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Catalina
Catalina | Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
9 posts | 13 read | 6 to read
A year in the life of the unforgettable Catalina Ituralde, a wickedly wry and heartbreakingly vulnerable student at an elite college, forced to navigate an opaque past, an uncertain future, tragedies on two continents, and the tantalizing possibilities of love and freedom When Catalina is admitted to Harvard, it feels like the fulfillment of 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, ruthlessly probing mind. Now a senior, she faces graduation to 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 an interloper's skepticism: she is both fascinated and repulsed. Craving a great romance, Catalina finds herself drawn to a fellow student, an actual budding anthropologist eager to teach her about the Latin American world she was born into but never knew, even as her life back in Queens begins to unravel. 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? Brash and daring, part campus novel, part hagiography, part pop song, Catalina is unlike any coming-of-age novel you've ever read--and Catalina, bright and tragic, circled by a nimbus of chaotic energy, driven by a wild heart, is a character you will never forget.
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Oryx
Catalina | Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
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Enjoying Catalina today

squirrelbrain I enjoyed it too - loving your mug more though! ❤️ 3d
Oryx @squirrelbrain it's so cute, isn't it? I'll post the other side of it next time. 3d
squirrelbrain Please do! 🤪 3d
43 likes1 stack add3 comments
review
vlwelser
Catalina | Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
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Mehso-so

This drew me into the characters. I don't know that it would have been a top choice but it was on a friend's tbr so I gave it a whirl. Between this and Piglet, I appreciate that we like different things 😂

#DoubleSpin @TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 1w
33 likes1 stack add1 comment
review
squirrelbrain
Catalina | Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
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Pickpick

Playing catch-up with reviews….

I really liked this novel, which did feel rather like a memoir at times, and it feels even more relevant now after the events of last week, being about undocumented migrants.

At times it was a little bit too ‘stream of consciousness‘ for me and I struggled to understand the relevance or tangent of Catalina‘s thoughts but, overall, a hard-hitting worthwhile read.

Thank you for gifting it to me @MicheleinPhilly 😘

TrishB I thought you‘d read all these today! 1mo
squirrelbrain No, not today @TrishB ! I have just had an hour or two of reading though, instead of working! 👏 1mo
TrishB Good for you! I have the lurgy- cough/cold (not covid) so haven‘t been able to do any work due to feeling so ill! 1mo
squirrelbrain Oh no! @TrishB Hope you feel better soon. 1mo
MicheleinPhilly I‘m glad you enjoyed it. 😘 1mo
67 likes5 comments
review
friday_laviolette
Catalina | Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
Pickpick

Karla Cornejo Villavicencio is a terrific stylist. If you liked Elif Batuman's The Idiot you'll enjoy this.

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Hooked_on_books
Catalina | Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
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Pickpick

I‘ve read memoirs that feel like novels and here is a novel that feels much like a memoir in places. Catalina‘s story as an undocumented Harvard student is informed by that of the author and reminds us that no one is a monolith. I thought this was good but that it could use a little more of a punch towards the end.

NBA longlist, fiction

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ICantImReading
Catalina | Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
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Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Leading with a bold voice and an energetic personality, the prose in “Catalina” dances along the page. I got lost at times in Catalina‘s thoughts, but I will remember the vulnerability and strength of her character. 🎧

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HettyG
Catalina | Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
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Pickpick

A surprising amount of Henry Kissinger.

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Amor4Libros
Catalina | Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
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Mehso-so

3.5⭐️ I liked this. The story felt very raw from the get-go, but then it started to lose me towards the end.

I recognize what the author was trying to do, and I know that she was looking to convey Catalina‘s roller-coaster of emotions for what she was going through, and even though I never lost interest in the story, it didn‘t live up to the hype for me.

#NetGalley Pub Date: 7/23/24

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Amor4Libros
Catalina | Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
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Read Part 1 of this and enjoying it…Even though I feel that this book it‘s going to break my heart…