We Run the Tides (2021)

Author: Vendela Vida

Total Pages: 222

Rating: 2/5 

Review:

We Run The Tides is a coming of age story about female companionship, betrayal, and a mysterious kidnapping set in San Francisco during the mid-1980s. The book is narrated by Eulabee, a young tween, with the affinity to mature as fast as her best friend, Maria Fabiola, who sets a large standard for the rest of her friends. You would think these two girls would be inseparable, but an interesting walk to school says otherwise. Both girls have a huge disagreement which forms a rift from which there can be no saving of their relationship.

So why did I give this a low rating? Here’s my explanation. This book would have had so much more potential for me if I was born in the 1980s. After fully reading the book and researching the background of this novel, I finally understood why I dreaded reading this book. Being a teen right now, there was no way I could relate to what the characters were going through in this book and the cultural norms during the 1980s. From references to popular bands of the 1980s to what was considered the “beauty standard”, I found myself so lost throughout the course of this book. Another thing that I disliked about We Run the Tides was that there was barely a plot. Even though I wasn’t born in the 1980s, it was clear as day that this novel tremendously lacked a plot. In my opinion, it just felt like I was just reading words about a teenager who was complaining about life. When picking a book, I always read the blurb first and reading the blurb of We Run the Tides seemed very promising, but what was promised made a faint appearance in the book.

I hate to bash books like this but from my experience, I really wasn’t fond of this book because I felt as if nothing was addressed (I mean if you’re promising a storyline surrounding a kidnapping, I’m expecting multiple chapters regarding it). I think in the future, I’m definitely going to analyze the time period and setting of the specific novel before indulging in it because I think that’s a major factor that played into me disliking this particular book.

Thank you, Gwenyth! – Mrs. Long