Karla Cornelio Villavicencio is so hilarious! It comes through in this story that dares to twist the narratives we’ve heard of Undocumented Americans. Truly an exceptional book.

The story of Catalina, an undocumented immigrant from Ecuador who came to the U.S. as a child after her parents died. She lives with her undocumented grandparents and goes to Harvard. Before DACA, her biggest challenge is not being able to get a job after graduation.

The book explored the struggles and fears of undocumented people. It’s written in a stream-of-consciousness style with a lot of fantasizing, which made it hard for me to focus on the important topics. Some might enjoy this style, but it wasn’t my favorite.

I tried to read this three times and it was not for me. Very stream of consciousness and I could not see where it was going in the slightest. It seems that I am in the minority.

This book was a powerful and unforgettable read that will stay with you long after you turn the final page. It's a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the enduring power of family. I liked the characters and the writing

I have not stopped thinking about this book since reading it a few weeks ago. The female protagonist, having been raised by her undocumented grandparents, is trying to find her way as she gets ready to graduate from Harvard. But amidst her academic career is also the expectations of caring for and protecting her aging grandparents.

A coming of age story about an undocumented young woman going off to college and trying to navigate life. I thoroughly enjoyed this, my biggest complaint was that it was so short haha. Catalina's voice is so strong and entertaining with her humor filled emotional monologues, I wanted way more of her than just over 200 pages.

I loved the fact that the story was both so eye opening, but also filled with humor, which you could tell was a coping mechanism at times, but it made the story that much more engaging.

I read this in a day, once I started, I couldn't stop. Every page just pulled me further and further into Catalina's story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

✨Catalina✨

I’m going to start with the cover and the title!! Absolutely love it!!

Catalina is my oldest daughter’s name so obviously I wanted to read this one! Cover is gorgeous, catching, and intriguing.

As a reader, you have to know that this book is a thought stream in the mind of a college student. The reader is just in her mind, and any random thing she thinks, we know about it. It takes a little bit to understand where Catalina (and the author) is going with it.

But here’s what I picked up when I let the words just flow and didn’t try to understand “the point”…

1. Catalina has reached a level of success that most US born young adults will never reach despite the abandonment she experienced…but she held onto her trauma very closely.

2. She has this good girl, bad girl, smart girl, dumb girl thing going lol She’s a dynamic Harvard student, but also throws herself out of a moving car … crazy girl!

3. Most details in this book are when she’s thinking sexually about something…lollipops, phone sex with strangers, an imaginary future with her boyfriend. This is in contrast with other major life events that (as a reader) I wanted to know more about. I guess she’s just a young girl with skewed priorities…

Once I realized these few things, I enjoyed the story so much more. I don’t think this book is meant to be “understood”, the book is meant to be “experienced”.

I got this through #netgalley as an ARC, but ended up getting it on Audible to listen instead 🎧

#catalina #karlacornejovillavicencio #readingreyna

Things I enjoyed about this book: (1) Catalina's voice and perspective shone through loud and clear. (2) The critiques of campus life seemed spot on, delving into the complexities and hypocrisies that exist at our country's colleges. (3) The magical realism that was sprinkled throughout the novel was well done and added layers to the story. (4) The descriptions of what it's like to be a first generation Latiné in the United States seemed really authentic. (5) The writing was nicely literary without being over-the-top.

Critiques: (1) There was some pacing issues due to the somewhat stream of consciousness storytelling. (2) The nonlinear narrative undercut some of the emotional heft of the story.

Overall, I found this to be a solid 4 star book that I would recommend to other readers.

This was quite the interesting read! I have to admit that I struggled with some of magical realism aspects because it seemed sort of misplaced. This story was a quick read and I appreciated that our main character is a brilliant example of a first-generation Latina navigating complicated family life and expectations while also figuring out what she wants for her own life. This story is necessary, fun, a little weird, but thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable.

