Name: Lilly Snyder's review of Ordinary Girls by Jaquira Díaz
Item: Ordinary Girls
Author: Lilly Snyder

Jaquira Díaz

One of the Must-Read Books of 2019 According to O: The Oprah Magazine * Time * Bustle * Electric Literature * Publishers Weekly * The Millions * The Week * Good Housekeeping “There is more life packed on each page of Ordinary Girls than some lives hold in a lifetime.” —Julia Alvarez In this searing memoir, Jaquira Díaz writes fiercely and eloquently of her challenging girlhood and triumphant coming of age. While growing up in housing projects in Puerto Rico and Miami Beach, Díaz found herself caught between extremes. As her family split apart and her mother battled schizophrenia, she was supported by the love of her friends. As she longed for a family and home, her life was upended by violence. As she celebrated her Puerto Rican culture, she couldn’t find support for her burgeoning sexual identity. From her own struggles with depression and sexual assault to Puerto Rico’s history of colonialism, every page of Ordinary Girls vibrates with music and lyricism. Díaz writes with raw and refreshing honesty, triumphantly mapping a way out of despair toward love and hope to become her version of the girl she always wanted to be. Reminiscent of Tara Westover’s Educated, Kiese Laymon’s Heavy, Mary Karr’s The Liars’ Club, and Terese Marie Mailhot’s Heart Berries, Jaquira Díaz’s memoir provides a vivid portrait of a life lived in (and beyond) the borders of Puerto Rico and its complicated history—and reads as electrically as a novel.

A Memoir

Ordinary Girls

Karen Shimek

Let me be clear. This book is very well-written and offers a lot of insight into a young girl's heartbreaking life. But it is so devastating that this is Diaz's lived experience that I could not read more than a few pages at a time and eventually couldn't continue reading altogether. I hope she is living a happier life now, and I would recommend it if you have a stronger constitution than I.

Lilly Snyder

Satya Nelms

I received a copy of this book through a Goodreads Giveaway and it was the early Christmas present I didn’t know I needed. In Diaz’s story I saw my own. The honesty and vulnerability Diaz displays in this book is inspiring, stunning and unnerving all at the same time. The way she weaves her own story with the story of Puerto Rico and Miami is just brilliant.

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Ordinary Girls

Author: Jaquira Diaz

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 4/5

Recommended For...: Autobiography, LGBT

Publication Date: October 29, 2019

Genre: Autobiography

Recommended Age: 16+ (mental illness, sexual assault TW, depression, questioning your sexuality)

Publisher: Algonquin Books

Pages: 336

Synopsis: Ordinary Girls is a fierce, beautiful, and unflinching memoir from a wildly talented debut author. While growing up in housing projects in Puerto Rico and Miami Beach, Jaquira Díaz 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, every page of Ordinary Girls vibrates with music and lyricism. Díaz triumphantly maps a way out of despair toward love and hope to become her version of the girl she always wanted to be.

Review: I really liked this book! I thought the book was very well done. The writing was captivating and the character development was the heart of this book. The pacing was also very on point. I really liked this memoir and I loved how open and honest the author was with the audience, especially on such sensitive topics.

My only issues with the book are that the world building wasn’t that well done in my opinion and I felt like some of the minor characters weren’t that well developed. Other than those things, I highly recommend this novel!

Verdict: A very well done memoir.

Karolina

This book shows the full story of a girl who through fight finally becomes someone she always wanted to be. It’s a long way she had to go through with many hurtful events in the middle, but it all led her to where she is now. 

Jaquira Díaz’s life can be described in many ways. From the early years, she had to take care of herself but also her mother and little sister. She had to grow up very fast and the consequences of it appeared very early. Her life was very hard, for most of the time she lived with her mother who was diagnosed with schizophrenia. She struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts more than once and drowning her sorrows in alcohol daily. The constant parting and meeting people of the streets also discovered her to dangerous situations like multiple sexual assaults. These scenes described in the book were honestly very painful to read. Especially considering the young age of the author, when her first time wasn’t her choice, and saying no wasn’t an option. When I was reading this book, I realized how much my childhood differed from hers and how lucky I was to be born into a family like mine with a stable life and loving parents. That’s a privilege people don’t recognize in their lives. 

Ordinary Girls are touching aspects people don’t like to talk about. They are considered shameful or uncomfortable. It’s also shown in the book when young girls are keeping the secrets about being sexually harassed to themselves instead of going to the police or someone trustworthy. They think they deserved it or that no one will even believe them. So, they go on with their life, drink, even more, drop the school and live on the streets with people like them. 

Reading this book was very painful, especially that I knew that it’s all based on the author’s life. I couldn’t even imagine going through all of this and sharing it all with people. I’m sure it had to be a long and hard process to go through. However, I know that this book would connect girls like her and send them the message that they are not alone. Moreover, it is eyes opening, it’s teaches people that they shouldn’t judge people without knowing their story and life situation. We see young homeless people and think all wrong about them, but the truth may be completely different. 

This book shows the full story of a girl who through fight finally becomes someone she always wanted to be. It’s a long way she had to go through with many hurtful events in the middle, but it all led her to where she is now. 

For the story and quality of the book and writing, I would give this book five stars. However, I felt confused so many times while reading this book because I was jumping through the years and events. I know that it was done on purpose, but I didn’t like it. I had to go back to see which situation was this year connected and how old she was. I think it would be much better if the events would happen in chronological order. 

I would like to thank Algonquin Books and Jaquira Díaz for inviting me to be a part of this amazing blog tour and for providing me with such an inspiring book.

Lacey

Thank you to @algonquinbooks for sending this my way. This memoir is about finding yourself and also your chosen family. I really enjoyed this

Karen Shimek &
Ordinary Girls by Jaquira Díaz

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