What’s Coming To Me follows Minerva, working serving ice-cream in a place she hates with a sexist boss after she is kicked out of school. Following a robbery one day while she works, Minerva and her friend CeCe work to find money hidden in the ice-cream shop. This idea pulled me in and intrigued me as I started the book. Unfortunately it failed to hold my interest. What should have been a very high stakes and interesting plot simply fell short. It felt drawn out, and slow paced, which works for some plots but not one like this.
One of the highlights of this book was the character of Minerva. She was resilient and clever, but also flawed in extremely relatable ways. I like that this book didn’t paint her as a perfect person, but instead created a very nuanced and realistic depiction of the teenage experience, something that is often done badly in books. The side characters were great too, and I found them all compelling and fleshed out.
However the characters were not enough to make me love this book. The writing style bored me at times, turning what should be exciting and suspenseful scenes into overly drawn-out ones. Overall I think this book had a lot of potential, but it should have either leaned into the introspectiveness more heavily, or picked up the pace a little.
My main takeaway is that I wish I had enjoyed this book more than I did. There were so many elements that I love, and I had rather high expectations, however it was not executed in a way that I found compelling unfortunately. This book is by no means bad, I still had a good time with parts of this book, and I think the writing style could work for some people, just not me.

What's Coming to Me by Francesca Padilla is a YA coming of age story. Seeped in the desperation of poverty and bad choices, the author weaves a tale of redemption even in the world of equally bad choices. There are no heroes here. Only people acting out of the animal instinct of survival. This is a very realistic read and touches on some topics that could warrant further discussion like generational poverty, drug use, sexual exploitation by adults, theft, and alcohol usage.

What an amazing book!
The book is super exciting and would love to read more from the author!

Thankyou netgalley for the ARC

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for granting me an ARC copy for my honest review I found the story to be a little slow and I really wanted a little bit more from the plot but you really did enjoy the characters in the story.

Storyline was slow at times; took me a while to really get into it. But a good realistic portrayal of the teen characters. A good look at impoverished neighbourhoods and the teens that live in them.
Writing was pretty strong overall but some lines like this are too cheesy: "Everything becomes so clear, like the boardwalk after a hard rain.".
The ending felt rushed after all the build up and seemed to tie too neatly into a bow after the struggles of the early story. I would have liked if it took more time to bring everything together at the end, with more details about what had really been going down with the ice cream shop owners.

"What's Coming To Me": 3⭐

The writing of this book is exceptional, I love reading all the books Dominican authors write, but there was something with the plot that really didn't click well with me.
Self-sabbotage is a trigger warning and it should come explicitely warned in the beginning of the book. That's the reason why I didn't give it a higher rating. However, the writing really was good and personal growth is a big thing in this story, which I know people love to read about!

Wow, this is an INCREDIBLE debut! I don't find enough YA to be heavy-hitting with the themes or execution, but this completely blew me away and I loved it. This was difficult at times because our main character, Minerva - or Min - has a really, really tough life. Reading about such a negative situation for a main character can be a lot or overwhelming for some people, but I typically enjoy it since it's more relatable to me than your average, sunny sort of "never had anything bad happen" protagonist. Min was real, and I liked her a lot - even if I didn't always agree with every decision she made.

There's a lot to unpack here regarding misogyny in our society, as well as racism and sexism, and I think some was touched on a bit more than others. Still, I think this is an important read for teens today, and a poignant tale about grief, anger, and what it means to move on and heal.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

TW: grief, armed robbery, drug use, chronically ill parent

Minerva works at a ice cream shop and she hates it there and her creepy boss, but she doesn't have a choice because she got kicked out of school and her mother got recently hospitalized so she needs the money. One day the ice cream gets robbed and Minerva learns about a possible "secret treasure" so she embarks on a mission with her friends to find it and finally turn her life around.

What really stood out for me in this book were the characters, It was so easy to relate to them and learn more about them - both the good and the imperfect parts of them. They really felt human and they carried the whole book.

However, it took me a while to get into the story and I found the plot flat and uninteresting at some point, although it got better towards the end.

Even though this wasn't my cup of tea, I'm sure people will enjoy this one, if they're looking for a poignant read about fighting for your beliefs.

I am all for the ‘good for her’ trope that’s become popular as of late, and Francesca Padilla’s debut novel “What’s Coming to Me” is a novel demanding to be added to that list.

In the sleepy town of Nautilus, Minerva “Min” Gutierrez hates her job at the local ice cream parlor. With her mother in the hospital again and freshly kicked out of school, Min is struggling to stay afloat and eventually escape her hometown. After an armed robbery at the ice cream parlor stirs up rumors of a hidden stash of money on the property, Min, her tough-as-nails neighbor CeCe, and ex-best friend Mary team up to find the treasure trove. Not to mention, getting revenge on her sexist boss who makes her life a living hell.

Min’s voice and characterization demand to be seen and heard–biting and full of rage for her situation and her mother’s declining health. Her grief and anger guide her, but also force her to grow from the terror and grief that she awaits. Whenever her anticipatory grief and anger are brought up, Padilla masterfully reveals the harsh realities of having a chronically-ill parent and the emotions that run wild.

Padilla’s pithy writing style–with a touch of sardonic hilarity–is well-matched with the novel’s fast pacing. “What’s Coming to Me” is definitely a novel that demands to be finished in one sitting and holds tight to the reader’s attention.

