By: Giselle RamirezBlueberries for Sal was a book I reread countless times in the classroom of my 1st grade library. It was also one of the high level reading books, so I was very proud of myself for being able to read it completely on my own. However, while I was excelling at English in school, I was failing terribly at Spanish at home. Being a child of immigrant parents, culture and language was something deeply valued in my household. I have an older brother so I picked up on English quicker than Spanish, so my English ended up becoming better than my Spanish, which worried my mother. Hoping to improve my Spanish, she bought me books in Spanish instead, but it did not work. Instead, I constantly kept asking for Blueberries For Sal and cried whenever I was given anything in Spanish. To be honest, I barely remember the plot this book because I lost it among the piles of old toys and books I have stored in my closet. However, it represented a time where I was confused and frustrated with the presence of Spanish in my life because I felt it was not necessary since everything outside my home was in English. As I grew older though, I learned to embrace Spanish because it not only gave me more opportunity, but also allowed me to appreciate my inner Latina. The Lover's Dictionary is a very short novel I read when I was sixteen. The author tells the story of a failed relationship between two genderless lovers in a dictionary format. I do not think it was the story that affected me as much but rather the way the author told it. The story did not have a beginning, middle, or ending, he retold the relationship as a series of good and bad moments. It is very relevant to how we do not think back on relationships in chronological order. Instead, we tend to distinguish between the good and the bad moments of a relationship. This book affected me in the sense that love stories do not always have happy endings, which is something I usually look for when I want to pick up something to read. Nevertheless, it is a unique book and I reread it whenever I am arguing with my own boyfriend or feeling bothered by something because it reminds me that communication is completely necessary in a healthy relationship. I read this book this summer at the current age of 20 and it was moving to see so much diversity in this book. I was amazed to see that the girl being crushed on was Mexican and had beautiful brown eyes. It was wonderful see myself in a book, when growing up all I remember was reading about the girl with wavy blond hair or the cute boy with blue eyes. Aside from this, the book also discusses and expresses certain concerns that young people may be experiencing during a confusing time. Including the topic of exploring a new sexual orientation and discussing what constitutes as racism among minority groups. Sana, a Japanese American girl falls for Jamie, a Mexican American girl, which creates racial tensions among both their social groups. The story brought up questions relevant to the reality that we live in now and how we need to be considerate of everything we say even if we are not intending any harm. I thought it affected me directly because there are certain unspoken boundaries on what constitutes as racism when it comes to comments made by one minority group to the other. Discussions and consideration are steps to be taken when interacting with people of all colors and I think this book lays out a good foundation on how to open up the room for discussion on this topic.
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