, and there were many times I swooned as he interacted with Isa. I loved that he was a jock and a poet, and I was really proud of some of the big decisions he made during this story.

• Pro: I WAS a fan of this romance. Despite Alex and Isa being from "two different New Yorks", they were beautiful together.

• Pro: Because I spent such a long period of time with this couple, their family, and their friends, I really grew to care about them all. The stupendous ending Williams wrote set my mind at ease about their futures, and I was happy she wrapped up so many of the characters' storylines.

Overall: An emotional and heartfelt train ride, which I really enjoyed.

A very enjoyable read that gives a personal perspective on what it's like to be the odd one out in a diverse city and the prejudices that come with it. I really love the atmosphere of this read. The various settings around New York City paint a really nice picture and felt very immersive. I also love the characters and their struggles. They're very relatable and gave a very distinct view of what it's like to be in their shoes. Overall, really enjoyed this one.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review. The premise of this book is enjoyable but at times the writing did seem a little flat.