Dominicana

• Genre: Fiction; YA historical
• Originally Published: 2019
• Reading Level/Interest: Grades 11-12; college/adult
• Structure/Length: 6 parts; approx. 336 pages; approx. 10 hours, 13 minutes on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: This historical fiction set in 1965 features Ana Canción, a 15-year-old Dominican immigrant who arrives in New York City married to an older, abusive man. Ana finds her way to happiness, fulfillment, and the “American Dream” despite challenges and homesickness.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Poverty; child marriage; physical, sexual, and emotional abuse; political violence and assassination; death of a family member 

Angie Cruz, Author

• Bio: Born in 1972 in Washington Heights, New York; spent her youth traveling between America and the Dominican Republic; initially interested in fashion and studied Fashion Design at the Fashion Institute of Technology; returned to college at the State University of New York (Binghamton) to study literature; has been published in literary journals such as The Paris Review and Callaloo; novelist, editor, and professor; editor-in-chief and founder of Aster(ix), a literary journal; currently an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh
• Other Works: Soledad (2001); Let It Rain Coffee (2005); How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water (2022)
• Awards: First novel chosen for the Good Morning America book club (2019); The Women’s Prize for Fiction (shortlisted; 2020); RUSA Notable selection; ALA/YALSA Alex Award (winner; 2020); Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction (longlisted; 2020)