Karla Cornejo Villavicencio

Catalina

When Catalina is admitted to Harvard, it feels like 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 mind. Now a senior, she faces graduation in 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 a healthy skepticism: she is both fascinated and disgusted. Craving a great romance, Catalina finds herself drawn to a fellow student, an actual budding anthropologist who can teach her about the Latin American world she was born into but never knew. 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?

Paperback: 272 Pages

Language: English

Format: Hardcover & Paperback

3.5/5
Reviewed By Reviewed By Violeta Nedkova
“Courageous and confronting, part college novel, part pop song, part hagiography, Catalina is the most unique coming-of-age novel you’ll ever read. And Catalina, chaotic and wild, is a character you will never forget.”