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When all signs point to heartbreak, can love still be a rule of the road? A poignant and romantic novel from the author of Bittersweet and Twenty Boy Summer.Jude has learned a lot from her older sisters, but the most important thing is this: The Vargas brothers are notorious heartbreakers. She’s seen the tears and disasters that dating a Vargas boy can cause, and she swore an oath—with candles and a contract and everything—to never have anything to do with one. Now Jude is the only sister still living at home, and she’s spending the summer helping her ailing father restore his vintage motorcycle—which means hiring a mechanic to help out. Is it Jude’s fault he happens to be cute? And surprisingly sweet? And a Vargas? Jude tells herself it’s strictly bike business with Emilio. Her sisters will never find out, and Jude can spot those flirty little Vargas tricks a mile away—no way would she fall for them. But Jude’s defenses are crumbling, and if history is destined to repeat itself, she’s speeding toward some serious heartbreak…unless her sisters were wrong? Jude may have taken an oath, but she’s beginning to think that when it comes to love, some promises might be worth breaking.
I read this because I thought I would find a great young adult contemporary romance, but I found so much more. I don't think my words will be able to capture just how much I loved this book. Why did I love it so much? This book caused me to FEEL so much emotion. All over the place emotion. I was just as drawn into the emotions of the characters as they were. And even when I finished the book I was still reeling in emotions. I can't stop thinking about this story.Anyone who has known the tragedy that Alzheimer's can be to a family should be able to relate to the dilemma that Jude, the narrator of this story faces. Her father has early onset Alzheimer's, so he is very young to be dealing with the increasingly fast deterioration of his mind that comes with this disease. Jude is only 17, and she is the last of the four Hernandez sisters who are at home, dealing with her father's difficult and sometimes dangerous swings in behavior. When she sees the light seem to return to his mind when talking about his beloved old Harley, Jude heads to a local mechanic to see if she can hire someone to come to their home and help restore it to its vintage glory. The mechanic recommends Emilio Vargas because he has the skill, but because he is barely trained, he can do the job at the price Jude's family can afford. That would be lovely ... except Jude's sisters have all been burned by Emilio's older brothers in the past, so they all took a blood oath to stay away from the rotten Vargas family. Jude was only 12 at the time, but technically she agreed to stand united with her sisters against these Vargas boys and their "black hearts." But after a little time spent with Emilio, Jude starts to find that this Vargas boy might not be so bad after all.This may seem like a typical sort of setup for a young adult contemporary book, but it is not. This is not a light fluffy read. This is a book with depth that really reaches the heart. Jude's struggle to accept and deal with her father's condition was so heartbreaking at times. As a child of a parent who has problems with dementia, I could totally relate. Luckily I didn't have to face this until I was much older than Jude, so seeing her have to make these tough decisions at her age was difficult. I could relate to her tenacious need to hold onto ANYTHING that brought her father joy and clarity of thought. I could understand her fear of seeking out long term care for him. I could also understand how difficult it was for her to finally come to terms with the fact that he was never coming back to her permanently. All of the problems she faces were so true to real life situations, and my heart hurt for her so much. At the same time I rejoiced in those fleeting moments of clarity when Papi came back to her and shared tender moments of wisdom and history. That relationship between Jude and her Papi may have been my favorite part of this book. It was written absolutely beautifully. I loved it.As for Emilio ... I adored him. Weirdly, until the very end of the book we don't really learn much at all about him, other than the fact that he has the unfortunate last name of Vargas. Normally this would bug me in a story because I would feel as if I didn't get a chance to know the guy enough to care about him as a lead character. But in this case, even with a lack of background history I felt like I knew exactly who this boy was. His actions defined his character in every way. I may not have known what tragedy defined him, but I knew that he loved his mother and treated her with respect. I knew that he was kind to Papi even when he acted strange, before he knew what was really going on with him. I knew that he was extremely patient with Jude, giving her time and space to get herself together when things were difficult. I just loved him. He isn't a cardboard character of that perfect boyfriend material. He has flaws and layers to his personality, but he was absolutely the perfect guy for Jude. Reading along as Jude figured this out for herself was pure joy. This was a very well paced relationship.These two families have Hispanic heritage, and I loved the extra flavor that was added to the relationships because of this. The families were strong but flawed. But through all of the struggles, it was obvious that there was tremendous love in these families. I loved each of the family members who were secondary characters in this story. They added a richness to the story and provided an excellent contrast to Jude's personality and feelings.I thought that I would be reading a typical romance where girl meets boy who she was forbidden to love, girl falls in love with boy, conflict ensues, and then there is a happily ever after. What I found was a sweet, sometimes funny, sometimes heartbreaking, often poignant story of a young woman who is clinging to the past, terrified of the future. This is a story of a girl who learns to face a tremendously difficult reality that is her life, all because of the love of a boy who sees her for who she truly is and who she can become. This story will definitely be one of my favorites of this year, maybe of all time. I am already itching to read it again. I need to FEEL it all again. Five huge stars!
