Catalina by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio

 

Publisher: One World, Random House

On Sale Date: July 23 2024

Pages: 224

I reviewed a digital review copy from the publisher

Catalina Ituralde is an undocumented Ecuadorian senior student at Harvard. Her parents tragically died in an accident in Ecuador, in which Catalina miraculously survives and whereafter she was taken in by her parental grandparents in Queens, New York City, who raised her. In the book, the reader follows a year in the life , and thoughts of Catalina. Because she is undocumented, life throws her a lot of difficult challenges. Being undocumented isn't much of a problem at Harvard, the college administration knows about it, but she keeps it a secret from her fellow students and friends. And with her her outsider and  anthropologist eye she  steps in the college subcultures, and posh parties, internships and secret societies, with curiosity but she also see the things that aren't good at all.

Her undocumented status will become a problem though after graduation, because she can not legally work in the United States. A romance start between her and a fellow anthropoly student who is very interested in Latin America, the country Catalina comes from but doesn't really knew at all.

Things even get more complicated when Catalina  discovers multiple letters adressed to her grandfather send by the US immigration Customs Enforcement that her father didn't show up on a court hearing and is now facing deportation back to Ecuador. Can Cataline save him from deportation and find a place for herself in a world that is not for undocumented immigrants?

The book starts like a whirlwind in which you have to find a way into the disorganized chaos of Catalina's train of thoughts. Slowly on, the storyline is shaped more and more and in the last part the story of Catalina's life is written at it strongest and best shaped point, and the story gets more interesting and has more depth in that part, especially the tragic part which involves her undocumented grandfather. Catalina's own undocumented states doesn't get a real closing in the story if she will be able to stay or not in the USA for the foreseeable future, and what she is going to do with her life after college is also not very clear, so the story has some loose ends. I really liked most of this book though as it truly shows the challenges undocumented people like Catalina, who have no where else to go than live, in her case for example, with their grandparents. It truly makes your view on this sensitive topic bigger and hopefully, gains more understanding. Some points in this book, could have been developed better, but besides that I found this book entertaining, with an interesting main character and interesting topic.