What do readers think of Make Your Home Among Strangers by Jennine Capó Crucet? Write your own review.

I enjoyed reading this story for the most part, but I had some difficulty in determining which protagonist was speaking. There are no quotation marks. Instead, a long dash is at the beginning of the sentence to signify someone speaking. Somewhere in the dialogue, the person speaking is revealed. I have encountered this in some other books, but with little or no difficulty. Maybe it's something I have to get used to, if other writers follow suit.

Overall, the story is interesting and entertaining. I'm just not used to this particular writing style.

I now have a better understanding of what it feels like to be a second generation Cuban in America. Lizet is torn between her personal ambition and loyalty to her cultural heritage. She is a scholarship student at a prestigious college in upstate New York. She has to adjust to cold weather and academic problems due to her inadequate preparation for higher education. Back in Little Havana her family is broken and her mother has become involved as an activist in the case of Elia Hernandez. This is obviously the Elian Gonzalez controversy from fourteen years ago. How Lizet deals with her new life makes an interesting story.

I hate to post a negative review here, but I find myself making excuse after excuse not to pick this book up to finish it because I just do not like the main character. She lies and makes stupid choices all the time and for no good reason, doing all kinds of unnecessary damage to herself and others. I can't stand spending time with her, and I'm having a hard time seeing how any college would think she were smart enough to be accepted, which makes the foundation of the story completely unbelievable. I was really expecting a book that told the story of a first-generation Latina college student trying to cope with unfamiliar customs and traditions, which I guess this is, but she'd have a much easier time adjusting if she were a nicer, smarter person with even an ounce of common sense. :( I'm basing my review on the first 115 pages of the book, so feel free to take my opinion with a grain of salt if you read the whole thing.

Reading books is a passion but I was pushed hard on this one. It was bogged down in local detail that detracted from what might have been a more engaging story. For those who read reviews, you know this is not usual.