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kinleyanne's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Suicide, Violence, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Sexual assault and Violence
mandkips's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Child death, Drug use, and Addiction
Moderate: Body shaming, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Infidelity
Minor: Vomit
elenushka8's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Drug use, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Child death, Sexual harassment, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Blood, Death, Addiction, Alcoholism, Suicide, Grief, and Mental illness
whatannikareads's review against another edition
4.5
although jaquira isn't 70 or 80 years old, her life up to this point is heavy, and she has a whole lotta stories in her arsenal. you are completely sucked into all of the characters and their stories, as well as jaquira's journey navigating her own struggles with addiction, abusive parents, etc. it's a raw and blunt telling of what it's like living in puerto rico and miami primarily during the 80s and 90s, and how history has multiple ways of affecting the intricacies of our own lives: from concepts as broad as colonialism and slavery to specific ones as bloodlines and living environments. a really captivating read that makes you want to read more.
my only critique is that she has a tendency to jump back and forth between timelines; she'll foreshadow relationships with a specific person, for example, and it happens often, so i found myself being confused at what age of hers we're at. one chapter we'll be at age 18 at this point with a person, and then we'll go back to 14 and i'll have to remember where the relationship with said person was at at the time. it jumbled up my experience a bit reading it.
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Violence
lostinanovelidea's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Physical abuse, and Mental illness
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, and Infidelity
deedireads's review against another edition
5.0
TL;DR REVIEW:
Ordinary Girls is an incredible memoir. Jaquira Díaz holds no punches, holds your stare while she turns her life story into an anthem for girls like her.
For you if: You like memoirs at all.
FULL REVIEW:
“We were girls, but we’d spend the rest of our days together if we could. Until one day we realized that without meaning to, we grew up, grew apart, broke each other’s hearts.”
I’ve had my eye on Ordinary Girls ever since it was published in 2019 to high praise. It wasn’t until I got a copy in my hand-curated Page 1 Books subscription that I finally had the nudge I needed to pick it up. And y’all, those folks over at Page 1 are so good at their jobs — I loved it.
Jaquira Díaz was born in Puerto Rico and lived there for a few years until violence pushed her family to Miami Beach. There, she grew up in housing projects with a defeated father and violent brother on one side, and a schizophrenic mother and beloved sister on the other. Violence, poverty, drugs — none of it was strange to her. And throughout all of it were her girls — her friends.
This is the kind of memoir that makes the world bigger, richer, and more human. The kind written by regular people with regular and exceptional, harsh and beautiful, small and big lives. The kind that opens a lot of eyes to the experiences that a lot of people live with.
And as anyone who’s read this book will tell you, it’s also just so, so well written. Certain passages stopped my breath. Díaz showed a promise for writing early on, and eventually her desire to be a writer is what helped her claw her way out of one life and into another. But this isn’t a story about someone who worked hard and overcame all odds; it’s about an ordinary girl who had a mix of good timing and luck and just enough stubbornness in her heart to keep pushing forward.
Strong recommend.
TRIGGER WARNINGS:
Sexual assault and rape; Drug addiction and use, alcoholism; Parental abuse/neglect; Self-harm and attempted suicide; Mental illness/schizophrenia; Violence by family members
Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Drug abuse, Child abuse, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, and Violence
Moderate: Rape, Self harm, and Alcoholism