This was better than I expected it to be. It follows a young girl that is very studious and looking to have a very successful career only to find that she is an illegal immigrant and applying for college could cause her family to be deported. She starts an unlikely romance with a senator son who is against illegal immigration.
The romance was really sweet, great friendships and covers the major topic of immigration and deportation.

Already reviewed and feedback sent ages ago. Not sure why these are duplicating. But please find review content at my archived blog www.behindonbooks.wordpress.com

- Thanks! Sorry this is a little haphazard. Just trying to clear my Shelf here. :)

Cruz draws heavily on her own experiences, family history and personal situation for this story. It gives it an element of legitimacy and the reader may feel more empathy towards the characters.

Jasmine is a hard-working law-abiding young woman, who is on the academic path towards success, It seems as if she has it all when she literally achieves the academic equivalent of a cherry on top of the cake.

She expects joy, pride and excitement, but instead her parents are concerned and apprehensive. Then they burst Jasmine’s bubble of perfection. In one fell swoop her life is destroyed and her clear path towards college and career have now suddenly become unobtainable.

As an illegal she belongs nowhere. Legally she technically doesn’t even exist in the country she grew up in. She has no rights and no real status. Adieu to her scholarship, her college plans and her happily ever after.

One thing that Cruz explains really well is the general attitude towards illegal immigrants. In fact just the general demeanour towards immigrants, refugees and illegals has become a hot topic in many countries in the last decade. Jasmine feels as if her peers will think she is a criminal, a filthy person and someone they don’t want to associate with.

Many people find themselves in similar situations to the de los Santos family. Victims of simple mistakes, bureaucracy, circumstance and often just the fear of the inevitable. Men and women with jobs, homes and children in school. The people next door or across the street.

The courts treat them with contempt and are completely disinterested in the personal tales of these people. No one is interested in the fact they are contributing members of society or could be beneficial to the country. They become numbers, statistics and afterthoughts.

Something in Between mixes important political and socio-economic issues, whilst keeping the general vibe of a young adult book. It is a story that can happen to anyone. People who want to better themselves and their children’s lives. They want to give them every opportunity to succeed in life, especially if it isn’t possible in their own country. Can anyone really fault them for trying?

I've been a fan of de la Cruz's for years, ever since I discovered the Blue Bloods series years ago. She's pretty much YA royalty, so I had high hopes that this would be just as good.

The premise of this book was what sparked my interest; it gave me the sense that this book would have more depth than the contemporaries consumed by romance that I love but needed a break from. I am all for reading a book about someone other than a white, blonde, all-American, and this felt like the refreshment I craved.

The publication of this date feels very aptly timed, considering the mess surrounding the citizens of both the UK and the US right now, and I felt that this book truly gave a platform to the majority of young immigrants or their descendants. Jasmine is a typical over-achiever, striving for the American Dream, while having to fight for her right to stay in the only country she has ever truly called home.

This book managed to deal with such a taboo subject as undocumented immigrants while portraying Jasmine and her family as human beings rather than as part of a problem.

I enjoyed the romance in this book, but Something In Between is about so much more than that. I appreciated the fact that Jasmine and Royce's relationship is not only definitely not perfect, but that it's only a part of Jasmine's story, instead of it pushing all her real issues aside.

I really recommend this book, especially at the moment with the way things are going. Something In Between sheds light on the multiple generations affected by pursuing the American Dream and striving for better things.

This book was fantastic. The characters were relatable and the plot was gripping. I could hardly put the book down! I would recommend this book to readers of YA novels.

Review: Something In Between
I received a copy from Netgalley.

This was an interesting book, as it dealt with a tough issue, but I can’t say I actually liked the main character much at all. This book is about a Filipino girl Jasmine, who has spent most of her life in America, she’s captain of her cheerleading squad, incredibly smart and when she wins a very prestigious award that comes with a college scholarship, she’s thrilled to pieces, only to discover to her horror when her parents make a shock confession – they don’t have green cards, they are undocumented.

