Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Mona At Sea
    Mona At Sea
    Mona At Sea
    Ebook338 pages5 hours

    Mona At Sea

    By Elizabeth Gonzalez James

    4/5

    ()

    Switch to audiobook
    Read preview

    About this ebook

    BUZZFEED'S "BEST BOOKS OF JUNE"
    FROLIC'S "UNDER THE RADAR" SELECTED JUNE READS

    Mona is a Millennial perfectionist who fails upwards in the midst of the 2008 economic crisis. Despite her potential, and her top-of-her-class college degree, Mona finds herself unemployed, living with her parents, and adrift in life and love. Mona's the sort who says exactly the right thing at absolutely the wrong moments, seeing the world through a cynic's eyes. In the financial and social malaise of the early 2000s, Mona walks a knife's edge as she faces down unemployment, underemployment, the complexities of adult relationships, and the downward spiral of her parents' shattering marriage. The more Mona craves perfection and order, the more she is forced to see that it is never attainable. Mona's journey asks the question: When we find what gives our life meaning, will we be ready for it?
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSanta Fe Writer's Project
    Release dateJun 30, 2021
    ISBN9781951631024
    Author

    Elizabeth Gonzalez James

    Elizabeth Gonzalez James is the author of the novel Mona at Sea, as well as the chapbook, Five Conversations About Peter Sellers. Her stories and essays have appeared in The Idaho Review, Southern Humanities Review, The Rumpus, StorySouth, PANK, and elsewhere, and have received numerous Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominations. Originally from South Texas, Elizabeth now lives with her family in Massachusetts.

    Related to Mona At Sea

    Related ebooks

    Hispanic & Latino Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Elif Batuman on Fictionalizing Her Life, and Learning to Fact Check

      Mar 21, 2017

      In 2015, the New Yorker writer Elif Batuman was given a book contract to write an autobiographical novel about a Turkish-American journalist moving to Turkey to write for a New Yorker-like publication. Batuman herself had spent several years there wr

      7 min read

    • Article

      A Year in Reading: Kashana Cauley

      Dec 2, 2022

      Kashana Cauley reflects on 2022 through the books she read. The post A Year in Reading: Kashana Cauley appeared first on The Millions.

      4 min read

    • Article

      Lauren Oyler And Patricia Lockwood On Their ‘Evil Twin’ Internet Novels

      Feb 8, 2021

      I hate it here. Everyone agrees that “here” sucks. We are miserable and unproductive and lonely all at once. Time goes fast but not in the way that it flies when you’re having fun, more like when you wake up after a nap to find that it’s suddenly dar

      7 min read

    • Article

      Akwaeke Emezi

      May 28, 2021

      Akwaeke Emezi
      6 min read

    • Article

      For Snow Queens Who Have Considered Suicide Because Paul Newman in the First Twenty Minutes of Paris Blues Is Too Much

      Jun 14, 2022

      But I start with the great Sidney Poitier because his stardom was an established part of the Freedom movement in 1964, and he was to be the chaperone of my inner awakening that dramatic year. Indianapolis, my hometown, had some brave marches and two

      10 min read

    • Article

      A Year in Reading: Bryan Washington

      Dec 3, 2018

      1. This year, I read a lot on my phone. That’s a habit I’ve picked up from working gigs where you stand a bunch (watching kids on a swingset, watching adult children park their cars). Some folks don’t vibe with that, but those folks don’t pay my bill

      4 min read

    • Article

      Shame Is Ever-Present When You’re Sitting in a Cell

      Oct 23, 2020

      Between a strained relationship with my family and the death of a good friend, I’ve struggled to feel like I’m worth something.

