CW: Sexual assault (implied), physical abuse
We all remember our formative years, our youth, with varying attitudes. For some, this manifests as fondness, maybe, a longing for nostalgia and simpler times. Others might be more relieved than not that that period of their lives is over. Whatever your initial reaction may be, it’s important to remember that everyone’s childhood experiences are uniquely their own and what we see on the surface does not always tell a person’s whole story. In Loretta Lopez’s inspiring debut novel, City Girls, readers are offered insight into the stories of three middle-school-aged girls, their struggles and hardships, and more importantly, their triumphs.
“City Girls” is a work of fiction, though Lopez credits the novel as being inspired by the lives of girls she has personally worked with at The Brave House, a nonprofit located in NYC that provides holistic services to young, immigrant girls. Utilizing those experiences, Lopez masterfully creates a three-part story showcasing the lives of three girls living in New York. We are given the opportunity to know them more intimately through their personal chapters written in first person, as well as seeing them through the eyes of the other two. This provides us with crucial insight into how the girls deal with their own issues while also allowing us to perceive how they come across without all the context we as readers get to know. It’s a refreshing style that manages to naturally connect all three plots and all three girls despite their differing situations.
The novel follows a linear approach, starting off with Elisa, an eleven year old girl from El Salvador who’s recently moved to New York to live with her mom and stepdad. Along with Ellisa, we experience her settling into a new city, a new school, where she must try to find her place despite the trauma she carries and the looming pressure as her mother works to ensure she is granted asylum and will be allowed to stay in the country. Elisa’s chapters do an excellent job at handling difficult topics, such as sexual assault, physical abuse, and generational trauma, in a respectful, but undeniably authentic way that brings Elisa right off the page and into our hearts.
“‘City Girls’ is such an important novel, especially to children, because of its boundless ability to connect with and teach to a wide variety of audiences. ”
Part two centers around Lucia, Elisa’s first friend, a shy, introverted girl who is the only other Spanish speaking student in their class. Her portion is conveyed through letters she writes to her deceased Tita over a period of time. Despite a seemingly perfect life, her world comes crumbling down when she discovers a distressing secret as she’s still very much entrenched in the loss of her Tita. As she grapples with this secret, readers will follow along on her journey of spiritual discovery. How she connects to her Tita even though she’s no longer physically with her and how this gives her the strength to finally confront this secret despite what it might mean for the future of her family.
In the final part of the novel we get to know Alice, a rambunctious, loud, confident girl who isn’t afraid to be herself no matter what anyone else thinks or says. We learn that Alice is extremely close with her mother, so much so that she considers her her best friend. So when there arises a possibility of her mother no longer being able to be with her, Alice deals with it in the only way she knows how—by cranking herself up to 11 despite the consequences this may bring. Lopez does an impressive job with Alice of demonstrating self-destructive coping techniques that emerge when a child’s support system is taken away. It provides readers with the understanding of where this might come from and hopefully lets us walk away with newfound patience and acceptance.
City Girls is such an important novel, especially to children, because of its boundless ability to connect with and teach to a wide variety of audiences. Speaking from personal experience, children are so deeply informed and shaped by the books they read growing up, I wholeheartedly believe that even if they can’t personally relate to the communities represented in this novel, it would be a very good idea to give them opportunities to learn as much as they can about those different from themselves.
And for those audiences who see themselves in these characters, it’s so vital that they have access to these stories. It really means more than a lot of people can conceptualize to see yourself represented in media, to know that you are not alone and that there is so much in your life to celebrate.
Gabrielle Rodriguez is a volunteer reviewer with Latinx in Publishing. She is a recent graduate of California State University Chico, who hopes to learn more and eventually delve into the world of publishing herself. She was born and raised in San Francisco and grew up with a fostered love of reading and writing that she wishes to share with other, young, Latinx girls. With grandparents hailing from Puerto Rico and Mexico, boosting the voices of writers with similar roots is deeply important to her.
