When I first started to read Thirty Talks Weird Love my first thought was, “Well this is crap.” But I realized I was tired and told myself to go to bed. That is the main thing you need to know about Alessandra Narvaez Varela’s book: be rested. This book is an emotional rollercoaster and if you are the tiniest bit uncomfortable or not in a good headspace, do not try this book.
The journey of finding and being perfection, and how we see ourselves are the main themes of this prose poetry novel. Ages at least 13 and up will find how we can consume ourselves when we take the possibly wrong paths.
We follow our main character, Anamaria, through her life in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Here you must be careful as girls and women of all ages go missing. And when they are “found” it might have been better if they stayed missing. Annamarie has a life of school, her parents’ restaurant, and home. She cannot go anyplace alone, must make good grades as that is the only way she feels that her parents will love her and not worry about her, and how the school deems you worthwhile. Then one day, a woman claiming to be 30-year-old Anamaria starts following her. Telling her that she must love herself, save the girl, and talk to someone about her mounting depression. As cryptic and unbelievable this woman is, Annamaria starts to listen, learn, and finally realize how we are perfect in our imperfections.
This is a deep thought novel that paints images of an “any girl” dealing with growing up. An authors afterwards ties in Varela’s own personal journey and how it relates to her heroine.
And please excuse the lack of editing on my images. I was able to read this online and used my phone for screen shots. This is how the images came up for me, and I wanted you to experience them as I did.
