High Spirits by Camille Gomera-Tavarez - OPTIONAL

High Spirits by Camille Gomera-Tavarez , 224 pages. SHORT STORIES. Levine Querido, 2022. $19. Language: R (54 swears, 6 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE These eleven stories are intertwined, giving insight into a family who struggles to be who they are culturally and individually. The characters straddle the lines between countries, which sometimes extend to lines drawn between each other. Gomera-Tavarez includes a lot of Spanish in the stories, which was cool but also difficult when I couldn’t keep looking up the translations. On top of that, several of the stories were also confusing—maybe I didn't understand the cultural implications enough, maybe I lost too much by skipping the Spanish, maybe the stories just didn’t speak to me. I connected with how difficult it can be to navigate family relationships and expectations, but I mostly felt like I wasn’t understanding what Gomera-Tavarez was trying to communicate. Most of the characters mentioned are either Dominican or Dominican-American. The mature content rating is for underage drinking as well as for mentions of drugs, sex trafficking, and condoms. The violence rating is for mentions of guns and bombs. Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen