Historically Inaccurate by Shay Bravo hit different—especially right now, when so many folks in this country are out here trying to erase or rewrite history instead of facing it. This story is about a girl navigating identity, truth, and the weight of what it means to belong—and it couldn't be more relevant.

The main character’s journey felt so real. She’s caught between keeping her head down and speaking up, all while dealing with immigration struggles, cultural pressure, and the constant push to just fit in. The story doesn’t shy away from the mess or the fear—and I loved that. It also shows how complicated it can be to learn about history when the version you're being taught doesn't even tell the whole truth.

I’m giving it 4 stars because while it’s marketed as YA, the themes are powerful and grown-folks relevant. There were a few spots where the pacing felt a little uneven, but overall it’s a meaningful, timely read that deserves to be in classrooms, libraries, and conversations.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Great concept, but it misses big time. There is no sadness, no longing, and even though the main character is a marginalized person, she disregards other people's experiences. It's bland, and it feels like the protagonist is more like a supporting character because she had nothing to do with the main "mystery" of the tale. If that had been left out, I feel like the story would have had a true main character.

I LOOVEEE this book ! I was really surprised on how much I identify myself while reading this and I cried so much.. I really love it. add this to your tbr now

This is a pretty nice book. The writing style is absolutely amazing. Therefore, I was able to read the whole book within a day.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for sending me a copy of this book! I really love this cover. This book was a quick read that I really enjoyed. I definitely would love to read more by Shay!

I think too much time passed and I am such a mood reader. The mood has yet to strike to read this one so I don’t have feedback.

I was interested in the story when I requested an eARC. However, it was, unfortunately, not to my liking. The story did not have anything special to it and it did not feel real enough to evoke emotions. I had a hard time getting through the book because of this.

I really wanted to love this more but overall I think it was closer to a miss. I think it talks about a lot of important topics relating to immigration and I loved that the Mexican culture was so present, but side from this... Everyone else felt really bland. I was very disappointed at the use of misgendering as the way to express transness and I noticed after that that blackness was also usually confirmed via society's racism. There are so many other beautiful and affirming ways to talk about people's cultures so that was a big miss. Also, I felt like I had to really suspend judgement in terms of the plot and I'm general, the story progressed very slowly.

I had a hard time getting through this book, although I don’t think it is bad, it just was not for me.

I really liked that the main character works at a library. It was a fun and relatable setting. Her sense of humor was also really fun.w And overall this book provides a lot of diversity. Having Latina as well as LGBTQ representation is really great. And I also really like stories that center family bonds.

However, when the representation of a transwoman comes with misgendering her that is a problem. The same way a black character is dismissed after expressing concern that doing something illegal might actually be really dangerous for him.

I don’t often like romance, so that might be a personal thing. But in this book I did not care about the romance.

This book just had some pacing issues and a lot of parts that felt a bit irrelevant or drawn out.

A hilarious book that follows a hilarious protagonist who deals with the hardships of life with resilience and wit. I think the themes of immigration, family separation, and deportation are crucial stories for YA readers to be exposed to, and I appreciated that there was queer representation.

I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is Shay Bravo's debut novel. While it not a terrible read, the story itself was a little bland for me. I found myself skimming when it came to the monologues or rants. I liked the themes in Historically inaccurate (immigration, family separation, deportation etc.) they are important topics to make others aware of. The writing was okay. It could have been edited more There were several typos. It just didn't work for me. I will definitely give this author another try! Thanks Net galley!

While I really liked the premise of this book and the first half kept my attention, I felt like it unraveled a little in the second half. I didn’t end up falling in love with any of the characters, but I would definitely give Shay Bravo another try!

This just didn’t end up being a book that interested me. When I first read the premise, I was very excited and invested, but getting into it made it clear that it just wasn’t for me. Hopefully it works for others out there!

This was.. okay. I didn't MIND it, but some elements felt a little odd and not very well thought out. Thank you very much Netgalley for giving me a chance to read it. I'm looking forward to seeing how this author will grow in the future.

