Giorgia Reads's Reviews > Once Perfect

2.5 stars

This started well. I liked the whole bad boy/good girl angle (I'm basic like that) and I especially loved how very normal/real the progression of the MC's relationship was. It was my type of book really.

Until.. well, this will come with some spoilers but Matteo, the male MC's family is very messed up, but that wasn't the issue. The problem was that the author implied over and over that Matteo and his two sisters have to put up with beatings and horrible treatment from their parents just because that is their "culture". They are Cuban. I mean, wait a second, are you telling me that violence within a family and kids "respecting" their parents who do nothing but abuse them is part of the Latin culture?! There is a scene where they are all at a party and Teo's dad starts beating the heck out of Teo and his sisters and no one and I mean no one intervened, because apparently it's their family and Carlos (the abuser dad) has the right to do whatever. Yeah, that whole "it's a culture thing" didn't sit well with me.
If someone wrote a book and a character that shares the same culture as I do, that's cool, but to generalise and imply violence is a "culture" thing.. that's messed up.

I would have liked this book were it not for that issue.