I loved this book. Our protagonist, Catalina, is a smart and confident student at Harvard, but in the background of her whole life is the knowledge she and her grandparents are undocumented from Ecuador. This knowledge complicates the normal millennial hot mess narrative, but only a bit- she is still sort of a hot mess, but she is careful not to step a toe out of line and to constantly be aware of how to make her way in the world. The writing is wry and comedic, but still packs a huge punch. Catalina is unafraid to call out the fetishization of Latin America by the elites around her, and is constantly aware of the privileges they have that she doesn't. Clever and cutting in equal measure.

Some favorite lines:
"I don't really think American cuisine is about flavor, it's like a stand against communism."
"The rest of the world is plundered and bombed so rich white people can eat Caesar salad with each other and be inane."
"Unless it is read, a book is just an object. There are no holy texts without believers to read them."

Highly recommend this wonderful book.

Catalina by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio is a really powerful and raw book that takes you on an emotional rollercoaster. It’s about a girl named Catalina who’s just trying to figure out her place in the world. She’s dealing with a lot of personal and family struggles, and the book dives deep into things like identity, culture, and mental health.

I loved how real and honest Catalina’s story felt. The writing is beautiful but still super easy to follow. It’s not always an easy read because some parts are tough to get through, but I think that’s what makes it so impactful. You really feel connected to Catalina’s journey and the way she’s trying to find hope and strength through everything.

The book is also really good at showing the complexities of family and relationships, and how people deal with pain in different ways. It’s definitely a book that makes you think, and it doesn’t give you all the answers, but that’s part of what I liked about it.

This book takes you deep into the thoughts and actions of a young woman who is undocumented and what happens to her in a year's timespan. I found this to be very interesting and eye-opening. It's definitely a roller coaster of emotions. I recommend to those who enjoy character-driven reads and books with immigration as a theme.

I want to start off by saying. Catalina is an essay at heart.

Written in four distinct parts, with an introduction and an epilogue, Catalina chronicles DACA student Catalina Ituralde’s senior year at Harvard University. Catalina is a talkative, shrewd, and irresistible protagonist. Her wit and self-awareness deepen our understanding of how small slights and epic challenges shape an immigrant’s life. The novel is narrated by Catalina through a continuous, conscious stream of thought in each section, allowing the reader to feel as if they are truly inhabiting her mind. This approach blurs the line between fiction and personal essay, making the story feel both free-flowing and intimate, as well as clearly structured and deeply reflective.

With this novel, Cornejo Villavicencio has a clear intention to inform the reader about life as an undocumented immigrant in 21st-century America, subtly persuading the reader’s subconscious against anti-immigrant rhetoric—especially pertinent during this election season. Though the novel is fiction, it is evident that Cornejo Villavicencio draws from elements of her own life, as Harvard’s first documented undocumented graduate. The novel carries the essence of The Bell Jar, which Catalina herself references multiple times in the latter half of the story.

Catalina pushes the boundaries of both the novel and the essay. It challenges traditional forms and invites the reader to see beyond labels, whether those labels are “essayist,” “immigrant,” or “student.” Through Catalina’s voice, Cornejo Villavicencio delivers a powerful narrative that is as thought-provoking as it is entertaining. I had a hard time rating Catalina but ultimately decided to give it 5 stars on GoodReads as it sparked a desire to perform a full deep-dive literary analysis. I highly recommend this novel as a book club choice.

This is a coming-of-age story told through the multifaceted view of the title character. Catalina is a curious, witty, and endlessly enquiring Harvard University senior who is all too aware of the change in her “dreamer” status once she graduates in the Spring. “Catalina” is fiction that includes some of Villavicencio’s immigrant experiences. Her first book, “The Undocumented Americans” (Random House/One World, 2020), is a nonfiction account of her experience as one of the first undocumented immigrants to graduate from Harvard. Both books are exceptional. They capture immigrant living experiences regularly portrayed in media at the extremes, glossed over into romanticized stories of triumphs.

Thank you to Karla Cornejo Villavicencio, Random House/One World, and NetGalley for the eARC!

Thank you to One World and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy!