I can’t even begin to imagine what that must feel like. Jasmine’s whole world is thrown into total chaos, there’s an immigrant reform bill going on as well that would be helpful, but it’s not doing so well. On top of that Jasmine meets a handsome boy Royce, who just happens to be the son of a very powerful Senator who’s supposedly big on anti-immigration.

With the deadline for college applications coming up, getting her cheerleading squad to Nationals, a new budding relationship, Jasmine doesn’t seem to know which way is up and which way is down. Her family are very close, which was nice to see, though her dad is a bit on the strict side. They banded together to deal with the problems. There was a really good family dynamic, which was believable, Jasmine had two annoying little brothers who at the start of the book were loud irritating and got in the way, but the way the novel was written made them likeable (if annoying) characters. The parents had nicely formed personalities as well.

Jasmine herself, I didn’t actually like much after all. She was supposed to be one of these really nice, smart and popular types, but I found her pushy and condescending. I certainly empathised with her struggles as the novel progressed. I read the first hundred pages or so, then the second time I picked it up I finished it in an afternoon, I couldn’t put it down. Naturally she’s struggling with her family situation, and it’s worrying her to no end – are they going to be deported?

They find out what options are open to them, and decide which route to go down.

Then there’s Royce, the rich boy she falls madly in love with. Royce at first appears to be your typical senator’s son – rich and charming, but turns out to be a total sweetheart. He was lovely, very considerate and nice and not at all what you tend to expect from the very wealthy background he comes from.

The class divide between him and Jasmine seems to be a big issue as the relationship progresses throughout the book. Royce claims he’s not affected by it. She’s the one with the issue. She makes big deals out of little things and whines a fair amount. Yes she’s struggling with something gut wrenching, but she’s not the only character with problems in the novel. Royce is offering her help but she’s too stubborn to take it.

It was certainly an interesting read, if kind of predictable in the plot. Jasmine wasn’t my favourite character, but I definitely would recommend this for a good read about a tough issue. I did purchase a finished paperback copy.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin (UK) Limited for approving my request to view the title.

Jasmine de los Santos is a teen girl who works really hard to be the best student and cheerleader she can be. This results for her in winning a National Scholarship as she is just the most outstanding student in her high school. The prize includes a trip to Washington D.C. where she will meet the president. But when she tells her parents the great news, they react anything but happy. They confess to her that there is a problem. A very big problem which has influence on the whole family; Jasmine and her family are from the Philippines. Their work visa's have expired years ago and now this is causing trouble. Her entire family is illegal in the USA, and it results that she her mom is losing her job as a hospital nurse and Jasmine can't accept the scholarship, can't go to college and the family is facing possible deportation back to the Philippines.

When her mom still worked at the hospital, Jasmine would go with her sometimes to talk with patients to document their life stories, where she met a very special lady named Millie, who she sadly also had to say farewell too. And, it is where she met cute guy Royce Blakely, and they start texting. All goes well, untill Jasmine finds out that Royce is the son of a congressman who is anti-immigrants and is constantly in the media with this topic, and Jasmine tries to hide her family situation from him until it's no longer possible to hide. The situation for her family becomes more serious after the court hearing when their attorney isn't very helfpul and their case is rejected. Jasmine feels helpless and out of place. She isn't American which she assumed she was since she was born, but she isn't a real Fillipina also because she has never been to the Philippines. She feel like s he doesn't belong anywhere. The situation get's so out of hand that the family almost loses their house, but then help from a very unexpected direction arrives..

I have wanted to read this book since I saw the cover somewhere. I hadn't read the synopis that much, but I am glad I didn't after I have read it now. The book is so different then I expected it to be, and I mean that as a compliment, because this story is so beautiful and amazing, I was just completely blown away by it!! Many of my high school friends, where immigrants. Altough in my country the situation is different than in the USA, I never expected the immigrant status to be so complex. That someone maybe has to wait 30 years to become a legal USA citizen. The author used her own experiences for the character and story of Jasmine, which she explaines in the afterword you can find in the book.