      5 min read

    • Article

      The Space Between Us

      Oct 9, 2019

      The Space Between Us
      8 min read

    • Article

      Anthony Veasna So

      Mar 9, 2021

      Always they find us inappropriate, but today especially so. Here we are with nowhere to go and nothing to do, sitting in a rusty pickup truck, the one leaking oil, the one with the busted transmission that sounds like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Her

      22 min read

    • Article

      The Problem with My Dachshund

      Dec 11, 2019

      The Problem with My Dachshund
      10 min read

    • Article

      I Used to Give Men Mercy

      Feb 12, 2018

      I Used to Give Men Mercy
      12 min read

    • Article

      Mother House

      Aug 6, 2020

      Mother House
      9 min read

    • Article

      A Few Words to the Graduates

      Jun 11, 2018

      A Few Words to the Graduates
      7 min read

    • Article

      Cross My Heart

      Sep 1, 2022

      Cross My Heart
      6 min read

    • Article

      Here’s What I Don’t Say

      Jun 1, 2019

      Here’s What I Don’t Say
      13 min read

    • Article

      “I Escaped My Grandfather’s Sex Cult”

      Mar 16, 2022

      I was born into the Family, a religious movement founded in Huntington Beach, California, in 1968 by my grandfather David Brandt Berg, with help from his four children, including my father, Hosea. It was known as the Children of God in its early days

      8 min read

    • Article

      It Takes Blood And Guts

      Nov 21, 2020

      I’m sitting on Skin’s terrace in Ibiza, soaking up the late summer sunshine via the magic of the internet. It’s the closest I’ve come to travel since the start of the panny danny and looking out my window at the dark Edinburgh sky, I’ll take all the

      6 min read

    • Article

      The Fortune Teller

      Jul 10, 2021

      My head has a liquid feel to it as I stumble down the street. The bottle of red wine in my belly making it seem like my limbs have become balloons, and at any moment they might float away. Next to me, Michael has a stupid whiskey grin stretched acros

      18 min read

    • Article

      First Person Singular

      Dec 1, 2023

      First Person Singular
      17 min read

    • Article

      The Night Card

      Jan 1, 2023

      Summer is so far away. * Last year this same occasion, there was more love among usin the room. More ice cream with olive oil,six or seven spoons touching the cold, melting cloud. Close to midnight, I tell him my pain. My pain,revealed for the first

      4 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Mona At Sea

    4/5

    10 ratings2 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      I could mention what other reviewers have said about this book, that it’s darkly funny, relatable, and Sedaris-like in its protagonist Mona’s self reflection. However, what I relished was its look at a Mexican American character’s life where her cultural identity was present, but not the main focus. We desperately need more stories like this one, showing Mexican American characters that are either bi-cultural or have a foot in both worlds. This is a masterpiece and Elizabeth Gonzalez James is an author to watch.
    • 4/5
      Mona Lisa Míreles of Tucson, Arizona, is fresh out of college with a finance degree, but she can’t find a job. She attends a program at her family’s church to help people find employment. There she has encounters with several people who turn her life in unintended directions.I had mixed feelings about this book. I liked the writing and the story, but I was reading this novel at the end of the covid-19 pandemic when unemployment wasn’t just caused by a recession so I probably felt a little more unsympathetic than necessary to Mona had I read this novel any other time.Young adulthood can be a particularly difficult time, and this novel addresses many of the problems faced by individuals at this stage of life. Some of the story was funny, and some parts were sad. However, the chapter I liked the most was the one where Mona goes out on a date with her boss Skip from the telephone call center. That episode was simply hilarious and kept me belly laughing throughout. That part could even stand alone as a short story.This debut novel is from a writer to watch. I’ll be curious to see in what direction she’ll take her next novel.

