A review by probablyjenna
Catalina by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio

emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Karla Cornejo Villavicencio’s The Undocumented Americans is easily one of my favorite books of all time, so I was really excited when I saw Villavicencio’s first foray into fiction.

Catalina is a Bildungsroman that follows titular Catalina in her final year at Harvard, against the backdrop of the recently failed DREAM Act vote in 2007. Catalina is undocumented, and growing increasingly more depressed as graduation looms because she has no idea what future awaits her without legal citizenship. 

There is a lot to like in this book. Villavicencio is a phenomenal writer with a really distinct voice, and her style really shines through in this character. The topic of the book is one we need to see more of, and we truly experience Catalina’s mounting despair as her senior year trudges forward. 

Ultimately, though, this fell a bit short for me - and honestly? I think it’s because it is just far too short. At 199 pages, I felt like I was just getting to know and understand Catalina right as we were coming up on an ending. The ending itself felt abrupt, and the epilogue didn’t do much at all besides feel like a summary of closing events. Catalina is a difficult, complicated young woman - I needed to be with her longer to feel her full effect. 

This is not a bad book by any stretch, it just felt incomplete to me. I think a bit more of a dive into Catalina’s backstory would have added so much to the spiral we clearly meet her in. I recommend this, but also hope Villavicencio does a bit more with whatever work she delivers next.