2019, hello! The Epic Reads Book Club held at The Bookmark in San Patricio Plaza is back! We are very excited to be writing about books again. We have some exciting news: it’s the one year anniversary since Josie, Luna and Gabriela started this segment at Her Campus. Super shout out to our former contributor, Josie Melendez, this would not be possible without her. The legacy lives on. We love you. As for the actual book club, it was really fun!
For the first book club of the year, the book chosen was none other than The Resolutions by Puerto Rican author Mia Garcia. Her book was an incredibly exciting one since all of the main characters are Puerto Rican. The characters represent different aspects of being Puerto Rican in the diaspora. It was so interesting and refreshing to have a book like this that had good Puerto Rican representation and didn’t have any stereotypes about us. It was a book that made everyone happy, and made us feel like our voices were being heard.
The Resolutions book follows four friends: Nora, Lee, Jess, and Ryan, high school students going into their senior year of high school who decide to make New Year’s resolutions to change their lives. Each of them is dealing with different aspects in their life, and the resolutions they made are supposed to help them cope with that and plan their future. The book takes place throughout the year that they are supposed to fulfill their resolutions, and we get to see how they change and grow throughout that year. The book explores subjects like sexuality, latinidxd, exploring yourself and the struggles of being young, latinx, and living out of the island.
After the usual book discussion, we talked with Mia Garcia and it was so much fun. It was the first time that we actually were able to have a conversation with an author in two languages: Spanish and English. Mia Garcia was born and raised here, so she had that flair of Spanglish that we love so much. The event felt much more casual. It was extremely comfortable because we had the opportunity to speak in ways that were more fluid. Sitting between books and with the staff being so kind, it’s easy to think you’re home with such a cozy environment.
The conversation fluctuated between a wide variety of subjects. It was a truly enlightening conversation. She talked about the importance of representation and diversity in books, and how she wants it to be her mission to include more Puerto Rican culture into her books. Some of the other bookworms at the book club mentioned how much they liked how Mia Garcia incorporated recipes into the text. Another important detail about the book is the fact that it incorporates Huntington’s Disease: the book follows the intense and emotional journey of one of the characters as they struggle with the possibility of having this disease.
When asked about her writing process she quickly confessed that she was not an outline-type-of-person. Her writing process is something disorganized (and in her words: ¡no para coger ejemplo!) but it definitely works for her. She then recommended books that were all written by women of color, such as We Set The Dark On Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia and Color Me In by Natasha Diaz. The Moon Within by Aida Salazar also came highly recommended.
Her resounding and closing words were: “I try to find out who I am with each book I write.”
Here’s to another successful book club! See you next time.
The next Book Club will be on Wednesday, February 27, 2019. The book will be Circle of Shadows by Evelyn Skye. Stay tuned! Also, we will be giving away a copy of this book next week. Be sure to check our Facebook page! Lots of love, Luna and Gabriela (and Josie, spiritually).