Review Detail

Gabi's voice is excellent - I felt like I could actually hear her talking as I read, right down to the accent on the Spanish words she used.

This book was fascinating to me because her Mexican-American world is so different from my own WASP upbringing. The blatant sexism in attitudes and rape culture in Gabi's life astounded me, and I loved the way she questioned it and responded to it with her thoughts and poetry.

The book is diary-style in nature, and there is no big climax. It's just a teen girl, going through life, and trying to help her friends thought life as they encounter pregnancy, rape, homophobia, parental drug use, death of a family member, and consider college.

Her writing is thoughtful, funny, and entertaining, and I feel like big themes and big issues are handled in a really excellent and responsible way.

Overall a fantastic and valuable book.