Loca was a moving and colorful example of what life looks like when you take the reigns. The difference between doing what society predicts for you and listening to your inner heart is razor thin. You can fall so easily on one side or another. And oftentimes having a marginalized background can make you feel even more so like fate has your life in its hands. There are powerful systemic forces working against immigrants, POC, queer people, the neurodivergent, women, and others. But even when things look dark and bleak in the face of power, there are individual choices one can make to take charge of parts of their life and destiny.

Our two main characters each discover this after years of living "the dream" that so many have placed on them. The American Dream is something that was promised through hard work, but there are choices that have to be made alongside that work. Choices like the people you fall in love with, the people you keep company with, the things you apply yourself to.

I think Heredia did an excellent job of balancing the lives of these two characters on his fingertip. I do wish that Sal's mental health had been explored a bit more, and that we got a little more resolution on his lot in life. I feel a little more sure of what Charo's life looks like after the events of the novel, and I wanted to feel closer to Sal. Maybe that was due to the pacing of the book, as the middle third focuses heavily on Sal and them both while the final third is focused well on Charo and left me a few more questions about Sal.

Overall I enjoyed my time with these characters, and the writing was beautifully done.