Mexican High

by Liza Monroy

The daughter of an American diplomat, Mila has spent her childhood moving from country to country. When her mother is reassigned to Mexico City for Mila’s senior year of high school, Mila has no idea what to expect. Mexico seems to be a country with the ultimate the wealthy students at her private international school—the sons and daughters of Mexico’s ruling class—party hard at exclusive clubs, dress in expensive clothing, and see more of their housekeepers than they do their globe-trotting parents. But Mila has more in common with them than they her father, whose identity has been kept from her, is a high-ranking politician with whom Mila’s mother had a one-night stand in her hippie days. Now Mila is determined to discover who he is, whatever the cost may be.

A novel that covers the same adolescent terrain as Prep , though in an entirely different landscape , Mexican High is an eye-opening, page-turning coming-of-age story about identity, belonging, and first love. In a setting rife with sex, drugs, and political corruption, it is also a revealing look at elite Mexican society, and its freedoms, dangers, and excesses. Monroy’s flawless evocation of the brink of adulthood, in many ways mirrored by the turmoil of Mexico City itself, makes this a truly memorable debut.

Genres: Fiction, Young Adult, High School

352 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Liza Monroy, the daughter of a U.S. Foreign Service officer, spent her high school years attending an international school in Mexico City. Her articles and essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times Magazine, Newsweek, The Village Voice, Time Out New York, Jane, and other publications, and she was recently awarded a residency by the Kerouac Project of Orlando. She lives in New York City.


“Liza Monroy has a magical voice, the kind that makes you want to read the next sentence and then the one after that to see what turn her writing will take next. She is observant, funny, and curiously wise about the culture we live and flounder in.”
—Daphne Merkin, author of Dreaming of Hitler and Enchantment

Reviews

[Vicki · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sweet 8 lb. 6 oz. baby Jesus in the manger, this was a crappy book. So poorly written that I actually put it down and hit myself in the face on two separate occasions while reading it. So poorly edited that I went on a 9-minute diatribe at book club against everyone that let it be published. This book is an abomination. Seriously. I ... I just can't do it. I can't go through all of the things about it that make me angry. I'll get nothing else done today. So, in bullet form, here is a random sampling:

* big book of clumsy foreshadowing. Every other paragraph ends with a sentence that begins with "If [my mother/ that teacher / he / she / I:] only knew what was going to happen next ..."
* Unbelievable relationships. Mother / daughter, friend / friend, rapist / victim, everybody gets to have a completely unrealistic relationship with everyone else. La la la.
* Stupid, stupid, stupid plot. I'll spare you the details, but it's ridiculous. It's crappy B-movie ridiculous. The last 5 pages alone would make Mother Teresa (may she rest) go for Liza Monroy's eyes during a chance meeting at Barnes & Noble.
* Everything that sucks about Manhattan social-climbing-wife/author books, repackaged for teenagers. Everyone's beautiful! Everyone's fabulously wealthy! She's wearing Prada! He only wears Armani! We ate at Spago! Our meaningless lives are filled with terrible choices that have no lasting consequences! barf, barf, barf.
* Undeveloped main character. Which is kind of hilarious, because it's being marketed as mostly memoir.
* Uses (and re-uses, and re-uses) rape as a manipulative tactic to make you care about her characters. It's a special kind of person that can make rape worse, but it turns out Liza Monroy is that person.

I could go on, but seriously, let's think of my blood pressure. Do not read.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh man, what a fun book. Reading this was like taking a giant trip back through my entire adolescence. The author and I went to the same high school (where the novel is set), and she gets SO MANY THINGS directly on point. The only thing that was different from my experience was that she wrote about a lot more sex & drugs than I ever knew about... so either she exaggerated for the story (not necessarily a bad thing) or I was way more oblivious/naive than I thought.

Seriously, anybody who went to ASF in the 90's has to read this. And if anybody wants to understand what my teenage years were like - here you go. Just subtract the drugs/sex/mother-daughter conflict, and cut the amount of clubbing by about 3/4. But it was still such a fun read.

[Katy Jean Vance · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was an amazing insight into the lives of students at International schools. It was occasionally a touch sensationalist, but I hesitate to say that because anyone who hasn't worked or learned in this environment might think that the drugs, murders, and nightlife described are unrealistic. They are very realistic. I would be interested to hear some reflections on this book from someone who has lived in Mexico City, to see if it is culturally relevant. My guess is, yes. Speaking from the point of view of someone who lived in Sao Paulo for three years teaching these kids, I think the cultural schizophrenia students go through as they shift from country to country is exceptionally well portrayed. And the parent child relationships are spot on. Maids, Nannies and drivers often do most of the work and will do what you want for money. I really enjoyed this book and it made me sentimental for Sao Paulo, particularly that strange feeling you get as you are transitioning between cultures. Of course, the author attended an International School in Mexico for two years, so it should eb this well done.

