Staff Pick
Jaquira Díaz’s beautiful memoir is harrowing and haunting. Her stories of a horrendous childhood, a rebellious adolescence, and their lasting repercussions into her adulthood are leavened by the reassurance found in an authorial voice that guides the reader with a true survivor’s knowing generosity. Recommended By Keith M., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
"There is more life packed on each page of Ordinary Girls than some lives hold in a lifetime." --Julia Alvarez
Ordinary Girls is a fierce, beautiful, and unflinching memoir from a wildly talented debut author. While growing up in housing projects in Puerto Rico and Miami Beach, Jaquira D az found herself caught between extremes: as her family split apart and her mother battled schizophrenia, she was surrounded by the love of her friends; as she longed for a family and home, she found instead a life upended by violence. From her own struggles with depression and sexual assault to Puerto Rico's history of colonialism, every page of Ordinary Girls vibrates with music and lyricism. D az triumphantly maps a way out of despair toward love and hope to become her version of the girl she always wanted to be.
With a story reminiscent of Tara Westover's Educated, Roxane Gay's Hunger, and Terese Marie Mailhot's Heart Berries, Jaquira D az delivers a memoir that reads as electrically as a novel.
Synopsis
"There is more life packed on each page of Ordinary Girls than some lives hold in a lifetime." --Julia Alvarez
In this searing memoir, Jaquira D az writes fiercely and eloquently of her challenging girlhood and triumphant coming of age.While growing up in housing projects in Puerto Rico and Miami Beach, D az found herself caught between extremes. As her family split apart and her mother battled schizophrenia, she was supported by the love of her friends. As she longed for a family and home, her life was upended by violence. As she celebrated her Puerto Rican culture, she couldn't find support for her burgeoning sexual identity. From her own struggles with depression and sexual assault to Puerto Rico's history of colonialism, every page of Ordinary Girls vibrates with music and lyricism. D az writes with raw and refreshing honesty, triumphantly mapping a way out of despair toward love and hope, to become her version of the girl she always wanted to be.Reminiscent of Tara Westover's Educated, Kiese Laymon's Heavy, Mary Karr's The Liars' Club, and Terese Marie Mailhot's Heart Berries, Jaquira D az's memoir provides a vivid portrait of a life lived in (and beyond) the borders of Puerto Rico and its complicated history--and reads as electrically as a novel.
Synopsis
One of the Most Anticipated Books of 2019 According to Time * Publishers Weekly * The Millions * The Week * Good Housekeeping
"There is more life packed on each page of Ordinary Girls than some lives hold in a lifetime." --Julia Alvarez
In this searing memoir, Jaquira D az writes fiercely and eloquently of her challenging girlhood and triumphant coming of age.While growing up in housing projects in Puerto Rico and Miami Beach, D az found herself caught between extremes. As her family split apart and her mother battled schizophrenia, she was supported by the love of her friends. As she longed for a family and home, her life was upended by violence. As she celebrated her Puerto Rican culture, she couldn't find support for her burgeoning sexual identity. From her own struggles with depression and sexual assault to Puerto Rico's history of colonialism, every page of Ordinary Girls vibrates with music and lyricism. D az writes with raw and refreshing honesty, triumphantly mapping a way out of despair toward love and hope, to become her version of the girl she always wanted to be. Reminiscent of Tara Westover's Educated, Kiese Laymon's Heavy, Mary Karr's The Liars' Club, and Terese Marie Mailhot's Heart Berries, Jaquira D az's memoir provides a vivid portrait of a life lived in (and beyond) the borders of Puerto Rico and its complicated history--and reads as electrically as a novel.
Synopsis
One of the Must-Read Books of 2019 According to O: The Oprah Magazine * Time * Bustle * Electric Literature * Publishers Weekly * The Millions * The Week * Good Housekeeping
"There is more life packed on each page of Ordinary Girls than some lives hold in a lifetime." --Julia Alvarez
In this searing memoir, Jaquira D az writes fiercely and eloquently of her challenging girlhood and triumphant coming of age.While growing up in housing projects