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A review by popthebutterfly
¡Ay, Mija!: My Bilingual Summer in Mexico by Christine Suggs
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
slow-paced
3.0
Disclaimer: I received this e-arc and finished copy from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: ¡Ay, Mija!: My Bilingual Summer in Mexico
Author: Christine Suggs
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 3.5/5
Diversity: Mexican American plus size queer MC, Indigenous Mexican American characters, Indigenous Mexican characters, Plus size Mexican American characters, Plus size Mexican characters
Recommended For...: young adult readers, memoir, graphic novel, Spanish, travel, Mexico
Publication Date: April 4, 2023
Genre: YA Memoir Graphic Novel
Age Relevance: 14+ (religion, racism, immigration, fatphobia, nudity, discrimination, death, war, HP, diabetes)
Explanation of Above: Christianity is mentioned and imagery is shown in the book. There is some racism mentioned and shown. There is some discussion over immigration. Weight/slight fatphobia is mentioned a couple of times in the book. There is some slight nudity with some magazine models boobs being shown. Discrimination in immigrants is shown. Death and war is mentioned. There is 1 HP mention. Diabetes is mentioned.
Publisher: Little, Brown Ink
Pages: 336
Synopsis: In this bilingual, inventive, and heartfelt debut, graphic novel talent Christine Suggs explores a trip they took to Mexico to visit family, embracing and rebelling against their heritage and finding a sense of belonging.
Sixteen-year-old Christine takes their first solo trip to Mexico to spend a few weeks with their grandparents and tía. At first, Christine struggles to connect with family they don’t yet share a language with. Seeing the places their mom grew up—the school she went to, the café where she had her first date with their father—Christine becomes more and more aware of the generational differences in their family.
Soon Christine settles into life in Mexico, eating pan dulce, drawing what they see, and growing more comfortable with Spanish. But when Mom joins their trip, Christine’s two worlds collide. They feel homesick for Texas, struggle against traditions, and miss being able to speak to their mom without translating. Eventually, through exploring the impacts of colonialism in both Mexico and themselves, they find their place in their family and start to feel comfortable with their mixed identity.
Review: I really liked this book overall. The book features our MC who is spending her summer at 16 doing her first solo trip to Mexico to spend some time with her grandparents and aunt, but our MC doesn’t know Spanish that much and is also unfamiliar with some of the culture of Mexico. This would be a great book for people learning Spanish because there is a lot of Spanish in here, but it gives off a really good point to the reader that, if you're not that familiar with Spanish, you were in the same boat as the main character. The book had well done illustrations and I loved seeing the world building and character development through it.
The only issue I had with the read is that it felt a little slow in places and the time skips are a bit confusing as well. I also didn’t like that this book was published in 2023 and still had an HP reference in it. That can be traumatizing to LGBT readers.
Verdict: I loved it!
Book: ¡Ay, Mija!: My Bilingual Summer in Mexico
Author: Christine Suggs
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 3.5/5
Diversity: Mexican American plus size queer MC, Indigenous Mexican American characters, Indigenous Mexican characters, Plus size Mexican American characters, Plus size Mexican characters
Recommended For...: young adult readers, memoir, graphic novel, Spanish, travel, Mexico
Publication Date: April 4, 2023
Genre: YA Memoir Graphic Novel
Age Relevance: 14+ (religion, racism, immigration, fatphobia, nudity, discrimination, death, war, HP, diabetes)
Explanation of Above: Christianity is mentioned and imagery is shown in the book. There is some racism mentioned and shown. There is some discussion over immigration. Weight/slight fatphobia is mentioned a couple of times in the book. There is some slight nudity with some magazine models boobs being shown. Discrimination in immigrants is shown. Death and war is mentioned. There is 1 HP mention. Diabetes is mentioned.
Publisher: Little, Brown Ink
Pages: 336
Synopsis: In this bilingual, inventive, and heartfelt debut, graphic novel talent Christine Suggs explores a trip they took to Mexico to visit family, embracing and rebelling against their heritage and finding a sense of belonging.
Sixteen-year-old Christine takes their first solo trip to Mexico to spend a few weeks with their grandparents and tía. At first, Christine struggles to connect with family they don’t yet share a language with. Seeing the places their mom grew up—the school she went to, the café where she had her first date with their father—Christine becomes more and more aware of the generational differences in their family.
Soon Christine settles into life in Mexico, eating pan dulce, drawing what they see, and growing more comfortable with Spanish. But when Mom joins their trip, Christine’s two worlds collide. They feel homesick for Texas, struggle against traditions, and miss being able to speak to their mom without translating. Eventually, through exploring the impacts of colonialism in both Mexico and themselves, they find their place in their family and start to feel comfortable with their mixed identity.
Review: I really liked this book overall. The book features our MC who is spending her summer at 16 doing her first solo trip to Mexico to spend some time with her grandparents and aunt, but our MC doesn’t know Spanish that much and is also unfamiliar with some of the culture of Mexico. This would be a great book for people learning Spanish because there is a lot of Spanish in here, but it gives off a really good point to the reader that, if you're not that familiar with Spanish, you were in the same boat as the main character. The book had well done illustrations and I loved seeing the world building and character development through it.
The only issue I had with the read is that it felt a little slow in places and the time skips are a bit confusing as well. I also didn’t like that this book was published in 2023 and still had an HP reference in it. That can be traumatizing to LGBT readers.
Verdict: I loved it!