<i>Who made the rules on what being Mexican was or wasn't? I'd always been told to check a box -- to fit in one category or the other. But it wasn't ever that easy. And why did it matter?</i>

I wasn't sure I was going to rate this, as I don't tend to award stars to non-fiction (not that I read much of it, to be fair, despite my best intentions!), but as I think most of what is comprised of this anthology is fiction (though I could of course be wrong..), I felt it deserved to be rated. Particularly in the hopes that people see the stars and feel inspired to look a little closer at this and maybe, even, hopefully, pick it up.

<i>Mom and Dad used to love taking me to all the Mexican and Chicanx pride events, and I used to like it too until I got older and couldn't wrap my head around how it's possible to dance with such fierce colourful joy while shouldering a legacy of so much pain.</i>

Though there are twenty different offerings within this collection this is not a long read and, in the case of some of the specific ones I'll shoutout below, I wish it had been longer. I can't possibly know the impact of what this collection will do for readers who see themselves, or their parents, or their loved ones, in these stories but I have a feeling this'll mean a lot for a lot of people.

<i>I understand that for many Americans -- including my own parents -- being seen as American is a struggle that can be tiring and long.</i>

As for those standouts? These were mine.

<b>Coco Chamoy y Chango</b> by E.E. Charlton-Trujillo was the first one I that I was sad didn't have more to it. I wanted to keep reading, I wanted to learn more about these characters, and where they were going. It was such a casual little snapshot in time but it made an impression.

Next was <b>My Name is Dolores</b> by Guadalupe Ruiz-Flores and, to quickly sum up, it broke my heart. The image of that little girl.. well, I won't spoil. But it was one of those little big moments that leaves quiet devastation in its wake.

An <b>Ode to My Papi</b> by Guadalupe García McCall might have been the shortest of the bunch but.. I don't want to call it lovely, because it was also so sad, but it was a bittersweet, heartwarming, heartaching little tribute. Though there's nothing little about the message.

Finally, there was <b>La Princesa Mileidy Dominguez</b> by Rubén Degollado which snuck up on me. It wasn't that I wasn't invested in the story as it unfolded but it wasn't until the final paragraph or two when I realized how much I had softened as the story went on until I found myself brushing away tears. Partially it was the importance of the celebration described, the moment of transition from child to young adult, but it was more how this group of strangers, this community, came together without hesitation. It was incredibly moving.

There was one more quote I really wanted to share so I'll use it to sign off this review but suffice it to say yes, I had some favourites, but most of the quotes I've pulled didn't even come from those stories I've mentioned. There was something different, something important, something moving, in everything offered in this collection. And also something for everyone.

<i>I'm so tired of these trying political times, and I'm tired of trying to care about the newest protests and the hashtags and the kids who die or almost die and get fifteen minutes of fame from the adults who have all the money and the clout and the thoughts and prayers but don't actually do anything.</i>