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jazzsonnet's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Grief
hollyd19's review
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
This memoir is a masterpiece.
Quiara Algería Hudes uses every inch of this book to embrace her wholeness in a world hostile to her nuances. When discussing this read with my book club, someone described Hudes as a stained glass window and I cannot imagine a more apt comparison.
Recounting her childhood, Hudes invites the readers alongside her journey to find language to encapsulate the many dimensions of her identity: Puerto Rican, daughter, Jewish, white-passing, English-Spanglish-Spanish speaking, cousin, North Philly resident, pianist, big sister, activist, Quaker, academic… Her deeply bonded maternal family grounds her and empowers her search for her truth. Her mother, a practitioner of Santería, fosters Quiara’s curiosity, self-confidence, and ambition. Her tias and cousins expand her world and provide ballast when seas are rocky. Her neighborhood offers community, connection, and courage.
Hudes is a gifted storyteller and I was struck by the richness of her language, especially in a book ostensibly dedicated to its “brokenness.” She seamlessly intertwines cultures, dialects, and slang across seemingly disparate groups — a skill honed as she grew into a Pulitzer-winning composer and playwright. I alternated the physical book with the audiobook which added verisimilitude to the reading experience (Hudes narrates herself). Additionally, Hudes commits to telling her story honestly but not tragically. She doesn’t dwell on the hardest parts of her life. Instead, she acknowledges them plainly but spends much more energy celebrating the Perez women in all their diverse, indefatigable glory.
I turned the last page with enlivened understanding and fresh hope. I so deeply recommend this read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Grief
Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Racism, and Colonisation
Minor: Child death, Medical trauma, and Pregnancy
caseythereader's review
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Blood, Grief, and Colonisation