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Written by 
- Format: Trade Paperback, 320 pages
- Publisher: Dial Press Trade Paperback
- On Sale: May 28, 2002
- Price: $16.00
- ISBN: 978-0-385-31963-8 (0-385-31963-0)
about this book
***2001 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD NOMINEE - NON-FICTION***
***LIBRARY JOURNAL BEST BOOKS OF 2001 - NON-FICTION***
Now in Paperback.
Written in the tradition of Hunger of Memory by Richard Rodriguez, this is an informative and resonant portrait of a child coming to terms with her bicultural identity. American Chica explores the issues and difficulties that confronted a child trying to find her way in the United States as a hybrid Hispanic American. Throughout, Marie Arana provides an unforgettable look at her two worlds: the diverse terrain of Peru, redolent with ghosts of Incan history and mythology; and the vast prairie lands of Wyoming, flat as can be and lined with mountains. In turn, she introduces readers to the colorful people who filled her life: her paternal grandfather who one day simply stopped coming down the stairs; her maternal grandfather who taught her about the constancy of love; and, most importantly, her parents who struggled to overcome bicultural tensions for more than half a century and finally prevailed.
“Arana’s intimate and intelligent memoir captures exactly the pulse of a changing America.”–Library Journal
“A winning portrait of a bicultural childhood...a rich and compelling personal narrative.”–Kirkus Reviews, starred review
