The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
dcmr's review
5.0
Best book I've read this year! Real, compelling, unexpected. Believable characters and excellent pacing. So well done, I didn't want it to end.
readingwithhippos's review
3.0
This book should be required reading for high school teachers and undergraduate advisors. Having taught high school myself, I understand quite well how wide the gulf has become in the US between the skills required to earn a diploma from a public high school and those demanded by most four-year colleges. It's why universities now find themselves having to offer more and more sections of remedial courses—many of the 18-year-olds arriving each fall don't have mastery of the basics. They may have graduated high school and met college admission requirements, but they aren't able to write an essay or read and comprehend complicated textbooks. And the task is even more difficult for students who are the first in their families to attend college, like Lizet, the main character in Make Your Home Among Strangers.
Born in Miami to Cuban parents, Lizet grew up attending public schools along with her older sister, Leidy. In her senior year of high school she decides to apply to Rawlings, an elite liberal arts school in New York, without her parents' knowledge. She is terrified of disappointing them and feels conflicted about abandoning what would surely be a comfortable, certain future with her boyfriend Omar, but something in Lizet, some spark of ambition, won't let her settle for the same life all her peers are set to live. She wants something more. So when her acceptance letter arrives, she decides to leave Miami and pursue her dreams in New York.
But Rawlings isn't anything like Lizet expected. She may have been a star student at her underfunded public high school in Florida, but at Rawlings she's barely able to keep her head above water. She pushes herself, studying nonstop, but it's clear she is totally unprepared for the level of rigor college demands. Beyond her serious academic concerns, Lizet also struggles to adjust to the social cues of the other students, who are almost all white, and they to hers. Case in point: her roommate always introduces her by announcing, “This is Lizet. She's Cuban.”
When a young boy named Ariel Hernandez makes national news, Lizet's roommate and friends force her into the awkward and unenviable position of unofficial spokesperson for all Cuban people. Ariel and his mother attempted to escape Cuba on a raft bound for Miami, but when only Ariel survives the trip, his presence in the US causes a whirlwind of controversy as to where he really belongs. The situation stirs up lots of ambivalent feelings in Lizet, who has never had to explain or justify her “Cuban-ness” to anyone before.
The culture shock Lizet experiences when she arrives at Rawlings is the most compelling aspect of the novel. The author does a great job of putting the reader inside Lizet's head to explain some of her more self-destructive choices early on—which is reason enough to read this book, I think.
I did have a few quibbles with the writing, though, which kept me from fully engaging. At several points the narrative loses momentum, a problem that could have been solved with a few judicious cuts. Oddly, Lizet as a narrator goes on far too long, yammering and navel-gazing, yet despite the constant flow of words, her motivations often remain obscured. Some of her choices, particularly how she acts toward Omar and her parents, were completely inexplicable to me. That could certainly be attributed to my lack as a reader, but since I felt I understood some of her other actions, such as choices she made at school, it seems more likely that those scenes back in Miami could have used some fine-tuning.
With regards to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advance copy. On sale today, August 4!
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
Born in Miami to Cuban parents, Lizet grew up attending public schools along with her older sister, Leidy. In her senior year of high school she decides to apply to Rawlings, an elite liberal arts school in New York, without her parents' knowledge. She is terrified of disappointing them and feels conflicted about abandoning what would surely be a comfortable, certain future with her boyfriend Omar, but something in Lizet, some spark of ambition, won't let her settle for the same life all her peers are set to live. She wants something more. So when her acceptance letter arrives, she decides to leave Miami and pursue her dreams in New York.
But Rawlings isn't anything like Lizet expected. She may have been a star student at her underfunded public high school in Florida, but at Rawlings she's barely able to keep her head above water. She pushes herself, studying nonstop, but it's clear she is totally unprepared for the level of rigor college demands. Beyond her serious academic concerns, Lizet also struggles to adjust to the social cues of the other students, who are almost all white, and they to hers. Case in point: her roommate always introduces her by announcing, “This is Lizet. She's Cuban.”
