About this item
Named to Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2014Named to School Library Journal Best Books of 2014Gabi Hernandez chronicles her last year in high school in her diary: college applications, Cindy's pregnancy, Sebastian's coming out, the cute boys, her father's meth habit, and the food she craves. And best of all, the poetry that helps forge her identity.July 24My mother named me Gabriella, after my grandmother who, coincidentally, didn't want to meet me when I was born because my mother was unmarried, and therefore living in sin. My mom has told me the story many, many, MANY, times of how, when she confessed to my grandmother that she was pregnant with me, her mother beat her. BEAT HER! She was twenty-five. That story is the basis of my sexual education and has reiterated why it's important to wait until you're married to give it up. So now, every time I go out with a guy, my mom says, "Ojos abiertos, piernas cerradas." Eyes open, legs closed. That's as far as the birds and the bees talk has gone. And I don't mind it. I don't necessarily agree with that whole wait until you're married crap, though. I mean, this is America and the 21st century; not Mexico one hundred years ago. But, of course, I can't tell my mom that because she will think I'm bad. Or worse: trying to be White.Isabel Quintero is a library technician in the Inland Empire. She is also the events coordinator for Orange Monkey and helps edit the poetry journal Tin Cannon. Gabi is her debut novel.
About the Author
Isabel Quintero lives and writes in the Inland Empire of Southern California, where she was born and raised. She attend Cal State San Bernardino where she received her B.A. in English and M.A. in Composition, and is currently an adjunct faculty instructor at two community colleges and teaches English. For fun she reads and writes, watches comedy movies, and obsesses over television crime dramas. Gabi, A Girl in Pieces, from Cinco Puntos Press, is her first novel. She is working on a few projects at the moment, one of which is a fantasy story about a young girl who is on a quest to save her family and encounters legends and folklore. Isabel enjoys carne asada tacos, pepperoni pizza (thin crust only please) , dark chocolate, poetry, folk music, and looking at cute animal pictures. Oh, and long walks on the beach.