    Book preview

    Mona At Sea - Elizabeth Gonzalez James

    1`book_preview_excerpt.html}ێGݯdcT7)rtA ICRb`!*32yS^X~8_kUgYc_^{Go5߽hh|u{x| зwc6~7eٷŽ]ݱr?U~,惫GW!{pgYţ!;_\f/۬sl,Ðm61z{ uG35l5W>Cίj* M^MEhYWccGy[û1M6m0:;l1|_a4}9讇8gmaۻHI\Cѐ]Uͅ~T˗7g,>0oXo2*Fl.;9>t7k`ME~&/TX7٧7PPT1 X4nXB3 4dck~zۯ=nSqM]/)|]h0{H85p Tمc3-L~0pښAS/2i82O\!\} o`C@g]=~ɰt/~ SwuOߤq^?~}W}g_/,׀1 (5Z>a^Գko';iPc_OEP~p5k׍>x]W{xun8_=G9:C/ֳ?5ݵ{_'mUٮ &xm~{^鵧<8r AϞ~=5V\$ѭ(gu^ )@ J`3CR*&5-r5 xte_{]@9"?/e7U FgcW-F&W58x_2߁ûmSNr54'iǔ9DԎ8 1iQ0kD0H<qD|'ȯ {`3ns6ђG~^Ƹ;fV?" Waj~Aa6`;QUN.b ]շ&`H r<FLI,뺽>0u{nr$pWgVh)u w-kOR&ϥ|r!%܋PU}юHB<1*tMWQ=`1[oؖm^}Qb9reu߰="py;^ L718V>a?s TK}2wLzVJY^Mԑf Lyʘmu(N"!/LKcxsytd44؋ï  p3%Br|l<~:FW= 7qi/pNs? )`,fgVJ֍9*UȵtYtY"yC'T  \^f|"%"qZz_nz)mLIrb8|[=x"#!¾S/CMJc8sAȢ"Bƴ~BCJ/#=)`}|[S.6XB< ^nL2,sp:(sDyv޶}-- H/xM)d>*ĜUzdA7cy j'm!GE9#tq@, W~ÀW*Xs0[{OHTto#k/ɵ3}SAHĠg4SX-SBqWh/] TV3ӢuMtIa5qaؒt/?,H-k \<1;Z s|' SIp!rsܚ1{ swH GG j?;Ybvs&NlV*T7VQW|V3b ~+Gx`T1բ_9ck' #tڱ•,h0\c|n9Bqf{%q;d"W떼[h$_Oya&.[8 @7$&9@Bɕ| J!ǸنfҴx(c#/\Â\pu%Xh+Ca}/4ЌAtRϑ0ӧMhg(&1H]aN뾡V"1UB3%]ii\2>Kb*D4x& ;iCi`{ܐ农XC T<2l~]7? ͈^8js"GAs ?OWz4F=S#c91],&-HOo.X23y z4ᩊB-b21%/2x5M,v0{a2o&4$UbW-2>eJ"C.T'μĎb$ 18ԆBՃ`# ylUK2 {3Ʈ^x*m&  E #v!(#ٚs: cN22~zCaBkr+^Eȼg8`N,UdBi#Kr9\4y(`|U(rcL >D,:v[-S]s^PPraxx!e10i-&,).Ib3(whڊ~*FuXޱ yta!6ߙ2lwI nb*K4ɅKSҮՆiFb46.O H`PE<[LG3^9 ޸H6v;=AJO u !8.ƒB}6O/m]B=͑˥TRà C"]DPSBn0CWYfEdR&4 'D'o GApk6}羓v2 5-j/KĨ7D/\Î$o.m`l+S6&_洙"fP5 A/c JS!Yw]b*mf$#DWGXF-M] q"q o/~zD##{@܃t|Hse <}\!8P- iyk #^_e~",TrzBl0R.p/V8[~VXO.RQ -dcZO\˛F&\fGe#z H)~<*Ҫ2v쐛91 "Ul(#4KRiRʤ9ˮwUXgj 1Z4Nda`*0,fLjrmF{JSߜXa!sZ޵Py;]"^"4Z*+rW(G'HCEas@&6V'js{Ma y$cRӂ8ݑl KEVy&t@,ES-O a,B=b@DCtDj9ͫZ[D"8e$kK X%tqH|| Uյj+#4U#ШW:=^jH$i?+Y@Ͱh[qTAK1c>D6c;vKڬ?ZEh7kKIyCc 5}l'|⹫݇jS>n. 6;~z3+X7"e=J GZ">`o<1ybUTvHJTIMS'Ķh-u&NUzd(gZT~m>W"f`?