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Pura Belpre Youth Adult Author Honor Book 2023

“Housing 11 interconnected short stories ‘on Dominican Diaspora,’ the Dominican American author’s emotionally sophisticated creation follows a narrative throughline via multiple generations and members of the extended Belén family. Shifting readers to different time periods and locales, including the family’s store in a fictional pre-automobile-era Dominican Republic town and a lockdown in a contemporary New Jersey high school, each story utilizes close third-person tellings and serves as a snapshot of the family’s broader history.”
–Publishers Weekly

High Spirits

Written by Camille Gomera-Tavarez
Published by Levine Querido

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.

Look for the Spanish version, Buenos espiritus.

Primary ISBN: 9781646141296
Publication Date: April 2022
Available As: Hardcover, Audiobook, eBook
Young Adult, Age 12 or older

Community Represented:

Themes: , , , , , , , , , ,

Setting: Fictional Location, Dominican Republic (Santo Domingo),United States (Paterson, NJ), Puerto Rico (San Juan), United States (Washington Heights, NY, NY)

Character’s New Arrival/New American Status: Immigrant

Book Creator(s) Connection to the Community Represented: Own Voices/Lived Experience

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