When a young boy named Ariel Hernandez makes national news, Lizet's roommate and friends force her into the awkward and unenviable position of unofficial spokesperson for all Cuban people. Ariel and his mother attempted to escape Cuba on a raft bound for Miami, but when only Ariel survives the trip, his presence in the US causes a whirlwind of controversy as to where he really belongs. The situation stirs up lots of ambivalent feelings in Lizet, who has never had to explain or justify her “Cuban-ness” to anyone before.
The culture shock Lizet experiences when she arrives at Rawlings is the most compelling aspect of the novel. The author does a great job of putting the reader inside Lizet's head to explain some of her more self-destructive choices early on—which is reason enough to read this book, I think.
I did have a few quibbles with the writing, though, which kept me from fully engaging. At several points the narrative loses momentum, a problem that could have been solved with a few judicious cuts. Oddly, Lizet as a narrator goes on far too long, yammering and navel-gazing, yet despite the constant flow of words, her motivations often remain obscured. Some of her choices, particularly how she acts toward Omar and her parents, were completely inexplicable to me. That could certainly be attributed to my lack as a reader, but since I felt I understood some of her other actions, such as choices she made at school, it seems more likely that those scenes back in Miami could have used some fine-tuning.
With regards to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advance copy. On sale today, August 4!
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
cecitheratreader's review
emotional
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
coffee_cake's review against another edition
The writing is excellent. The family dynamics in this book are currently too painful to read about, and I can't finish it.
lakecake's review against another edition
4.0
I found this to be a really great look at what it's like to be a minority, first-generation college student, something super important to me in my work. It helped pull me in right away that the protagonist went to college the same time as I did, and the emotional inter-weaving of the Ariel Hernandez (a fictionalized version of Elian Gonzalez) story really helped to propel everything forward. I felt, though, this sense of sort of unsettled dread the entire time I was reading it...like the next thing that happened to Lizet was going to be THE thing that pushed her either one way or the other. Much like life, that big ending never really happened, and the simple statement that makes is even more compelling than some large bombastic event could ever be. Things happen--huge things to those involved--and life goes on.
kindledspiritsbooks's review
4.0
I first heard of this book in the newspaper. Not in the review pages like I normally would, but in a news article detailing how students at Georgia Southern University had burned copies of it after being incensed by frank discussions of the experience of first generation university attendees, white privilege and the strain of code switching. Burning books disgusts me to the very core of my soul and I was so horrified reading about this incident and the horrible threats that the author suffered after coming to speak at Georgia Southern, I felt compelled to buy the book and read it to find what exactly what got these students' knickers in such a twist. The novel tells the story of Lizet, a young Cuban-American woman who leaves her home in Miami to attend a prestigious college in upstate New York. As she is leaving, her parents marriage breaks down, her sister is struggling with single motherhood, she is feeling pressure to commit to her long term high school boyfriend and the arrival a young Cuban refugee is sparking a wave of protests in her neighbourhood. Once she arrives in New York she faces unfamiliar challenges in her course work and racist microaggressions from her fellow students. Lizet feels torn between the worlds of Miami and New York, wanting to belong in both but feeling welcomed by neither and the reader feels her anguish viscerally. My heart absolutely broke for her each time she faced rejection from her old world and her new one. Anyone who reads this book and feels it’s ‘racist towards white people’ has missed the point so spectacularly that they may never be able to find it. Those who read it with an open mind and heart will find an engaging, intelligent and often heartbreaking coming of age story.
louismunozjr's review
5.0
It's been almost a half year since I finished reading this book, and I'm still thinking about it - even though I often forget the name of the book and the author, LOL! I wish this book had been around when I was a teenager, because my struggles were so similar to our main character's! Unfortunately, I fared much less well than she did; even all these years later, I have so many regrets and so much bitterness. Coming back to the book, this author did an amazing job at bringing these people to life, and I hope you will pick up this book and read it.
cgreens's review
2.0
This book was fine, not what I expected based on the description, and got tiresome as it progressed. I'm a little suspicious when newer, younger authors (especially those who look suspiciously like their main characters) write a book centered on leaving home and going off to college. It makes me wonder if perhaps they haven't had enough life experiences to write about other topics, and this book in particular screams of a tweaked memoir passed off as fiction.
