The diverse women at the forefront drive the plot as they each struggle to cope with their grief in the wake of such a tragedy. Yahaira is a former chess player who enjoys spending time with her girlfriend as she gardens, but struggles to be visible in her own life.Īlmost ironically, in the lingering presence of the man whose absence has affected them all, the novel is strongly focused on the female characters-Camino, Yahaira, and the significant women in each of their lives that support them. Camino is an aspiring obstetrician following in the footsteps of her Tía as someone who loves healing. Though I would have enjoyed seeing more of Camino and Yahaira’s relationship had they met each other earlier in the novel, the story was still well-paced and their characters are captured in strong focus. There were many pages to mark for the impact of Acevedo’s verse. The writing itself is beautiful, and Acevedo’s background as a slam poet influences the delivery of the poetry in the novel itself. Because though the story is about the aftermath of the crash, these factors still play into the sisters’ lived experiences as women of color (and for Yahaira, as a queer woman of color).
Issues such as sexual assault, racism, homophobia, capitalism and economic inequality come up in the novel while not taking center stage. In a way that Acevedo aptly manages to capture through poetry, she highlights the struggles that Camino and Yahaira face individually while also positing their experiences in the faces of the larger tragedy and circumstances. Having been separated by the very ocean their father was trying to cross, the story takes place between New York and the Dominican Republic.
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