This audio book that I downloaded last night came "librarian recommended" from the best books of the year. It looked interesting, and I'll tell you, it captivated me from St. George clear to Fresno as I drove today, It made the trip fly by. I left at 7 AM and didn't even turn it on until almost to Mesquite. I realized several times, that I was watching the road, but remembered nothing about it. Maybe it's unsafe to be so caught up in a story, but I was grateful I could focus on that and not, for example, on the somewhat scary fog I encountered around Tehacipi. I didn't want to stop for bathroom or lunch breaks. I drove through McDonald's for a frozen coke so I could keep listening. So good!
The main character, Alejandra Kim, descends from Korean Argentinians, and we suffer and relate with her as she attends her private high school on scholarship and meets racism at almost every turn. This theme is thoughtfully handled with many nuances and nothing ahem, black and white. Ale's ambivalence about being a person who fits in vs. someone who calls out blatant racism is instructive to watch. I really enjoyed the journey of her growth through her interactions with her friends and family.
The New York City milieu plays a significant role in the story as well, as Ale travels to friends and to work and to school. Her description of her barrio and feeling at home is poignant. Her insistence on going to an expensive college and her blindness to her mother's poverty reminded me of my own selfishness thiat that period in MY life. It's just really well done, and I didn't like the somewhat frequent F-bombs, I know that's probably authentic...
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