As warm and breezy as the wind off the ocean on a summer's day, Don't Date Rosa Santos is a light, entertaining YA romance.  The relationships that shine the brightest in the book, though, aren't the romantic ones, but those between the members of Rosa's vibrant Cuban-American community.  It's easy to feel the love flowing among them, even if it's sometimes tough to remember who's who.  The love story between Rosa and Alex is also cute.  As far as plot and pacing go, though, I have some issues.  The whole curse thing around which the story revolves seems silly.  Would a whole community really believe some ridiculous superstition like that?  I don't think so.  As far as pacing, the flow of Don't Date Rosa Santos seems frenetic at times and too slow at others.  The story also feels disjointed, kind of here, there, and everywhere.  While I enjoyed Rosa's community, the cute romance, and the novel's bright, happy vibe, I had too many other issues with the book to really love it.  I liked it well enough, but it didn't bowl me over or anything.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of books by Kasie West)

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