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Carla Olivares spends a year in Mexico City trying to engage with the Chicano side of her heritage. At first she spends time only with fellow expats, starting with her trustafarian (her description) ex-boyfriend with whom she lives with for the first few months. She knows very little Spanish in the beginning of the story, but as she works at immersing herself in Mexican culture, she also learns the language.

This was a quick and somewhat tearful read. The teenage narrator, a talented classical musician in a coma after a car accident, must decide whether to live or die. While this is an affecting book and an interesting premise, I think there could have been more complexity on the death side. But maybe that's just a middle-aged reader of YA lit talking. I think teens will appreciate the drama.

Dick-lit. If I had to write a two word review of this book, that would be it. It's amusing, shallow, the boy gets the girl, and there's a fair amount of gross-out violence along the way. Although frat boys don't do too well in this book, they're a good audience for it. The author reveals himself—or at least the narrator—to be something of a liberal by ragging on Fox News, but really, if your politics go much deeper than Fox's, you might find parts of this book offensive.