Pura Belpré Honor Book BEST OF THE YEAR Chicago Review of Books · Kirkus · Los Angeles Public Library Publishers Weekly Flying Start High Spirits is a collection of eleven interconnected short stories from the Dominican diaspora, from debut author Camille Gomera-Tavarez. It is a book centered on one extended family – the Beléns – across multiple generations. It is set in the fictional small town of Hidalpa – and Santo Domingo and Paterson and San Juan and Washington Heights too. It is told in a style both utterly real and distinctly magical – and its stories explore machismo, mental health, family, and identity. But most of all, High Spirits represents the first book from Camille Gomera-Tavarez, who takes her place as one of the most extraordinary new voices to emerge in years. For fans of Elizabeth Acevedo, Sandra Cisneros, Angie Cruz, and Yaa Gyasi P R A I S E ★ “Authentic and immersive…A labor of love imbued with dedication to family.” — Kirkus (starred) ★ “Deeply personal and relatable. Steeped in nostalgia and harsh but fierce love, this is a memorable family saga in its own right.” — Booklist (starred) ★ “Full of vivid and poetic imagery… settings worthy of drinking in, and thematic material ripe for contemplation about identity, intergenerational memory, and patriarchy and toxic masculinity, Gomera-Tavarez’s soulfully crafted debut is a sensitive, intrinsically feminist work.” — Publishers Weekly (starred) “A magical and unflinching look at the Dominican Diaspora.” —Dominican Writers Association   Gr 10 Up—In this debut collection of 11 interrelated yet stand-alone stories, the Afro-Latino Dominican American experience is center stage, a breath of fresh, saltwater air to all readers and a mirror to island-hopping teenagers in the United States with strong ties to their extended families in the Dominican Republic. The collection starts with a visual family tree spanning four generations. Some stories are set in northeastern U.S., but most are set in Hidalpa, a small, fictional coastal town near the border of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The first story features Gabriel, who suffers from a fit of memory rather than forgetfulness, remembering spilling the habichuelas at his grandmother Mabel Belen's house while in therapy in the U.S. Contradictions prevail with cousins partying hard and remembering church, arguments about islander racism and sexism, the cruelty of older generation husbands, and younger brothers in tow on dates. When his mother finds marijuana in his room, Franklyn is sent from NYC to the island to Tía Lupe's, where he is made a servant but helps his cousin avoid date rape. Memory pervades the collection with all the vicissitudes of global identity-making, including interminable waits on visas. Expect both realism with full phrases of authentic Dominican Spanish, and full-force magic realism with the past ever-present. The last story ties the collection together with La Doña Belen's recounting of family history, with just a hint of sweet fiction. VERDICT A must-buy for libraries serving older teens.—Sara Lissa Paulson [STAR] "Ordinary scenarios, from youthful misadventures, a visit to the barbershop, and participating in a domino tournament are punctuated by themes of mental health, internalized colonialism, and machismo... Seeped in nostalgia and harsh but fierce love, this is a memorable family saga in its own right." -ALA Booklist Camille Gomera-Tavarez is an Afro-Dominican writer, designer, and creative from New Jersey. She has a BFA in Graphic Design & Creative Writing from the Maryland Institute College of Art and is currently based in Philadelphia, PA. Her debut short story collection, High Spirits , received critical acclaim and was named a Pura Belpré Honor Book. Author Residence : Philadelphia, PA