Fiesta

The post A level gap year and Laura is going to explore the 'real' Spain with her friends Yaz and Ruth and Ruth's boyfriend Tom -- in his car. The book starts with the tensions: Tom and Ruth shut out the others: they only have eyes for each other and it is not the real Spain that he is after. He is a real pain and a sex-obsessed, male chauvinist. The tensions erupt when they are asked by chance to house-sit in a beautiful rural setting. Tom and Ruth depart leaving Yaz and Laura to see who gets the beautiful Spanish boyfriend. It's unfair when Yaz flirtatiously apparently catches him and fair when Laura, with her quiet charm, really wins him. While there are attempts to deal with areas of feeling honestly and openly, this is set in swathes of caricature and simplification. Juan is the antithesis of Tom. Tom's character and views are part of his slobbishness. Juan is the real thing, the romantic hero, all the way to his 'powerful eyebrows'.