To me, there were several glaring problems.
First, there's supposed to be this big huge independence vs. family dichotomy, which would be great, except Lizet's family doesn't seem all that loving or capable of a single emotionally intelligent thought. They are all mean-spirited, callous, petty, and unable to think past the present moment. None are likable, and as a reader I experienced no internal tug whatsoever toward the possibility that Lizet should spend more time with them. The only one who stood out as mildly reasonable was Omar, and even he was strangely unable to grasp why a college education might be important.
Second, I'm not at all convinced that Lizet IS smart or capable enough to go to Rawlings, a fact that the story relies upon. She sounds like someone who would benefit GREATLY by going to community college before attending a college or university, learning how to properly cite her work, how to handle herself in an academic setting, study habits, etc. and then doing much better in that college once she transfers.
Third, I don't believe that the "typical white person" opinion of Ariel/Elian Gonzalez was depicted correctly. I was nine during that event and lived in a typical, largely conservative suburb and listened to teachers and friends' parents talk about this political issue. NONE of them thought that Elian should be sent back to Cuba. Their opinion was that America is the most glorious country of freedom, liberty, and justice, under God, undivided, for all, and we must save this godless communist soul that has washed up on our shores of liberty.
I typically enjoy rambling family dramas, but the problem with this novel is that in order to build up a book around unlikeable characters, the characters have to be nuanced and interesting. These characters were not. I didn't understand Lizet's dad's motivations or actions, nor did I find her mom sympathetic in any way. Lizet was fine to me, maybe only because I was also a very stupid new college admit who thought moving out of my parents' home was a big huge deal, and I also made frustratingly stupid mistakes that could have easily been prevented. This book was fine, I made it through and even looked forward to reading it, but it didn't impress me, and I can't think of anyone I would recommend this to.
To me, there were several glaring problems.
First, there's supposed to be this big huge independence vs. family dichotomy, which would be great, except Lizet's family doesn't seem all that loving or capable of a single emotionally intelligent thought. They are all mean-spirited, callous, petty, and unable to think past the present moment. None are likable, and as a reader I experienced no internal tug whatsoever toward the possibility that Lizet should spend more time with them. The only one who stood out as mildly reasonable was Omar, and even he was strangely unable to grasp why a college education might be important.
Second, I'm not at all convinced that Lizet IS smart or capable enough to go to Rawlings, a fact that the story relies upon. She sounds like someone who would benefit GREATLY by going to community college before attending a college or university, learning how to properly cite her work, how to handle herself in an academic setting, study habits, etc. and then doing much better in that college once she transfers.
Third, I don't believe that the "typical white person" opinion of Ariel/Elian Gonzalez was depicted correctly. I was nine during that event and lived in a typical, largely conservative suburb and listened to teachers and friends' parents talk about this political issue. NONE of them thought that Elian should be sent back to Cuba. Their opinion was that America is the most glorious country of freedom, liberty, and justice, under God, undivided, for all, and we must save this godless communist soul that has washed up on our shores of liberty.
I typically enjoy rambling family dramas, but the problem with this novel is that in order to build up a book around unlikeable characters, the characters have to be nuanced and interesting. These characters were not. I didn't understand Lizet's dad's motivations or actions, nor did I find her mom sympathetic in any way. Lizet was fine to me, maybe only because I was also a very stupid new college admit who thought moving out of my parents' home was a big huge deal, and I also made frustratingly stupid mistakes that could have easily been prevented. This book was fine, I made it through and even looked forward to reading it, but it didn't impress me, and I can't think of anyone I would recommend this to.
dja777's review against another edition
3.0
I didn't love it, but it did keep me interested all the way through.