The buildup to the climax was heart-stopping, but the ending felt unfinished and lackluster to the rest of the narrative. In addition, the light romance between Min and her coworker was forced and mostly irrelevant to the plot; there was little incentive for the relationship but the big reveal at the end was unexpected.
Both heartbreaking and anger-inducing, “What’s Coming to Me” never shies away from the hard topics and shows the human experience through Min’s explosive voice.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

I went into this book with the knowledge that Min would have a great revenge story. And while the book was good it wasn't what I expected. I was expecting more revenge and less getting involved in drug deals. I felt the story was only about trying to rob from her bosses ice cream store. I was hoping for her to take him down more.

It wasn't a bad book, but I felt it was all about stealing and no more plot than that. I enjoyed it, I just didn't love it.

Minerva has been kicked out of school, her mom is in the hospital, and she is working at an ice cream stand with a creepy boss who uses hidden cameras to spy on his workers. After the stand is robbed, she becomes enamored of the idea that there is a secret stash of money at the stand. I was expecting this story to be a treasure hunt and revenge on the boss, but it wasn't really. It was more about Minerva's character development and her trying to overcome her propensity for self sabotage. Well-written, but I didn't really enjoy it.

DNF. I'm just not feeling it at all. May well just be the wrong time for me to be reading this or I'm in the wrong mood, but I read the first ten percent and since then I've had no desire to pick it up again.

This book took a little while to really get going but once it did it was really good. I can really relate to the challenges that our protagonist faced because I basically raised myself too.

This is an amazing debut, and I was absolutely sucked into the world of this novel from the first page. Main character Minerva's voice is so great and biting, so much so that despite the VERY heavy topics dealt with here, it's frequently funny, or at least slightly less serious and dour than it could be. That's not to say that this is just a fun romp/treasure hunt--it's not really that. The author's note at the beginning is so beautiful and helpful here, as it sets readers expectations for a book full of joy and hope, but also full of anger, grief, anticipatory grief, and trauma. This is a trauma-informed book, and it never shies away from that fact, but it's also a fun what-if/escapist novel at the same time, at least in some ways. It's such a unique, needed story, and I'm so excited that others will get to read it soon.

* thanks to NetGalley and Soho Teen for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The writing style of What's Coming to Me is very good, but the plot didn't worked well for me. I thought I would like it a lot more, however, despite understanding where Minerva's attitudes came from, the description of so much self-sabotage was not a good experience.
I get that some things that happens in real life are very necessary in the narrative, but I didn't liked the excess of it in this story, and that's ok, I say this based on my personal experience!
Anyway, I recommend this book for people who enjoy doses of reality and personal growth, which are definitely things that appear a lot in this story.

Thank you Netgalley for an e-ARC!

I love mystery books so I loved this so much! Mins character development was great and I love how she grew through out the book! The plot was fun and unexpected!

Duke's Ice Creamery gets robbed, with Minerva Gutiérrez holding the bag--of cash, which she hands over, despite wishing she'd stolen it herself. Min is having a rough time of it. Her mother is out of the picture, Min was expelled from school, she ghosted her best friend Mary, and she's struggling financially. Her other best friend, CeCe, is a drug dealer who hooks Min up now and again with cash and weed in exchange for rides in Min's mother's car (which she's not supposed to drive). Her life is pretty shitty, which makes for a hard read for much of the book, and I didn't always want to stick with it.

Things look up with Minerva reconnects with Mary--and Mary connects with CeCe. The three of them hatch a get rich quick scheme--discovering the "treasure" that is supposedly hidden at Duke's. As with all get-rich-quick schemes, there are hiccups, including with Min's love interest, Duke's assistant manager, Eli. Read if you're patient and have a high tolerance for self-sabotage (that's caused by racism, poverty, and grief).

This book is phenomenal! Absolutely love this book! The character development and growth was one of the many things I loved. I love, love, love how honest and raw the writing is! Thank you so much for an advanced copy of this book!

Thank you, Soho Teen, for allowing me to read What's Coming to Me early!

I found about this through a blog which highlights queer debuts and I am really thankful I was approved to read it so soon. I loved it from start to finish. Such a fierce story about empowerment. Padilla has an engaging writing style and Minerva was a great protagonist.

This book. Wow. I'll be honest, it was pretty hard to try and corrall my thoughts into something resembling coherence because emotionally, this book has me on the floor. In a great way! This was a brilliantly written revenge heist story, but the core of the book (and my favourite aspect) was it's exploration of grief. It wasn't pretty, it wasn't artful, but it was very real and I appreciated it. My favourite stories are ones that say something - and this says a lot.

Firstly, I loved Minerva. She was grieving and bitter and struggling and I adored her so much. She's a very particular type of character, but I really enjoyed reading about her journey. And her relationships with the cast were interesting to explore - I liked how they unfolded and expanded as the novel progressed. Cece and Mary were interesting foils to each other and Minerva - also the banter was great.

The book does include a romance, but it's not centered around it. The relationship between Eli and Min was beautiful to read about though - learning to care about a new person after loss is hard and the book explored the nuance of it so well.

The book was mainly character driven, so for those who enjoy plot heavy stories, this might not be for you. But characters are my favourite part of reading, so it suited me well. And the character development of everyone, not just our main, was beautifully written and realistic.

I also just loved the writing! The often-abrupt style won't be for everyone, but I loved it. It worked with the story and the headspace of the characters.

Just a note for future readers, the book explores some heavy topics so be mindful of the content warnings.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review. And thank you to Francesca Padilla for writing this book - it's going to stay with me for a long time, and I'm thankful.