One World
Catalina
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NATIONAL BESTSELLER - LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD - 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
"[A] sparkling fiction debut."--The New York Times Book Review (Editors' Choice)
"[A] fresh and unflinching take on the campus novel."--People (Ten Best Books of the Year)
"Diabolically charming and magnetic."--Ira Glass
FINALIST FOR THE PEN/HEMINGWAY AWARD - A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: Time, The Washington Post, NPR, The Boston Globe, them
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 own complicated, contradictory, ruthlessly probing mind. Now a senior, she faces graduation to a world that has 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?
Brash and daring, part campus novel, part hagiography, part pop song, Catalina is unlike any coming-of-age novel you've ever read--and Catalina, bright and tragic, circled by a nimbus of chaotic energy, driven by a wild heart, is a character you will never forget.
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Book Details
ISBN:
9780593449097
EAN:
9780593449097
Binding:
Hardcover
Pages:
224
Authors:
Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
Publisher:
One World
Published Date: 2024-23-07
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Another book I only sort of liked. Maybe I'm not the target audience? I'm not a young person pursuing college or flirting or in need of convincing against the deportation of dreamers or anyone working hard and trying to earn their right to be citizens and paying taxes as they go.Still, the author managed to get inside the head of this young woman and provided the reader with valuable insights into another life. I admired that Karla Corneho Villavicencio narrated her book.It was worth the read. I was happy it was available on Libby.
This was such a touching novel - at times painful to read, heartbreaking even - but necessary, given the subject matter. Catalina’s story wasn't mine, but it mirrored the lives of many people I grew up with. I always had sympathy for the struggles they endured, yet there's so much you can't truly understand without living it yourself.As I followed Catalina’s journey, I frequently paused to think of friends from my past. Sometimes those memories made me smile; other times they left me with an aching heart. With the exception of two people, I've long since lost contact, and I can only imagine the difficulties they're facing in the horror show that is America today.This novel was beautiful and compelling. I admired Catalina’s determination to persevere, no matter how overwhelmingly the odds seemed stacked against her. So many people need to read this - sadly, those who need it most probably won't.
Good potential for an indulging protagonist and a meaningful story but the flow of the book was terrible it was hard to read honestly. It goes in so many different directions she starts telling one story and then goes on and on about a completely different topic - I felt like I was reading a diary, I didn't want to read a diary.
Reading this has been like observing an open heart surgery, metaphorically. And in doing so I am more keenly aware of my place in this world. Searing!
I really enjoyed the perspective this book gave me into an experience so different from my own. Catalina is told as though you’re inside the narrator’s head, so you hear every thought that goes through her mind. It can be a little jarring when you’re not used to this style, but looking back, it made the reader experience each emotion that Catalina was feeling on a much deeper level. The storyline was different than what I was expecting and my heart broke for her and her family at the end. All in all, I think the blurb “Catalina is unlike any coming-of-age novel you’ve ever read—” does the best job at describing my overall feelings towards this book!
