After I finished reading this angsty book, I drove to Target and bought a huge bag of Red Vines, and then drove to my boyfriend's UTD dorm room, because I have this memory of going to CiCi's Pizza and while Lauren G., Laura and I were chowing down on spinach Alfredo pizza, Stephen was sitting there eating Red Vines. ANYWAY. So, I sat cross-legged on his bed, ripped open the bag, and ate a Red Vine. Frowning, I ate a few more, and then just gave up and handed the bag to Stephen. What the heck? Why would you ever have a crazy Red Vine fettish when Twizzlers are so much better? Why do Red Vines even exist when there are Twizzlers out there? Red Vines are waxy and pure ick while Twizzlers are nothing but strawberry goodness!
That pretty much sums up how I feel about ths book, it that makes any sense at all. ( )

Clear-eyed and almost deadpan, this tale of how tragedy affects a few teenagers is really involving. The only real problem I had with it is that Carlos and Isabel's alternating chapters spoke in a very similar voice, and I had to depend on context or flip back to the beginning of the chapter to see who was speaking. I think Hernandez captures late adolescence vividly and with a remarkable clarity of vision. Nicely done. ( )

I liked this story but felt it had a lot of loose ends. Major plot points in most of the characters' lives were left incomplete. I suppose you could say that's realistic -- life is full of loose ends -- but it left me frustrated. What ultimately happened to Snake? What happened with Will and his girlfriend? And Vanessa, what happened at her old school that made her leave? You never found out.

Done properly, that kind of ambiguity can be a great literary device, but it's very hard to do and, in my opinion, the author couldn't make it work. Nevertheless this is a good novel with genuine friendships, which I would recommend. ( )

Cross-posted from: http://yaromancereviews.blogspot.com/2009/03/no-more-us-for-you-by-david-hernand... Review:Overall book rating: 3/5Romance rating: 2/5Percentage of book focused on Romance: 40%Chemistry between characters: 2/5Love Triangle: NoThe bases (hotness factor): 1st baseI really struggled with what to make of this book. I enjoyed reading it because it was well-written and it was set in Southern California (where I lived for a few years a while ago). So, the voices rang true to me -- they felt authentic. Early on in the book, I remember saying to myself "Oh, this going to be good". I felt anticipation about the prospect of these two characters meeting. However, as the book went on, I couldn't shake the feeling of "am I missing something?" I really do think that I missed the boat on what the author was trying to convey. The book is written in the alternating perspectives of Carlos and Isabel. They each have so much going on in their lives. Actually, that is one of my complaints about this book. There are like ten different story lines that began but never got explored related to friends, co-workers, and family members of Carlos and Isabel. I didn't understand the point of bring all that up to never find out what happens to these people and their ongoing issues. In any case, when Carlos and Isabel FINALLY meet, their interactions felt very uninspiring and flat. Not much spark. They were each initially attracted to each other and had a connection regarding Red Vines (thus the picture of the book). By the description of this book, you are led to believe that Vanessa plays a significant role in their relationship (if it's even one). She really doesn't. Something happens to her and there is the aftermath of it. We know very little about Vanessa. You get hints regarding her past without explanation. It was hard to feel like you knew her at all -- and if you don't know her -- it's hard to care about her when that something bad happens to her.Okay, I am going to stop picking at what I found wrong with the book. I will say that it is well-written and worth the read for that alone. Lastly, in regards to the romance, the impression I was left with: this is a story about two people that are at the very cusp of starting something. They are at the pivotal point where you proceed and become involved with each other or make a determination that it is not worth it to pursue and move on to something else. Only in the very end do you get a sense of which direction they are headed. ( )

Nice, quick read. The real, gritty, true stories made it compelling. Nice story, but a bit inconclusive sometimes. Spiffy ending! AHS/JD