Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Make Your Home Among Strangers

In all the books I have read (and I have read a lot) I rarely
find the main characters from Miami. There is a special something that brings you there instantly. Author Jennine Capot Crucet describes the sights, the sounds, and the air perfectly. I can hear and see the characters. Lizet is a young girl graduating from Hialeah Lakes High School. She is the very first student to be accepted to Rawlings College, a prestigious, small, expensive college in New York. She has never been away from home, never flown on a plane. Her very small world of family, friends and boyfriend Omar had until that point been all Lizet needed to be happy. But when she spills the beans and tells everyone she is going away to college (having secretly applied) they are angry, feel betrayed and her parents who had always been on the brink of a huge meltdown - separate. Lizet wants to recreate herself. She has worked hard in school her whole life but can she hack the big leagues? She is nervous and scared and immediately homesick. Prepared to run from being the reffy from Miami, she plays down her Cuban identity only to wind up fighting for it in the end. Lizet is deeply connected to where she is from from, as the girls constantly ask, as she is introduced as Lizet, the Cuban roommate of Jillian. This book is about family, friendship and identity. All the things that make you you. Like, you you. Highly recommend this fantastic read. Look forward to more from this newfound author! Enjoy!!

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