Mayra Lazara Dole's Down to the Bone is about a teenage girl, Laura, coming to grips with being gay in the Miami Cuban community. Dole's writing style reminds me of Francesca Lia Block, she forms long sentences, twisting new words and verbs to become her own. The only parts that feel slightly forced are when lesbians and genderqueer is mentioned. It felt like Dole stepped back from Tazer's character development for a little public service announcement.
It was nice to see Laura struggle for most of the book. She tried at first to be straight so she could love a man and please her family. This seems like something the gay community would abhor, but it seems much more relateable for youth to want to fit in and have people like them so intensely. I also liked that Laura was successful even when she dropped out of school. She was still a dedicated and hard worker, and found ways to feel worthwhile and happy.
Laura was easy to care about and relate to. The language and dialogue in the book was a page-turner and it had great aspects of Spanish language and Cuban culture thrown in. A definite recommendation for anyone.
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