I really liked Jasmine, she stayed positive altough the hardships, difficulties and uncertain future her family is facing. What also was amazing that she met Royce, and how she opened up about it to him, as Royce was just so nice, understanding, and totally different then the political opinion of his father. He only want's to be there for Jasmine and help her in every way he can, even when his bad brother Mason almost destroys it for him and his family. Royce is just the picture perfect boyfriend for Jasmine, he really has a heart if gold at the right place. And it is because of him that the story of Jasmine has the most amazing ending where everything falls to place and they face sunny future at Stanford together.

Something in Between is a beautifully written book, it really touches a serious topic that is harsh reality for many immigrants. Altough Jasmine's family has good intentions and all work very hard, it was really hard for them to get help for their case. This book paints a very realistic picture how this can influence the live of a teen immigrant. It's another outstanding book by author Melissa De La Cruz who also touches this topic in her book Fresh Off The Boat, also about a Fillipino family in the USA. I highly recommend reading this outstanding and moving YA book!!!

This is my favourite book that I read in 2016 and I put a blog review of it up on my blog here- http://www.isthisreallife.co.uk/2016/12/book-review-something-in-between.html

Something In Between – Melissa De La Cruz

Totally guilty of judging a book by its cover with this one – I only wanted to read it because I liked how pretty it looked!

It feels like there’s no ground beneath me, like everything I’ve ever done has been a lie. Like I’m breaking apart, shattering. Who am I? Where do I belong?

Jasmine de los Santos has always done what’s expected of her. Pretty and popular, she’s studied hard, made her Filipino immigrant parents proud and is ready to reap the rewards in the form of a full college scholarship.

And then everything shatters. A national scholar award invitation compels her parents to reveal the truth: their visas expired years ago. Her entire family is illegal. That means no scholarships, maybe no college at all and the very real threat of deportation.

For the first time, Jasmine rebels, trying all those teen things she never had time for in the past. Even as she’s trying to make sense of her new world, it’s turned upside down by Royce Blakely, the charming son of a high-ranking congressman. Jasmine no longer has any idea where—or if—she fits into the American Dream. All she knows is that she’s not giving up. Because when the rules you lived by no longer apply, the only thing to do is make up your own.

So did the book live up to its cover? Yes AND no. This book tackles the issue of immigration within the United States, a topic that I feel is very prominent in todays society so a very worthy feature. Imagine spending your whole life believing you were living in a county legally and having numerous dreams and aspirations about your future… only to find out you’re not legal and therefore aren’t entitled to fulfil any of those dreams. I, myself, could not imagine what that would ever feel like, anything that I’ve ever wanted to achieve has always been within reach and achievable, so much so that its very, very easy to forget that for some people that is not the case. This book serves its purpose of educating the reader and provoking thought and conversation surrounding this very important topic.

My biggest criticism of this book was the characters talked/acted in a way that was a lot younger than their portrayed ages. You would think they were young teenagers but they were actually meant to be around eighteen. I found this frustrating at times as it made it harder to fully engage and believe in the story. I would also say the story was a little predictable – I had the outcome guessed after the first couple of chapters. That’s not completely a bad thing but I would have much preferred it if it managed to keep me guessing for a little longer.

Royce, Jasmines love interest, was perfect. I believe the author was very successful at creating a character that would be impossible NOT to love. If anything, I am now going to find it harder to ever get myself in a relationship because I want someone to be exactly like Royce. Thanks for that, when I’m old and lonely I’ll have this very book to blame for my unrealistic expectations of the male species!

I’m a little on the shelf about this one, it was a pretty long read and at times I found it slow, but ultimately it tackled a very important issue that more young adults should be aware of in todays society.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

★★★1/2