[Annette Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a novel about the experiences of an American in Mexico(in this case, Milagro a high school senior whose diplomat mother is posted to Mexico City) this book succeeds beautifully. The vitality and unwieldiness of the city and the hedonistic lifestyles of the wealthiest young people are also lovingly and vividly portrayed. As a coming of age story, however, the book loses credibility because Mila's mother, Maggie, is unconvincing in her unconventionality. But it surely is fun to read as Mila experiments with drugs, sex and that most exciting temptation of all--Manuel, her wealthy neighbor and classmate at ISM. ISM is a thinly disguised version of the school at which I teach and at which Monroy was educated. She is right on target with her portrayal.
Since the US paperback comes out in June, Mexican High will make a great beach read for Summer 2009.

[Carmel · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
While it was great to find this realistic fiction book set in Mexico City--so much Mexican and Latine fiction is defined by magical realism or at least hints of fantasy--there was still too much that fell flat for me.

Overall, I loved the depiction of Mexico City in the 1990s. I lived there soon after that, in the early 2000s, and all of the things felt so true. Yes to the beauty and the disgusting smog. Yes to the smell of sulphur! Yes to the tourist trap that is San Angel and the bling of Polanco. Yes to the vochos and the mini-busses and the Metro. I didn't know high school in Mexico, but I lived with others who told me stories of so much wealth in Mexico City that I couldn't believe they were in the same country...or just down the street. And of course, also: the violence and the easy way fear is tucked into every outing, every decision. This was all done so well and so fresh.

Some of it was harder to enjoy. The main character-Milagro, who we follow in her coming-of-age journey-feels completely underdeveloped. Maybe it's purposeful; teenagers are finiky and unpredictable and maybe that was the point. Maybe the mother/daughter relationship that felt unnatuarlly awful was due to the teenage perspective. Maybe there was a story there but more icing was added to the cake to make it so sweet you couldn't taste how awful the cake itself was. The icing here is the pizazz of Mexico: drugs, cartels, violence, and kidnappings surrounded by a tight circle of luxury.

I love stories of Mexico, especially Mexico City, especially realistic fiction. This might be a good read for some HS kids, but beware of drugs, violence, sex, and sexual assault/rape.

[Ely · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazingly accurate portrayal of the elite echelon of Mexico. Beautifully written.

[Jasmine · Rating 1 out of 5]

It isn’t very often that I come across a book that I truly can’t stand, but this is one of those times. The ONLY reason I finished this book was so that I could spite my sister who, while we were in the store, picked it up, read the back cover, said “don’t buy this, I can tell it’s going to suck” before putting it back down.

I feel like I’ve read a first draft, not the completed, published novel I spent my hard earned money on at Borders.

NONE of the characters are fully developed, especially Mila, the lead character. The writing as a whole isn’t much better. Plots and entire story arcs kind of just drop off without anything really coming of them. There are entire passages that make no sense at all. You’re left asking, WHY is this in here?

I couldn’t tell if this was supposed to be a journal or a recollection of the narrator’s youth or what… the voice is off. Was she sitting in her office at 29 writing a memoir? Is this just supposed to be a story where she alludes to the present without ever taking us there?

The relationships between characters are unrealistic, dramatic and just downright bad. One can’t help but be annoyed how this girl lives her life the way she does but then everything works out for her in the end. I understand that a writer is connected to a character, but it was such a stretch that I refused to believe it.

I found it impossible to bond with this girl at all. Mila is such a self absorbed shallow character. Things happen and I remain completely uninterested in what this means for her. At one point something quite significant has happened and all this girl can focus on is that her mother is calling her by her legal name, Milagros, instead of the nickname she prefers. Seriously?! It took me right out of the scene. Monroy missed the mark by twenty feet. There was potential for me to have these experiences with Mila and understand where she was coming from as an American in a foreign country with a self-absorbed and absent mother….there was so much potential for me to like her and sympathize and CARE. But I don’t, not even a little bit….

I will never recommend this book to anyone

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

While it is set in high school, Mexican High is definately NOT a book for anyone younger than 18. It is a very moving story of what life was like for Mila, the daughter of a single mom who works for the Foreign Services department. Mila's life had been lived out of suitcases but fort the last 3 years, they have been in Washington DC and Mila thought her mom had finally settled down. But that changes at the beginning of Mila's senior year, her mom announces that she has been given another post. Set against the beautiful but dangerous backdrop of Mexico City, Mila tries to find her own bearings and learn what it means to be independent.

