Source: From HarperTeen in exchange for an honest review. This in no way alters my opinion or review.
Breakup from Hell by Ann Dávila Cardinal Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: January 3, 2023
Format: Ebook
Rating: 
Goodreads Synopsis: Miguela Angeles is tired. Tired of her abuela keeping secrets, especially about her heritage. Tired of her small Vermont town and hanging out at the same places with the same friends she’s known forever. So when another boring Sunday trip to church turns into a run-in with Sam, a mysterious hottie in town on vacation, Mica seizes the opportunity to get closer to him.
It’s not long before she is under Sam’s spell and doing things she’s never done before, like winning all her martial arts sparring matches—and lying to her favorite people. The more time Mica spends with Sam, the more weird things start to happen, too. Like terrifying-visions-of-the-world-ending weird.
Mica’s gut instincts keep telling her something is off, yet Sam is the most exciting guy she’s ever met. But when Mica discovers his family’s roots, she realizes that instead of being in the typical high school relationship, she’s living in a horror novel.
She has to leave Sam, but will ending their relationship also bring an end to everything she knows and everyone she loves?
Clever, hilarious, and steeped in supernatural suspense, Breakup From Hell will keep you hooked until the last page.
Review: This synopsis sounds so interesting, but the more I dwell on this book after reading it, the more problematic it feels to me... sadly, because I really wanted to love it.
Mica lives in small town Vermont with her grandmother. She feels like she is suck here and that her grandmother is super protective of her. When a new guy comes to town and shows interest in her, she is immediately drawn to him, but weird things are happening and she thinks he is connected.
I am not religious but this book and the knowledge that I do have were enough to understand this book and the plot which get pretty religious once the plot gets going. That being said, while religious, it also has a pagan character too ... which was an interesting addition.
Anywho - Mica is a determined teen and looking for more and Sam might be able to give her that so she falls fast but soon regrets it. Her insta-love is quickly turned to hatred as she learns that Sam is using her and then all Hell breaks loose literally.The overall pace of the love story, discovery, and then the action were pretty quick. This is a stand-alone and it was paced accordingly, but some things felt rushed. The ending to me seemed to wrap up very quickly. The cast of characters were interesting, Mica and her friends and Sam and his 'friends/family'. They all had parts to play and I think the author did a good job distinguishing all of them, but those descriptors were all over the place, we have the pagan, anti gun friend, the pro-gun, redneck, gay friend, one is vegan, one is Latino... there were a lot of diverse groups involved. So I guess this could appeal to most audiences.
That all being said, there were a few things that I found to be a bit off. It might be because I have spent the better of 10 years in Vermont (I only recently moved to the NH side), but it might also be that it is actually weird. So Vermont is one of the least religious states in the U.S., so the fact that there is a prominent church-going community is a bit shocking to me, not saying that they don't exist, just that it is rare in VT. Additionally, I loved that Mica is Puerto Rican, the diversity of main characters is great, however again, in Vermont it is rare... only about 2% of all the population of Vermont is Hispanic/Latino and they are mostly in the bigger cities.. not Stowe, VT. I just felt like the author was forcing this plot into this setting in a way that didn't work for me.
Then later in the book there is a quote about one of the characters being gay, he is "queer redneck" with a black boyfriend and they've "blown about a dozen New England stereotypes" ... this didn't feel right to me. New England, especially Vermont, are very open to the queer comminuty and I am not sure that a "queer redneck" would blow up the stereotypes here... I appreciate the representation, let me make that clear, but how the characters were written about made me feel icky. It felt like filler just to be inclusive.
So, overall, not the best book for me. Too much insta-love, a sketchy guy, diverse characters, but their diversity seems like filler, a too-fast wrap up and I just wanted more. Positive - it was a stand alone and I need more of those.
