PositiveRHINOIssues of identity and race are explored in language imbued with humor, frustration, and grace. But threaded in and out of the collection is also a desire to shed the self and become something or someone new ... The book’s back cover calls the language of this book \'everyday,\' but the author’s skill with language is far from common. With odes to cheese fries, basement parties, and Scottie Pippen, and nods to Vapo-rub, Wolverine, and Kanye West, Olivarez certainly does not shy away from pop culture or its vernacular. However, moments of extraordinary tenderness and beauty are found throughout the collection as well ... repetitions or reinventions function as refrains to love songs of growing up in two cultures. Whether addressing serious issues of gentrification and erasure or exploring personal love and loss, Olivarez speaks in a voice that moves always toward belonging.
