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Yola Palacio and her family are Venezulean living in Trinidad with an illegal status. They have no protection and no one to turn to when spunky recently deceased Aunt Celia’s debt gets called in and flashy Ugly comes to call in his favor. We get Aunt Celia through her journal pages which are very graphic lol. What happens to those journals and diaries when you die? It is more of a descriptive How to Memoir on how to be a bad bitch.

Yola is an aspiring writer that has had articles published and Ugly’s right hand man, Roman who has his eye on the whole family is eyeing her in particular. There was a lot of steam with this attractive guy that surveilles their family and beats people up. The heart wants what the heart wants, yes we can call it the heart. Roman is the muscle for Ugly but he’s also kind of stuck in that position. Everyone is scared of Ugly, he is an example of one of those people that I can never understand. That had a horrible origin story with aholes ruining their parents lives so they become just like the villains that made their lives horrible and do it to a whole new generation. I guess you either go hero or villain path,  reluctant or on purpose. After being thrust in 

PSA: Reminders of all the privileges that I have being born the way I look in this country. I just don’t understand the hatred with foreigners and “people that don’t belong” mentality, especially when they are trying to escape violence. Where is our humanity? How can you look at a human in pain and say oh they are from ___ I can’t help them? What kind of villain are you? The last four years I feel like my heart has been draining over a sieve watching hatred, caging, riots and what have I done? Nothing but cower in fear. Bigger picture though without country borders and rulers in power, we are all the same species with no biological/medical differences, it’s all created by patriarchal, imperialism, to keep us all under the thumb of what?, this huge machine that drones on.. the matrix? 

PS: I want to travel to Trinidad, the Caribbean, anywhere in the island chain. I went on a Disney cruise to the Bahamas in 4th grade, I don’t think that counts. I need to go make new memories on more memories than Disney tourist beaches.

Pic:Our native plant garden at Crown Memorial beach, I love this rowboat planter. I can’t keep this little girl out of it though.

TW: Animal abuse, abuse, language, sexual stuffs…
Thank you Net Galley and Simon and Schuster for my e-arc copy for my honest and voluntary review.