A review by hannahmarierobbins
How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water by Angie Cruz

4.5

I loved How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water. I found it surprising - formatted through these first person accounts while the main character navigates a government programme - and funny and heartbreaking. Angie Cruz makes all the characters vivid while showing them through the eyes of our messy protagonist. I thought the book tackled the challenges of migration, of "worthiness", of motherhood, of intergenerational trauma, and of love really well. The book does cover parental abuse and some may find parts of the book too sympathetic in these contexts. However, I don't think Cruz implies that any action by any character is "justified".

I will be using sections to teach on the musical In The Heights in my classes. So happy to have read it.