High Spirits

Starred review from February 21, 2022
In an author’s note, Gomera-Tavarez notes that her debut collection “started as an exploration of machismo with a dash of magic, inspired by the tradition of lo real maravilloso in the Americas.” Housing 11 interconnected short stories “on Dominican Diaspora,” the Dominican American author’s emotionally sophisticated creation follows a narrative throughline via multiple generations and members of the extended Belén family. Shifting readers to different time periods and locales, including the family’s store in a fictional pre-automobile-era Dominican Republic town and a lockdown in a contemporary New Jersey high school, each story utilizes close third-person tellings and serves as a snapshot of the family’s broader history. Full of vivid and poetic imagery (“Each slice of wet newspaper a little bit of the truth, hardening into a fragile shell over time”), settings worthy of drinking in, and thematic material ripe for contemplation about identity, intergenerational memory, and patriarchy and toxic masculinity, Gomera-Tavarez’s soulfully crafted debut is a sensitive, intrinsically feminist work. Includes an author’s note and a family tree hand-drawn by the author. Ages 12–up.

April 1, 2022

Gr 10 Up-In this debut collection of 11 interrelated yet stand-alone stories, the Afro-Latino Dominican American experience is center stage, a breath of fresh, saltwater air to all readers and a mirror to island-hopping teenagers in the United States with strong ties to their extended families in the Dominican Republic. The collection starts with a visual family tree spanning four generations. Some stories are set in northeastern U.S., but most are set in Hidalpa, a small, fictional coastal town near the border of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The first story features Gabriel, who suffers from a fit of memory rather than forgetfulness, remembering spilling the habichuelas at his grandmother Mabel Belen's house while in therapy in the U.S. Contradictions prevail with cousins partying hard and remembering church, arguments about islander racism and sexism, the cruelty of older generation husbands, and younger brothers in tow on dates. When his mother finds marijuana in his room, Franklyn is sent from NYC to the island to T�a Lupe's, where he is made a servant but helps his cousin avoid date rape. Memory pervades the collection with all the vicissitudes of global identity-making, including interminable waits on visas. Expect both realism with full phrases of authentic Dominican Spanish, and full-force magic realism with the past ever-present. The last story ties the collection together with La Do�a Belen's recounting of family history, with just a hint of sweet fiction. VERDICT A must-buy for libraries serving older teens.-Sara Lissa Paulson

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Starred review from February 15, 2022
Grades 10-12 *Starred Review* Debut author Gomera-Tavarez presents a richly evocative collection of interconnected family stories. These 11 short stories span from the Dominican Republic to the U.S., Puerto Rico, and back, capturing the lives of multiple generations of the Bel�n family. Central to the family lore is the fictitious town of Hidalpa, home of abuelo's colmado, a general store typical of small towns, and the nexus for the family. Gomera-Tavarez focuses each chapter on a different member of the sprawling Bel�ns, giving each character room to breathe as they yearn for independence while continually feeling the tug of obligations from their complicated family relationships and heritage. Ordinary scenarios, from youthful misadventures, a visit to the barbershop, and participating in a domino tournament, are punctuated by themes of mental health, internalized colonialism, and machismo, realistically mirroring their influence on daily life in scenes that will easily resonate with readers everywhere. The handwritten family tree is helpful for keeping the connections straight and, along with the familiar Dominican argot--"Dique," "ya t� sabe"--characterize this slim volume as deeply personal and relatable. Seeped in nostalgia and harsh but fierce love, this is a memorable family saga in its own right.

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Starred review from February 1, 2022
Interrelated stories about the extended Bel�n family sprout from the Dominican Republic and branch out into the diaspora. In 11 short stories, Afro-Dominican debut author Gomera-Tavarez offers slice-of-life peeks into the Bel�ns of Hidalpa, Dominican Republic. While these stories are fictional, the author brings Hidalpa vividly to life, with a focus on the intergenerational experiences of a single family member in each story. Whether focusing on 10-year-old Cristabel, teenage Jos�lito, adult Gabriel, or any one of the many other family members, each displays a focused emotional intelligence. These eye-opening diasporic stories cross borders, taking place in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, New Jersey, and New York. The setting of each is strong: Unfolding in locations including Abuelo's colmado or general store, the barber shop, beach, and a Paterson, New Jersey, high school during a lockdown drill, the everyday lives of the Bel�n family past and present read as authentic and immersive. Themes of belonging, social class, patriarchy, and language thread evenly throughout, with Dominican Spanish as well as African American Vernacular English infused with ease. The simple touch of a handwritten family tree at the beginning of the book conveys a diarylike quality to this collection; the inclusion of a faded picture of the author's grandparents adds further intimacy. A labor of love imbued with dedication to family. (author's note) (Fiction. 14-adult)

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