[Siri · Rating 2 out of 5]

well basically if you want a scandalous summary of my place of employment, read this. Written by an ASF grad who is a bit full of herself and writes in the voice of an ego-centric teenage girl (aren't all teenage girls ego-centric?), perhaps who she was... perhaps who she is.. I am not sure. But it's fun bc I know all the places she talks about and can relate in some ways. In other ways, though, it's a bit of a stretch.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mexican High by Liza Monroy (Spiegel & Grau). This one just came out in paperback with a cool new cover (pictured). Milagro "Mila" Marquez, spends her senior year at the International School of Mexico, where she encounters snobby ultra-rich cliques, easy drugs and, eventually, a few truths about herself. Monroy is a raw and real writer--this book doesn’t sugar coat anything--and that’s just one reason why it rules.

[Jennifer White · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing. I felt a deep connection with the main character while being introduced to an entire new culture. This book really captures the TRUE perils and triumphs of adolescence. A MUST READ!

[Abby · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing was the quality of a young adult novel. I couldn't finish reading it.

[Tania · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it. Makes me want to move to Mexico City for a year :)

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

What happens when your former hippie mother, turned US diplomat mother gets a new assignment right before your senior year of high school? Why, you go along, of course. And since mom has been a career diplomat, Mila is used to fitting into wherever she attends school. But the private high school in Mexico City is not like the schools she has attended before. The other students have way more freedom, they are already legal drinking age, and they have excellent drug connections. Innocent Mila gets whipped into a fast-moving elite crowd and has many life-changing moments in her year in Mexico City.

So - I actually really liked this book. I was surprised at the extreme partying -- and yet, not. Mila reflects often on her behavior and the behavior of others and often reigns herself in. I had little respect for the parents of these kids - including Mila's mom - as they used a hands-off approach to parenting that really doesn't work very well.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book surprisingly engaging. I thought I would think it was kind of silly because it’s high school and I’m very far away from high school at this point, but I know enough about Mexico City and a little bit of the hierarchical culture of teenagers in Mexico, I’m not even sure how I know this to be honest, but I do work in international education so I suppose there’s a professional reason... Anyway, the main character was a little bit of a nut, but I thought this book read really fast and was a delightful and often unfortunately disturbing coming-of-age story.

[T. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book certainly kept my interest and I found Liza Monroy's writing to be clean, clear, direct, and easy to follow. I was mostly fascintated by life in Mexico, particularly from an American teen's point of view. It was a great way to explore the city and the culture. However, the protagonist feels a little shallow at times and some of the bombshell events are glossed over so quickly that I didnt' feel the emotional impact I thought I would.

[Anastasia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stumbled upon this book at an outlet store and boy was this book amazing! The story is based upon the author's life loosely and tells about a high school girl's life in Mexico City. It is very well writing and Monroy keeps in the story all the way to the end. I didn't want to put it down or for it to end. So good!

[Yamile · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you get the context you will have fun, if this book lands on your hands and you don’t know what you are reading about, I highly recommend you to put it down.

[Liza]

This review appeared in the Coral Gables Gazette:


‘Mexican High’: Immersion into the steamy city
Posted on Thu, Jun. 26, 2008

By Kris Liaugminas

kris@cggazette.com

New York based author Liza Monroy has written articles for the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times Magazine, Newsweek and Time Out New York. Now, she makes her literary debut with a stunning novel about adapting to change, belonging and life as a teenager in Mexico in Mexican High (Spiegel & Grau, $22).

Mila Marquez has spent her childhood bouncing around the world with her diplomat mother. After finally establishing herself at her high school in Washington, D.C., she desperately hopes that she has found the perfect normal American existence along with some stability for once.

Yet unbeknownst to Mila, her mother has other plans for her daughter’s last year of high school. After her mother is offered a promotion at the Embassy in Mexico City, Mila’s life in D.C. is displaced, and she quickly finds herself right in the middle of the gritty, sexy and delirious Mexican capital.

Mila is sent to study at an international school for the children of Mexico’s elite, where she becomes full immersed in the inner workings of Mexico’s upper echelons of power.

In a society that offers the children of the wealthy unlimited freedoms, Mila finds herself drawn into a new world of drugs, drinking, fashion, and the political scandals that affect her classmates’ families.

Exposed to the inequality among citizens in this chaotic country, she quickly comes to realize the contradiction that surrounds life in Mexico. Mila is immediately enthralled by the social and political turmoil, the horrible danger and the superstition that surrounds her there, and at the heart of Mila’s struggles in her new surroundings is the search for her father, a high-level Mexican politician whom her mother had a brief affair with long ago.

