VivirLatino

Mala's Bookshelf : Freestyle by Linda Nieves- Powell

08:48 H | Topics: Books

I am not a fan of chica lit, the Latinized version of a genre that tends to represent the realities of .5% of women but Linda Nieves- Powell's book Freestyle, published by Atria, is the exception to the rule.

Centered around the character of Idalis, a Bronx born, Staten Island transplant, the book takes us inside the head of two thirty something Latina mothers experiencing what could be described as a mid-life crisis as sorts. Between worrying about the electricity bill, racist babysitters and employers, internet porn, and interracial dating, Idalis and her consort, Selenis, attempt to answer that question we all ask ourselves at one point or another: What if? What if I had hooked up with that guy instead of this? What if took a different educational path?

In attempting to answer these questions, Idalis and Selinis look to their pasts and realize that the grass isn't always greener on the other side and that we just need to take better care of our own damn grass!

This story is set up against nostalgia for the age of freestyle music in New York City. Remember the wop? Linda Nieves- Powell does and reminds her readers of the fashion and music so many of us now thirty something Ricans used to rock. The amount of pop culture references made me smile and nod my head.

But what also made me smile and laugh was the realistic voices of the characters. I could relate to much of Idalis's internal dialogue and cracked up so loud when Idalis's mom calls a date shrimp in Spanish (because we have mothers that would do that sort of thing).

Linda Nieves- Powell's book Freestyle is by no means a heavy book, but it deals with the day to day struggles of real mid-life Latinas with humor and realism. Idalis and Selinis aren't mamis upset because baby spit up on their designer suits. Idalis and Selinis are every(latina)woman, we can sit down and have a coffee or rum and coke with (their drink of choice) and work it all out.

You can purchase the book at Barnes&Noble.

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