- Genre: Literary Fiction
- Published by: One World
- Publish date: July 23, 2024
- Number of pages: 224 pages
- Author’s website: https://www.instagram.com/karlarrrio
- Support local! Buy the book on BookShop!
A year in the life of the unforgettable Catalina Ituralde, a wickedly wry and heartbreakingly vulnerable student at an elite college, forced to navigate an opaque past, an uncertain future, tragedies on two continents, and the tantalizing possibilities of love and freedom
When Catalina is admitted to Harvard, it feels like the fulfillment of destiny: a miracle child escapes death in Latin America, moves to Queens to be raised by her undocumented grandparents, and becomes one of the chosen. But nothing is simple for Catalina, least of all her complicated, contradictory, ruthlessly probing mind. Now a senior, she faces graduation to a world with no place for the undocumented. Her sense of doom intensifies her curiosities and desires. She infiltrates the school’s elite subcultures—internships and literary journals, posh parties, and secret societies—which she observes with the eye of an anthropologist and an interloper’s skepticism: She is both fascinated and repulsed.
Craving a great romance, Catalina finds herself drawn to a fellow student, an actual budding anthropologist eager to teach her about the Latin American world she was born into but never knew, even as her life back in Queens begins to unravel. And every day, the clock ticks closer to the abyss of life after graduation. Can she save her family? Can she save herself? What does it mean to be saved?
Rating: 4.5/5
I loved this. Karla Cornejo Villavicencio creates a vignette of a young woman facing uncertainty. I found the writing style to be frank when highlighting the struggles of being an undocumented college student. There’s an element of fear and dread that surrounds the main character, Catalina, as she navigates school, romance, and a complicated relationship with her immigrant grandparents that’s honest and engrossing to read. It makes it easier to put yourself in Catalina’s shoes, even if your experiences aren’t the same. I appreciated how Villavicencio contextualized the political climate as well. She highlights the constant unpredictability of immigration policies like DACA and the uncertainty of your future that Dreamers face. This is a short but impactful book.
Have you read this book? What are your thoughts? I’d love to know!
I received an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book from Netgalley and One World. This has not impacted my rating and this review is voluntary.
Musings by Michelle 