The Fall of Whit Rivera by Crystal Maldonado

e-Audio, 10:12:35
Narrated by: Victoria Villarreal 
Release Date: October 10, 2023
Published by: Books on Tape
Read from: October 16-18, 2023
Stand-alone
Source: PRH Audio App (I received a copy of this audiobook from the Publisher in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)
TW: Medical Content, Fatphobia, Ableism, Body Shaming, Grief, Abandonment, Racism
For Readers Interested In: Body Positivity, info on Acute or chronic disorders like PCOS, Racial/Ethnic Diversity, Own/Authentic Voices, Romance, Family Diversity, Realistic Fiction, LGBTQ, YA

      Could you plan the Fall Formal with your (hot) nemesis? Whit Rivera is about to find out.
     Frenemies Whit and Zay have been at odds for years (ever since he broke up with her in, like, the most embarrassing way imaginable), so when they’re forced to organize the fall formal together, it’s a literal disaster. Sparks fly as Whitney—type-A, passionate, a perfectionist, and a certified sweater-weather fanatic—butts heads with Zay, a dry, relaxed skater boy who takes everything in stride. But not all of those sparks are bad. . . .
     Has their feud been a big misunderstanding all along?
     Blisteringly funny and profoundly well-observed, The Fall of Whit Rivera is a snug and cozy autumn romcom that also tackles weightier topics like PCOS, chronic illness, sexuality, fatphobia, Latine identity, and class. Funny, honest, insightful, romantic, and poignant, it is classic Crystal Maldonado—and it will have her legion of fans absolutely swooning .

*MY THOUGHTS*

Dare I say it, I think this is my favorite Maldonado book…. And yes I mean I liked it even more than Charlie Vega. This one has a relationship, a real chronic illness that I have, its body positive, and so much more. I loved this so much and wish I could read it for the first time all over again.

Ok so the main thing I liked about this book was the realness. I know it’s realistic fiction, but there’s so much representation and feeling in this, it hardly felt like it was a book character at all. Whit Riveria is me and I am her. That’s just how much I related to her. And yes I’m still saying this even with her being a teen. If I had this when I was a teen I think I would have handled my high school years differently. She really felt like someone I would sit down and talk to in real life. And like all her struggles and the way she was worried about certain things, it was uncanny being in her head because they were too close to some of the things that I felt as a teen as well.

As a reader, I said that this year I was going to focus more on reading books that have chronic or acute illness. I was hella excited to read this because this is one I can actually relate to. I have PCOS and was diagnosed with it like years ago. I only caught it because I was trying to get pregnant. I was already on birth control so it was really hard to catch. Yes our journey to finding it was there, but the symptoms, and the worries, and just all the things were so spot on. It was pretty powerful to read about someone else having this and seeing that it is normal. Now y’all know I just turned 35… Imagine reading this when you’re also a teen. I know they’d feel so empowered.

The romance was the cutest thing also. I knew Zay was a goner from the moment he appeared in the story. And he was! The pining! Ugh it was so cute. And the way she was trying to say she didn’t like him? I wanted to shake her lol It was so cute! Hearing what made them stop talking was so sad tho. I was glad they finally got it together. I hate miscommunication, so seeing them being upset over nothing was pretty sad. And like the whole peach thing? I have not laughed that hard in a long time.

The plot itself was fun too. It was more than just Zay and Whit falling for each other. This told the story of Whit learning more about herself and losing a terrible ex in the process. It’s about Whit learning about her illness and how to take care of herself and it. It’s about Whit and the way she is learning that her sister can do way more than she gives her credit for. It’s about Whit and the Fall festival and being as Fall-ish as it could be for her. This book had so much going on, but still somehow not enough. I wish there was more in this book. I was HOOKED.

I also tagged this for family diversity because Whit was raised by her grandmother after her mom abandoned her and her sister. Her grandmother was just as real as Whit. Maldonado HAD to have made these from real people. Because Lordt knows they were way too real. There’s also her autistic sister who Whit has to check herself about at one point. I got where she was coming from because (again) I related to this too. My sister has a disability and it took me a minute for me to realize that like Whit’s sister she has to make her own mistakes. Especially when I don’t know they’re mistakes. Seeing it in the written word like that was a real eye opener because it didn’t feel like that when we were growing up.

My favorite season is summer, but dammnit when there’s dates like apple picking, and Fall Festivals with promposals, hell yeah I’m going to fall for the fall anyway. As someone who lives in a place where we have a summer and a second summer, reading this was all the fall I needed.

Overall, I give this