When I read the premise of this book on Netgalley, I was instantly sold. I didn’t realise that the story was told in verse though. Not that this impacts the story negatively, if anything, it added to the atmosphere of the book.
Twin sisters Elena and Marianella couldn’t be more different. Marianella goes out of her way to actively participate in their Puerto Rican culture, whereas Elena is embarrassed by their traditions. Marianella is also fighting a very private battle with mental illness and takes her own life not long after their fifteenth birthday. As Elena mourns her sister, she tries to live her life without the limitations and rules Marianella set for her. When her life spirals out of control, Elena realizes the depth of her roots and the guilt of not helping her sister before it was too late.
It’s always interesting to read a story in verse, I don’t think I’ve ever read a book like this before. I know that there are quite a few authors who have been doing it over the past couple of years, but for some reason, I’ve never picked one up – up until now. Based on the blurb on NetGalley, I was expecting prose, but no! Like I said before, just because this story wasn’t in prose, it doesn’t mean that it was any less effective in the story that M. Azmitia was telling. I think that telling the story in verse was actually a lot MORE effective because it added impact to the emotions that the characters were feeling.
The Same Blood follows the life of a teenage girl who is struggling with her twin’s suicide. What’s so clever about this book is that M. Azmitia also conveys how the family deals with the death of their daughter as well. Intertwined within this book is the feeling of not being proud of your heritage. The main character – Elena – is embarrassed about being Puerto Rican and does everything in her power to change the way that she looks so that she doesn’t feel like she lesser than everyone else. However, throughout the novel, Elena realises how wrong she had been in her life, and many her actions had harmed her sister, and also how she realised what was going on with her sister but didn’t say anything.
For those of you who have read/watched Thirteen Reasons Why you’re probably thinking that it has a similar message of being wary of how you treat people because of how your actions have consequences. But for those of you who are regular readers of my website, you will know that I HATE Thirteen Reasons Why. The Same Blood has a similar message but goes about sending that message in a much better way.
I don’t know whether it would have been better being told in prose form… I’m not sure… But being told in verse was definitely powerful.
Overall, I’m very glad that I requested this book off of NetGalley, and it was a very quick read. It was a powerful story and one that I recommend everyone reading.
Trigger Warnings: suicide, depression
Disclaimer: this book was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review