Laden with sex, drugs and rock and roll, Mexican High is a perfect read for the summertime. Liza Monroy presents us with a memorable narrative that is full of life, riveting in its drama, visually sumptuous and detailed.

Additionally, like Mila, author Monroy is the daughter of a U.S. Foreign Service Officer and spent her high school years attending an international school in Mexico City. Thus, much of the detail related in the novel is based on her own high school years as the daughter of a diplomat in Mexico City, resulting in characterizations of life in the city that feel genuine and inspired.

This is perhaps the greatest asset of the novel, as Monroy essentially becomes our tour-guide through one of the largest cities in the world while aptly capturing the uncertainty and excitement of the teenage years with her incredible protagonist, Mila. Heart-wrenching and captivating, the novel is sure to be talked about this summer.

[Andrew Paxman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The twist in this upscale coming-of-age novel, which features the expected quantities of pot, blow, awkward sex, and epiphanies about conformism, is that its narrator is an American at a Mexican school. The thinly-veiled setting is Mexico City’s American School, as infested with cocaine and Prada as it’s often reputed to be, and the experiences of the feisty Mila Márquez are somewhat modelled on Monroy’s own. Events that flitter across Mila’s radar – political assassinations, Zapatista rebellion, currency devaluation – place the timeframe in 1993-94, the same time a teenaged Monroy moved to the Mexican capital (and two years after I moved there myself).

As a Spanish-speaker, Mila is able to penetrate the rarefied stratum of the school’s social elite, the “fresa” set, while retaining her Mexican-American suspicions of all they represent: conspicuous consumption, social elitism, and Mexico’s abysmal racial divide. Here lies the novel’s real value. Mila’s awakening to injustice and the marginalization of the darker-skinned majority repeatedly rings true, as do her conflicted reactions to the rich. Mexican high society can indeed entice: so beautiful to look at, so stylishly dressed, such easy charm, such cosmopolitanism. The way Mila lets herself be sucked in by all that, despite her egalitarian instincts, is entirely credible. So is her gradual withdrawal from such company, which stops short of complete. Monroy is careful to shade her wealthiest characters: some are wholly irresponsible, others have at least a glimmer of moral awareness. There’s plenty to disgust in Mexican High, but this is not a merciless satire of high-income idiocy à la Evelyn Waugh’s The Loved One.

Mila’s voice sounds too mature for a 16-year old, and her barely-tamed exuberance for narcotics may irk some readers. Monroy could have done more to flesh out the lives of the maids, gardeners and chauffeurs who hustle to make the cosy lives of the rich yet cosier. Mention of Mila taking the subway home at 3 a.m., when in fact it shuts at midnight, raises doubts over Monroy’s familiarity with the lifestyles of the city’s less well-off; so does a reference to a cab driver with a cell-phone (common now but never then). Otherwise, her eye for detail is impressive, and anyone who knew the metropolis in the 1990s will feel nostalgia for its popular haunts. Peppered with poignant moments of adolescent yearning and disappointment, this is a lively critique of a world rarely glimpsed in English-language writing.

[ellen · Rating 1 out of 5]

A friend, meaning well, gave this to me "because it was about an American girl living in Mexico City." I speak Spanish, my mom grew up abroad attending American Schools in various South American countries. It was horrid. I nor my friend realized that the audience was teenagers. The fights between the main character teen and her mom were like re-living the worst hormone crazy fights with my own mom, struggling to negotiate independence in the transition to adulthood. Boring and immature fights. The girl had no identity of her own and was constantly flittering between trying different groups of friends, so there was an aspect of popularity chasing that also made me annoyed. The portrayal of Mexico City was only shown in the realm of the rich and rich Americans, especially spoiled partying teenagers. Not really a cultural wonderland. The main teen was not likeable, and her excessive drug use was just stupid. In the beginning of the book, the author said, if this resembles my life get over it, that character is not you. I hope it was not her life, because it was quite annoying. I only finished it because it was a gift, so I can tell my friend, um, it was more about the American girl than Mexico City.

[Jeffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coming of age story of an American girl Milagra (Mila) who spends senior year of high school in Mexico City. The largest city in the world is full of drugs and crime. Mila experiments with various drugs while going to school at the ISM, filled with frescas (children of the Mexican elite), Americans, and other mexicans. Its a great portrayal of Mexican life from some one who obviously knows whats going on. She captures the corruption inherent in the city, and the highs and lows of school life. Mila is an interesting character -- who falls in and out of the in crowd. She writes columns for a school newspaper and tries to ferret out details from her mother as to who is her father -- a man she has never met. Nora, her old friend from D.C., Manuel, her boyfriend, Nina her kleptomaniac friend add versimilitude to the school year. Its not all wine and roses, there are assassinations, rapes, murders, drugs, corruption and violence depicted in the story.