ܜ+W,)+ỡ s՞(2DJ5<ƯZhQ"ѵ^(YfдE! A(Isj*CM {$&S֪V:镁]=$. ]|"&Vևб'41-riO)3"V[5~T)-wSTӧ+RaB^a 7P}{fyfJEby$]L/SM<ӶKO_U vJUKo̔bvZƶأaw'Qm N]]~[:G]91wl'!fTR ϡ n 9X[dzH-κV[7y@%\K/QiHzˁs3jtoT)e'n/H,Q|P$3ar\]!SѻIܱk\ dk"1 _np{MChǹcTrdf)CB}3" ;ԔJ[[U_o2JTxex^6Ecdظs4+"dY_'j Y an~h.v˙ 3 y]ΜAp5 -aUo4/kek̎LBSٙgctr.LQ'~UC+[m$iY3H?N{;߉2S|ogw1!/YL0XNѷѿ/:lےoضc6ֵ:͔eL.sܤGKlNeGjSqk'';k_w 0,tlF/XlY'A) 3rљV..F5L%+5eRvuP k%VOdHECPbWne9K\SS4'.eޙ ѓm<}MwK%"MV)\(7{y|j?a.k~n9MՁ coXR;:^e38Ez";=wQÂBp$2i3LُfCLmbnSWw:.)en|Mʊ.b+HDN`N, APg9ueUJJ AA_c,6cv&E `ǻ<da`jJa%_|9xl$YR{/x@허@Tؚ/ܠXwfG8ާ9~ x@^蠍5Mx"OY|ls2>tȘs>'KqVwkM[oDf,I?f*bD,̽WYwQiB~ mG+VZ&2ݳ>2FnXƾP"""P˻omʳD@(FfA(+}+̑X0[AD.Ot^fݺm9~ .#3 hΐxX9J'̒q"96/DŽ!Ѻ9t34J*R*=Lƀ˹l# ֯ N䐎 V#HL ɸjwPC|ob]5aB&pEs>6APEU;NdvGm&Z4P+aD<+6n/Y4W!ޱ! } U-Gy*o-lmVh/?] ;BC ~B#[]̍Q;=|9L)Q϶@msf)$Ϳ,ӧrDG{}:/* ]Eoyv(>exq-gX?kH,3;::v|p?,7$UE-dClhWʕ8u :C-^0V@2)Uvd T 6p^0xCl[.NWkƼf~a4"NNKjne;Fnt[ҡo#XΞ^ "~󷫓=į~NYhyTvCJƮY=edYHIkKBOI|D{HƤ<;-鈽W;ӦU "(S}ҟ9&Wbjg1=T*K݈mƷ<Ͷ$;)ul}Ras<(#ȃҪ1x>/i5=1QH5M)1;^ l= rF_P:!9 MQjv8I]PtUI.~(c)YH$&4`7w:!iuލ r#L~Fۚ3GbɡIթ1@VO$GYǼP~& 7ۍe ԐbGfŘsM:A/J SPqHǶ[V0[]#qB_~X@͛…v&mmPXؑ nufLǸY$E܉6w,v E2R vEJe:~j4viYccz@c޺r+hx*'O>Oe5\mu,X)/:reQxxRx^cu.2`RTl??Ė{cgVp$@:v@>}E$Kob5|k -xяSM3:<ysD;웿mRp6 /١oy]Z\lY/W;׾`hʰf#Ylϰ;ARӵ0*uh%ox$.؆ ܕi4T;C:Q)kΟ.?YG,R c S'Lf;M!n\XAZSBcY/ foSpVc | OrNNsXjHDp@6 IFc IƉ|-$,~^r9Kft;~D:ҕǁe3ruw7貃F7ج.jh.4" ^RSL⎫ bMfM1̿RBebƠCv)aAǢ.Utfa6`RbŊƓ+VFE0Ӑ5±DciBl4~h]7m8fAk۱"dzJŁ2|D򬜅Ma]__[]Mof]"s>apv[+IlYi .4*U/:ԱI5&=mx̫fZ"]`wܚ<:H4dj;:5ͅf^R6Ӈ4b[j=C$xm[$;|vҢgՑE5+":~{; $3+^50>6ddd זauw-*A~s~ac=_Z.spoDlr#22ՓHхB A[j=l~mNz(ܤ^w>dxu+=#k fᖤR]n7L'6cՕ84ڈYfx4hv=>VH귽0Uv#8K5-j-Of~L76 ',7I4dXϿ1Ȥi0tkFJE*5p_Ug+iDte~ج ReE*E]4mtD8^ zeq¦Ք`X3:o2`uRr[}lAJCb{G)nRꅄT;ؑ%Avܫ;0iT)]`{[bG_ROӨ|ϛbj-}I5V!ď # <=1)0* )p&{Lݶ3 ɡb
    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1