A review by cubaitlubin
Thirty Talks Weird Love by Alessandra Narváez Varela

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

All I really know is loving you is hard, Thirty- weird, and I always come up short defining it, but I’m going to stick it out like a defiant palo verde growing under the sun.

As a thirty year old, what would I say to my thirteen year old self if I could? What would she respond? How could we learn from each other?

I LOVE a sensitive coming of age story. I love poetry and bilingualism and how the two intertwine. Family and friendship and navigating the mental/emotional woes of early teenage-hood. But it’s more than that. This story is made all the more urgent and poignant by the setting of Ciudad Juárez, 1999. And the author’s note deepens the meaning and perspectives. For all readers, especially past and present adolescent girls and those who love them.

Poetry/Poesía
I wonder about the game Spanish and English play in poetry. Cincel en piedra tibia versus chisel on lukewarm stone. The sounds tickle my ears almost the same, but it has to be in Spanish. Why? I’m not sure. My first language is Spanish, and I’ve been learning English since kindergarten. Both feel right on my tongue. Can poems-poems do that? If not, who writes the poetry rules? Poets-poets? Who are they? Do they take calls? What do they look like? Perhaps a little or a lot like—me? I just know that without Spanish and English my poems would be like the Mexican flag without the águila. Like a starless U.S. flag. Like huevos sin sal. And who likes saltless eggs? Absolutamente no one!
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