Available now.

Bouyed by zingy one liners, Karla Cornejo Villavicencio's Catalina is a raucous coming of age. As she navigates class, immigration status, pop culture, and more - Catalina must find her place in the increasingly confusing world of the wealthy and powerful at Harvard. The whole story reads as one monologue and I found myself laughing out loud at parts of Catalina's experiences. I loved the family dynamics in this book, the balance of tender devotion and guilt many immigrants navigate. Sometimes, I would get thrown off by Catalina's meandering thoughts, but as a whole it was a bemusing read.

The Undocumented Americans was a book that I highly recommended, and I was intrigued by the premise of Catalina by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio, which, while a work of fiction, has similar thematic elements. This campus novel takes readers to Harvard, as protagonist Catalina navigates the liminal space between worlds as the outsider looking to belong, struggling with identity.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

I recently read Catalina by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio, and while I appreciated its ambition, I found it somewhat lacking in cohesion and depth. The novel follows Catalina Ituralde, an undocumented Harvard student navigating her senior year, grappling with personal and familial challenges.

Villavicencio’s portrayal of Catalina’s internal struggles and the external pressures of her undocumented status is compelling. However, the narrative often feels disjointed, with subplots that seem underdeveloped or tangential. For instance, Catalina’s interactions with elite campus societies and her romantic entanglements are introduced but not fully explored, leaving me wanting more depth and resolution.

Additionally, while the novel aims to critique liberal academia and its hypocrisies, these observations sometimes come across as surface-level, lacking the incisive analysis I anticipated. The pacing, too, is uneven; certain sections meander without clear direction, which affected my engagement with the story.

That said, Villavicencio’s writing shines in moments of introspection, and her depiction of the immigrant experience is poignant and authentic. Yet, as a whole, the novel doesn’t fully coalesce into a satisfying narrative, leaving several thematic threads unresolved.

In summary, while Catalina offers valuable insights into the life of an undocumented student, it falls short in delivering a cohesive and impactful story. I hope to see more structured storytelling in Villavicencio’s future works.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

How did I just realize that Karla Cornejo Villavicencio wrote another book?! She's been on my radar since I read The Undocumented Americans and this book did not disappoint.

Catalina is a campus novel at its best—stream-of-consciousness prose set in the last year of a Harvard undergraduate, narrated by the titular Catalina—English student and undocumented migrant—unsure of what life will look like post-graduation. In witty and perceptive narration, Catalina describes growing up in Queens with her grandparents after her parents pass away in a fatal car accident in Ecuador. She reflects on past experiences as an intern and student, surrounded, but never truly perceived by, a predominantly white cohort of peers, instructors, and managers. With a looming graduation and a sudden deportation notice for her grandfather, Catalina spirals into self-destructive behavior that threatens to consume her.

I really enjoyed the wry humor throughout this story and the perspective of an undocumented migrant is not one we see often enough in literature. If I had one nit, it would be that the resolution and most of the character growth seems to happen off-page in the epilogue. Perhaps a slightly more extended arc would see Catalina developing and growing from her experiences.

"Catalina" by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio is a raw and thought-provoking read that dives into identity, immigration, and the complexities of life as a young woman in America. The writing is sharp and unapologetic, and the author’s voice is bold, offering a unique perspective on the immigrant experience. However, at times, the narrative feels disjointed, jumping between personal anecdotes and broader societal commentary. While some moments are deeply emotional and relatable, others feel a bit too fragmented. Overall, it’s a powerful book that sheds light on important issues, but the structure and pacing make it hard to fully connect with at times.

I loved this book the same way I loved Elif Batuman's The Idiot. They are both detailed, almost diary-like stories recounting the lives of young women at elite universities. While in lesser hands the detail could bog down the narrative, Cornejo Villavicencio lets the detail become the narrative. Things happen, yes, but the real joy here is living in Catalina's head: her worries, her crushes, her real and imagined problems. This one was a great read--let yourself marinate in the prose and you won't be sorry.