Ordinary Girls: A Memoir
Written by Jaquira Díaz
Narrated by Almarie Guerra
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
While growing up in housing projects in Puerto Rico and Miami Beach, Jaquira Diaz found herself caught between extremes: as her family split apart and her mother battled schizophrenia, she was surrounded by the love of her friends; as she longed for a family and home, she found instead a life upended by violence. From her own struggles with depression and sexual assault to Puerto Rico's history of colonialism, Ordinary Girls vibrates with music and lyricism. Diaz triumphantly maps a way out of despair toward love and hope to become her version of the girl she always wanted to be.
Jaquira Díaz
Jaquira Díaz was born in Puerto Rico. Her work has been published in Rolling Stone, the Guardian, Longreads, The Fader, and T: The New York Times Style Magazine, and included in The Best American Essays 2016. She is the recipient of two Pushcart Prizes, an Elizabeth George Foundation grant, and fellowships from the MacDowell Colony, the Kenyon Review, and the Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing. She lives in Miami Beach with her partner, the writer Lars Horn.
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Reviews for Ordinary Girls
28 ratings4 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Having 2nd generation perspective is incredibly important; I didn’t realize it was something I needed. Thank you!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ordinary Girls: A Memoir (2019) by Jaquira Díaz is a story for the seemingly powerless. I haven’t read nonfiction in a while, and this book brought me to become interested in the genre with how immersive the story is. Díaz recounts her life experiences, but her use of imagery and description transport you to right there next to her as the event plays out. This read was inspiring, with a message of taking the circumstances fate had brought you and striving for a better life. Reading this memoir was certainly entertaining, but emotional taxing as Díaz covers darker parts like sexual harassment when she was younger.
I would recommend for those who felt like they were handed the wrong cards since birth, "for the black and brown girls...For the wild girls and the party girls, the loudmouths and troublemakers. For the girls who are angry and lost. For the girls who never saw themselves in books. For the girls who love other girls, sometimes in secret," (Díaz 304) as Díaz represents and reaches out to all of these with comfort.
My one area of criticism would be related to the fact that there are many characters presented in Díaz's story; many of whom are mentioned only a couple of times. It is quite difficult to keep track of all these figures over the course of the memoir. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Absolutely amazing, I almost did not want it to finish!!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5What an excellent book! A story of love and longing. Raw and captivating. This book will make you cry and pull on your heart strings all while pulling for Jaquira’s growth and next steps. A must read!