11. Down to the Bone by Mayra Lazara Dole

Dole, Mayra Lazara. (2008). Down to the bone. New York: Harper Teen. ISBN: 978-0-06-084310-6. p. 351

Genre: Fiction/GLBT
Interest Age: 13+
Curriculum: NA

Reader Annotation

After being outed in front of her classmates, expelled from school and disowned by her mother, Laura must find a new family and a new place she can call home.

Plot Summery

Lauri is an average 16 year old Cuban American girl living in Miami, FL, until her Catholic nun teacher reads a love letter from Luara's girlfriend and "outs" her in front of her entire class. She is quickly ostracized by her friends and classmates for being a tortilleria (slang for lesbian), expelled from school, disowned by her mother and finally kicked out of her home. If that wasn't enough, Laura's love is quickly shipped back to Puerto Rico and quickly becomes engaged to man. Within a matter of weeks Laura's life goes from perfect to complete chaos.

Lauri moves in with her understanding and supportive friend Soli and her mother. Here she meets an eclectic mix of new friends, struggles to understand her own sexuality and redefine her definitions of family and home. All of this takes places within the Cuban American culture of Miami.

Critical Review

Mayra Lazara Dole paints a colorful gallery of diverse characters. Not only do these characters allow the reader to explore numerous GLBT issues like "coming out", family tensions, homophobia and prejudice, but the reader is given a window into Cuban American culture. Dole's writing is filled with Spanish (so much so that a Spanish glossary is included), and references to Cuban culture. Ultimately this is what distinguishes Down to the Bone from other GLBT, "coming out" stories.

Lauri's story isn't an unusual one: She is "outed" before she really even understands her own sexuality and feelings; she is is forced to confront homophobic teachers, parents, friends and co-workers; she struggles with reconciling her new life with the desire to return home and live the life she was "supposed" to live. Although the story has been done before and Dole occasionally lets the events descend into soap opera like melodrama, the Cuban/Miami backdrop and a collection of diverse characters who don't readily fit into stereotypes keep the reader engaged and thoroughly entertained.

The dialogue is fast and fun although for those readers who do not speak Spanish, it can be challenging at times. Even if the reader is not passionate about GLBT literature, Down to the Bone works equally as well as a story about Cuban American culture in Miami. It is interesting seeing a GLBT story told through a different cultural lens.

Author Info

Born in Havana, Cuba and currently living in Miami,FL, Mayra Lazara Dole has worked as a translator, drummer, dancer, landscape designer, hairdresser, Cuban chef and library assistant. She is the author two bilingual children's books including Drum, Chavi, Drum!/¡Toca, Chavi, Toca! (2003) and Birthday in the Barrio/Cumpleanos En El Barrio (2004) and one young adult novel Down to the Bone (2008). She also contributes to the various gay and lesbian magazines as well as other periodicals including Cipher Journal: A Journal of Literary Translation, Palabra: A Magazine of Chicano & Latino Literary Art, and Velvet.

Dole admits that Down to the Bone is slightly biographical as well as being inspired by her love of her "Cuban heritage/culture and a desire for Miami Cuban homophobia to be exposed so it can be discussed openly." She feels that writing for children and teens gives her a chance to "help change the world".

"Mayra Lazara Dole." Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2009. Literature Resource Center. Web. 4 May 2010.

Book Talking Ideas

1.
How was Lauri's "outing" at school in the beginning of the novel different from her proclamation, "I'm gay!" at the end of the novel? What were the affects of those events?
2.
How does Lauri's Cuban heritage affect her "outing"? How do different people in her life react to the letter?
3.
Even though they are both Cuban, how are Lauri and Soli's families different?


Challenges

There are no current challenges but books with themes of homosexuality are common targets for challenges especially when younger readers are involved. The novel deals with several GLBT characters and contains some profanity and homophobic slurs.

Why I choose this Book

The novel was nominated for ALA Best Reads for Young Adults 2009 as well as making the ALA's 2008 GLBT Round Table/ SRRT Rainbow List. I also liked the idea of a GLBT themed novel set in a culture different than my own.