Hello everyone!
Today I am excited to be apart of the book tour for ¡Ay, Mija!: My Bilingual Summer in Mexico by Christine Sugg hosted by TBR and Beyond Tours.
About the Book:
“An absolutely heartwarming and vibrant story of belonging, family, and the meaning of home. This book is a treasure.” – Julie Murphy, New York Times bestselling author of Dumplin’
In this bilingual, inventive, and heartfelt debut, graphic novel talent Christine Suggs explores a trip they took to Mexico to visit family, embracing and rebelling against their heritage and finding a sense of belonging.
Sixteen-year-old Christine takes their first solo trip to Mexico to spend a few weeks with their grandparents and tía. At first, Christine struggles to connect with family they don’t yet share a language with. Seeing the places their mom grew up—the school she went to, the café where she had her first date with their father—Christine becomes more and more aware of the generational differences in their family.
Soon Christine settles into life in Mexico, eating pan dulce, drawing what they see, and growing more comfortable with Spanish. But when Mom joins their trip, Christine’s two worlds collide. They feel homesick for Texas, struggle against traditions, and miss being able to speak to their mom without translating. Eventually, through exploring the impacts of colonialism in both Mexico and themselves, they find their place in their family and start to feel comfortable with their mixed identity.
Content Warning: body issues, colonialism, family trauma, diaspora
Book Links:
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58132759-ay-mija-a-graphic-novel
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/%C2%A1Ay-Mija-Graphic-Novel-Bilingual/dp/0316591920
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ay-mija-christine-suggs/1141978625
Book Depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/Ay-Mija-Graphic-Novel-Christine-Suggs/9780316591966
Indigo: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/ay-mija-a-graphic-novel/9780316591966-item.html?
IndieBound: https://bookshop.org/p/books/ay-mija-a-graphic-novel-my-bilingual-summer-in-mexico-christine-suggs/18727732
About the Author:
Christine’s pronouns are they/them/theirs
Christine Suggs is a comic artist and designer living in Dallas, TX with their wonderful partner, 1 dog, and 2 cats. They’re currently working on a YA graphic novel about spending their summers in Mexico as a teen, set to release in 2023 from Little Brown Young Readers. Christine’s work explores the intersection of their identities, namely being a queer, fat, Latinx leftist who loves all things cute. Bonus facts: their day job is in app design, they are an avid Dungeons & Dragons player, and they’re quite obsessed with their cats.
Author Links
Website:
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/csuggsillustration/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20379067.Christine_Suggs
My Thoughts:
One of the first things that drew me to this book was the subtitle “My Bilingual Summer in Mexico”, it sounded interesting and once I read the synopsis I knew I had to read it. And I loved it! There are so many things that I loved about ¡Ay, Mija! and it is a great graphic novel memoir.
First, I really liked how the author grapples with feeling like they don’t fit in in either culture as half-Mexican, half-American. Not only that but there is a scene at the beginning of the graphic novel where some of their friends make some prejudiced and rude comments about Mexico when they share that they are going there for the summer. And I liked how it shows them internally getting angry with those comments.
Second, I loved Christine’s inner monologue/conscience, etc. It made me reminisce a little bit back to when I was a huge fan of Lizzie McGuire. I loved that their inner monologue was cheering them on almost the whole time, especially when they felt like some of their conversations with others in Spanish didn’t go well.
Third, I also liked the exploration of identity throughout the graphic novel, and not just whether or not Christine fits in more with her Mexican family. But it also shows them thinking through who they really are as a person, what kind of people they are attracted to, etc.
Another aspect that I really liked was how readers see Christine dealing with not feeling comfortable in their body. I think as someone, even as an adult, who struggles with that I felt seen.
The art style is gorgeous and I really loved the art work of the ceramic tiles at the start of each chapter. I also enjoyed getting to know Christine’s family, and how they welcome them in and take them around Mexico. There were some great moments and I felt like I learned a bit more about Mexican history as well. I liked that there was a good portion of dialogue in Spanish, and although I do not know a whole lot of Spanish, I felt like I was able to pick up on what was being said fairly easy.
Overall, I really enjoyed ¡Ay, Mija! and I highly recommend it for any one who loves graphic novels, stories about growing up and not feeling like you belong or there are two halves of you. I look forward to reading more of Christine Suggs work in the future. 5/5 Stars.
Tour Schedule:
Meanderings of a BookWorm 