Quality Rating: 4.5 out of 5
“Still, I can’t help thinking he doesn’t know me. Not the real me… Sometimes it feels like I’m nothing but a pile of flaws. A better Quijana would love the Guatemalan stuff on our walls, get A’s in Spanish, and stand up for the bus-stop boys. Grandma said to stay true to myself. Is my real self a failed Latina?” (Baracel 128)
Summary:
This is a story about a young biracial girl named Quijana who is trying to find herself during middle school. Throughout the novel, she struggles with her identity of being half-American and half-Guatemalan. Being named after Spain’s most famous storybook character and infamous loser, Don Quixote, doesn’t bode well for self-confidence and cultural pride in a 12 year old girl. As both halves of Quijana's life clash, she struggles internally with Spanish fluency, friendship dynamics, and family life; feeling as though she has to chose which of her "halves" she should embrace.
Stereotypes/Biases present in the text:
1. If you live in the States you have to completely abandon other culture(s) that make you and your family unique.
This sentiment is expressed by Quijana herself throughout the novel. But not all children want to or can embrace both halves of her identity in an attempt to fit in and feel normal in society. The author wanted to bring light to the issue of those of other cultures trying to assimilate to the "mainstream" American cultures to the point of losing all touch with their own. Being part-American, part-Guatemalan herself, Balcárcel has learned to juggle both American and Guatemalan cultures.
2. All children from the Latinx community speak and read fluent Spanish.
There may be pressure for children to speak Spanish at home to communicate with all family members—it may be a sense of shame if the kids don’t know Spanish (or their family’s native language), but it isn’t always the case as Quijana shows us. Quijana's Spanish teacher and a few of her peers held this misconception until it became clear that she wasn't fluent in the language. Balcárcel is reflecting her own chlidhood here, as both of her parents spoke fluent Spanish but she was left struggling to learn it from early on.
3. The color of your skin defines who you are.
When new kids showed up on the bus that looked just like Quijana, everyone grouped them together as Mexicans because of their skin color. “Then the mean boy looks right at me and says ‘Don’t belong here,’ and I think he means I don’t belong here-- with my amber skin, my dark eyes (113).” Just because they all have the same skin color doesn’t mean that they all come from the same place. The “mean boy” is using their physical feature to group these kids and Quijana together, using a negative comment to show that he doesn’t welcome them on the bus, in the school, or in the country. His parents and/or the community this mean boy was from must have indicated that anyone with that skin tone must be bad news and shouldn’t be trusted-- leading him to believe that everyone with Quijana’s skin color is bad and should “go back to where they came from.” This situation most likely mirrors some of Balcárcel's personal experiences, as her parents are a multi-racial couple.
Misconceptions I realized I was carrying:
1. All Latinx children know and fully embrace their heritage and culture.
Just as Quijana showcases, not all children from the Latinx community know everything about their heritage and embrace their culture. Some families don’t make this a priority, as they want their children to be as “Americanized” as possible to have a chance at a “normal” life in the states. I don’t know all of my heritage and practice only certain aspects of my culture. If I myself don’t do such things, why should I think members of the Latinx community do?
2. Children are so open and accepting of those within the LGBTQ+ community now.
I love that Zuri and Quijana were so accepting of Jayden’s realization that he was gay. However, there could have been a different side to that story: they could have made Jayden an outsider and disowned him for his homosexuality. From personal experience, not all situations and communities are this accepting and understanding of the LGBTQ+ community-- thankfully my community has become more so in recent years. Coming out is an important milestone for those in the LGBTQ+ and it can be very unnerving and detrimental to an individual’s self-worth if the community doesn’t accept them for who they are.
For more information on some of the struggles that the LGBTQ+ community deals with, here are some important links:
Pollitt, A.M., Muraco, J.A., Grossman, A.H. and Russell, S.T. (2017), Disclosure Stress, Social Support, and Depressive Symptoms Among Cisgender Bisexual Youth. Fam Relat, 79: 1278-1294. https://onlinelibrary-wiley-com.ezproxy.gvsu.edu/doi/full/10.1111/jomf.12418
Hall, William J et al. “Activating Adult Allies From a Rural Community on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Student Issues in School Using Photovoice.” Journal of gay & lesbian social services vol. 30,1 (2018): 49-63. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6395050/?tool=pmcentrez&report=abstract
Earnshaw, Valerie A et al. “LGBTQ Bullying: Translating Research to Action in Pediatrics.” Pediatrics vol. 140,4 (2017): e20170432. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5613818/?tool=pmcentrez&report=abstract
Sydney Meloche (ENG 302-03):
Although I had never heard of this book, I think I'm going to have to read it because it sounds so helpful in understanding the misconceptions surrounding race, ethnicity and sexuality. I think that a lot of people were not properly educated and started to believe stereotypes like the ones talked about above, not realizing how they affect others. It is important to for younger kids to understand that these misconceptions are not true and to ask questions to others about their cultures and uncover their own. From your summary of the book I feel that it would be relatable to a lot of kids, so I feel that it is important for kids who are…
I had never heard of this book, but now that I have I'm going to have to make time to find and read it. This looks like an intresting book that can help students understand stereotypes and their effects on others and their self esteem. It can also help students uncover and talk about their own misconceptions of others and what stereotypes that they believed in that they now know are not true. -April Tomasiewicz
Thank you for introducing this book, the stereotypes/biases present in the text, and being open about your own misconceptions! I love that this book is about identity and how when growing up we can sometimes sense what is expected or what others think of us, and it's confusing and frustrating. Those expectations have a role in shaping who we are, but we can't allow what people think and expect of us to define who we are and will be. It's not easy making our own path especially if we don't feel like we fit in anywhere. It sounds like this book dives into the complexities of being biracial and misidentified, providing readers a relatable opportunity to learn from the character'…