But in the end the novel is about growing up and Mila is a pretty good character to follow around. Plus you see a side of Mexico that is not in the newspapers

[Nascha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wild ride through an International High School in Mexico City, Mexico as seen through the eyes of recent transplant, Milagros "Mila" Marquez. I really enjoyed Monroy's vivid characters and the twists and turns of the plot in this book. Mila is a teenager with wild emotions and sometimes erratic behavior that can annoy you one moment and then endear you the next. I found her to be pretty three-dimensional.

Because the book is written from the teenager's perspective, I am not sure if it is considered a young adult book but there are plenty of adult themes around. I also enjoy reading about the lifestyles of the rich and especially those without boundaries.

The high school dramas reminded me a little of my years in high school and all the drama I saw surrounding my classmates, the teen angst, the longing to fit in and all that nonsense. It reassured me that I would never want to relive those years again.

Excellent debut. I would be sure to pick up her future works. And I wouldn't even mind a trip to Mexico City to experience life there for myself.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm taking a writing class taught by author Liza Monroy, so I was very curious to read her novel, Mexican High (she's a fantastic teacher, incidentally!). She went to high school in Mexico City, and offers fun insights into the culture there, where kids have so much freedom - freedom that leads to some pretty colorful experimentation with partying. Against a setting of political assassinations and finding new friends and love while hunting for a father you've never met in an unfamiliar country, this makes for some scenes you don't read every day! Monroy's protagonist Mila is a keen observer of her surroundings, with such detailed descriptions and interest in the historical significance of certain places, that at times, she seems wise beyond her teenage years. Then she'll dye her hair purple and drop acid...

"There's something about a mother's words that can pierce a daughter like a sewing needle through her heart."

"She resembled a Japanimation cartoon, so cute it was almost silly."

[Salsabrarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I heard about this book from the mother of the author; the mother used to work in the Foreign Service in Mexico City. There's no buildup or climax in the story; just when you think, aha, maybe this is it, despite the drama, the moment comes off as anti-climatic. On the other hand, the author gives us a vivid picture of of Mila's life as an American teen attending an international high school in 1990s Mexico. There are parties, clubbing, substance use and abuse, the clique of wealthy and connected "fresas," and the impact of government corruption on daily life. I can see this adult novel appealing to sophisticated teen readers.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a first novel and, from a literary perspective, is consistent with that. It is interesting, however, from the perspective of learning about a segment of Mexican culture and society that not everyone has an opportunity to see. I do think that some of the characters were stereotypical and that there was a tendency at the end to tie everything up. Still, it's especially interesting for anyone who has spent time in another country and it shows the challenges that teenagers face in such an environment.

[giselayvonne · Rating 3 out of 5]

no surprises here: an easy and pleasant distraction. it was a little exciting with all of the mexico stuff (because i adore mexico), and i liked the view of the upperclass. i also enjoyed milagro and her mother's relationship because it was very human: they were both wrong and they were both right; they were both jerks and they both loved each other very much. i guess in that way the narration was kind of off...milagro could not have been that intelligent to know that at 18. but i didn't care. it was a nice little piece of contemporary teen fiction.

[Tori]

2010- I hadn't heard of this book before randomly picking it up and now I know why. It tells the story of Mila, who moves to Mexico with her Foreign Service Officer mother, which just happens to be the place where her unknown father lives. While Mila tries to figure out the identity of her father, she spends her time getting high, drinking, and having sex. Mila isn't likable, and all her ""friends"" quickly start to blend together. Even the reveal of her father isn't that exciting. Overall, a waste of time.

[Mai Ling · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cover of this book is so wrong, since it takes place during Mila's senior year from 1993-1994, and a pleated skirt and a flannel shirt would have been a much better fit. But I suppose that's just me judging a book by it's cover. Really, how can I not be fond of a coming-of-age book about my era -- even if I wasn't nearly as much of a crazy party girl as Mila was. Good thing I wasn't in Mexico City, I guess!

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only reason I gave this book 4 stars is because I grew up in Mexico City, my parents worked at the American Embassy, I went to the American School and this book was obviously written by someone who had the same experience. That said, there is way too much drug use in this book. Yes, I know that is what a lot of people did in Mexico, but I was not one. This reminded me of my youth and took me back to a place I love and will never forget!