Down to the Bone
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15
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Average rating4
Here's what it means to be a tortillera. It means you're a girl who loves girls. Which means you get kicked out of Catholic school faster than Mother Superior Sicko can say "immoral." Which means your wacko Mami finds out. Which means you're kicked to the curb with nowhere to go, and the love of your life is shipped off to Puerto Rico to marry a guy.But this is Miami, and if you have a bighearted best friend and a loyal puppy at your side, and if your broken heart is still full of love, you just might land on your feet.In a first novel as crazy, joyful, hilarious, and painful as your first love, Mayra Lazara Dole goes beyond the many meanings of tortillera to paint a vivid picture of a girl who gets kicked out of home only to find a new kind of family.
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This one was, to say the least, a little afield from what I normally read. when I do pick up YA books, they usually have either wizards or dystopian futures in them. Down to the Bone has neither of those; just a teenaged girl trying to navigate the tricky paths of love, sexuality, and identity in a Cuban neighbourhood in Miami.
What really sold me on this book was the culture that it's steeped in - from the food, to the language, to the way the characters interact with each other, their faiths, and their sexualities, it all feels very real, and very grounded in a real place. I always appreciate that in a book - when you feel like you've visited a place by having read about it.
The main character, Laura, is interesting as well - she's very strong in her beliefs in most things, like environmentalism and vegetarianism, but when it comes to her dealing with her attraction to other girls, she's completely unsure of herself, which adds an interesting dimension to her.