🍴 BOOK REVIEW 🍴

Synopsis: After her mother’s deportation last year, all Soledad “Sol” Gutierrez wants is for her life to go back to normal. Everything’s changed―new apartment, new school, new family dynamic―and Sol desperately wants to fit in. When she joins her community college’s history club, it comes with an odd initiation process: break into Westray’s oldest house and steal . . . a fork?
There’s just one problem: while the owners of the house aren’t home, their grandson Ethan is, and when he catches Sol with her hand in the kitchen drawer, she barely escapes with the fork intact. This one chance encounter irrevocably alters her life, and Sol soon learns that sometimes fitting in isn’t as important as being yourself―even if that’s the hardest thing she’s ever had to do.

Review: Fans of Furia will absolutely love this one. Realistic fiction with LGBTQ+, BIPOC, mental health and body size representation. Shay Bravo is such an incredible writer that I was completely gripped to this book from the first chapter. The mature writing enables the reader to fall completely in love with the main character and watch her grow throughout her first year of college. I also related a lot to the MC and her self-deprecating humour. This book is also excellent for those seeking fiction books involving migrants, refugees, the topic of deportation, or families being dispersed and separated. There are so many aspects of the story that I loved. I loved the diversity of the book overall, but also how many times it made me laugh out loud, or say “aww”. One thing I will note that I didn’t like about the book was that the MC had a lot of internal dialogue surrounding her anxiety during situations so I did find myself skimming the text sometimes to get closure.

4/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#bookreview #bibliophile #lgbtqbooks #youngadultfiction #middlegradefiction #seniorgradefiction #booksbyBIPOCauthors #debutnovel #amplifymarginalisedvoices #igreads #reading #bookaesthetic #booklover #diversifyyourshelf

I wanted to like this book more than I actually liked it. The writing was the biggest issue for me and I began skimming rather than reading early. I am willing to read another book by this author. There is clearly potential here

This book had a really good start, but then it fizzled. Around 30% of the way in I just got uninterested in the story. I think it's because the plot started meandering instead of giving me a clear point. It's clear Sol is a very strong young woman and I think her character and more like her need to be represented in more books. Her thoughts on being a second-generation immigrant and growing up without a mom physically near her were touching. I also appreciated her realization that family can be anything from mom and dad, to lifelong friends. Shay Bravo is a talented writer and while this one didn't quite hit the mark for me, I'm excited to see what she does next.

I truly love this book.
Historically inaccurate has themes of immigration, family separation, and deportation, which are big important topics to speak about. There is Latina and LGBTQ+ representation, so I was very excited to get into this book.

However, I was left a little disappointed. The writing was okay, my biggest issue was the story and the characters. The main character, Sol, tends to get into unneeded long monologues after things that happen such as her laptop being broken, etc. It truly doesn't add anything to the story and unnecessary.
As much as I love the diversity and representation in the book, I felt like the characters weren't well-rounded and oftentimes fell flat. I liked the openness about gender and sexuality, etc but I did not enjoy the purposeful MISGENDERING. (which happened more than once)
Another thing that I truly didn't enjoy was that The "history club" wasn't actually a club. And on top of that when a black character was possibly killed during one of the "history club excursions" the main character simply brushes it off.
overall id give it 2.5 but rounded to a 3.

This a coming-of-age story about Sol, a latina girl, whose mother got deported back to Mexico, due to being illegal in the USA. She is in the community college in the place where she lives with her dad, and decides to get into the History club. The catch: their initiation process is a bit out there.
As a brazilian girl, I always love seeing Latinx rep in literature, specially for youger readers who are in college. Even though the writing was pretty simple, there was something about Sol as a main character that I could really relate to and admire about her. Her parents were well developed, but I wish her friend from the club were a bit more layered.
The plot was interesting, but what made me like it more than most readers was that connection with the immigration discussion, and discovering who you are and your place in the world. Also, the romance was quite cute and sweet.
I'll be definitely trying more from Shay Bravo in the future!

Missed the mark for me. We jumped in and Sol is stealing the fork, because well missions from the club she is in? it seemed to me very strange mission but i went with it. The male characters were meh and not made too good and Sol went on and on about things that had nothing to do with what she was doing, her laptop and muffins and whatnot... just ended up being tiredsome.