What Night Brings

by Carla Trujillo

Marci Cruz wants God to do two things: change her into a boy, and get rid of her father. What Night Brings is the unforgettable story of Marci's struggle to find and maintain her identity against all odds - a perilous home life, an incomprehensible Church, and a largely indifferent world. Winner of the Miguel Marmol prize focusing on human rights, the Paterson Fiction Prize, the Latino Literary Foundation Latino Book Award, the Bronze Medal from Foreword Magazine, and Honorable Mention for the Gustavus Meyers Books Award. Also shortlisted for a Lambda Literary Award.

Genres: Fiction, LGBT, Young Adult, Queer, Historical Fiction, Lesbian, Latinx

242 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2003

Reviews

[Dov Zeller · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Every single day of my life I went to bed asking God to make my dad disappear."

This is the opening line of the novel in which an eleven year old narrator tells us about her life with her mother and father and sister Corine and her extended family. Her relationship to the church and to her own sexuality.

When the story begins, the narrator, Marci (Marcía) Cruz, lives with her brutally abusive father, Eddie. He beats the crap out of his daughters--more terrifyingly, goes from playful to brutal on a dime and then, after beating the girls, tries to get them to admit it was their fault. Insists they hug him and tell him they love him. The abuse and its sickening aftermath is really hard to "watch". Marci's mother enables Eddie and can't seem to leave him despite the fact that he is endangering the lives of their two young daughters. Life isn't easy, but Marci is has a very strong sense of self and though she is emotionally harmed by the abuse in her family, she never seems to lose her center and her wit and imagination nourish her.

"When night comes," Marci says a few pages into the book. "That's when everything is best. Right before I go to sleep, I turn into Supergirl. Don't be surprised. It feels good to be her. When I'm supergirl I can fly over people's heads, and San Lorenzo, where I live..."

Marci is a creative, vibrant and resourceful kid in community with an extended family, so, fortunately she gets to pick and choose from a number of role models, but none of them are openly queer, so she has to search for clues to figure out what it means that she likes girls. Still, she is decisive in her way. She knows she wants her dad out of the house. She knows she likes girls--though she has no idea that that is a thing that can happen, and so she wishes to become a boy. She has beautiful and often funny conversations with god. She is trying to make sense of her world which is peopled by a lot of wonderful and fractured and complex characters including aunts and uncles and cousins, priests (one of my favorite moments is Marci's first time in a confessional talking about liking girls) friends and crushes, her tough as nails knife-toting grandma who won't take any shit from Eddie and lets Marci and Corin know they are always welcome to come stay with her if things at home get too tough.

As the story goes on, Marci is more and more keenly aware that the consequences of her own and other people's actions aren't ever simple. Things that seem like a good idea, might play out in a very complex way and sometimes destructive way. Things that seem bad and wrong (that her father has a girlfriend on the side) has the strange effect of making her father less violent, so in a weird way, she wants him to keep seeing this woman, though it doesn't seem quite right. She gradually learns to be careful not to "rock the boat" with her parents because she sees what a fragile eco-system she is living in. How easily it is to attract the wrath of her father. How her mother, no matter how angry or resolved she might seem in any given moment, will simply never leave her father. It's both sad and relieving to see the Marci become more sophisticated in her thinking around the troubles at home.

There's a lot of humor in this story and Marci's curiosity and intelligence and resilience make this book really engaging. And I thought the representation of her mom--a parent who is caught up in the very compelling cycles of an abusive relationship and cannot do what is best for her and her children--was pretty spot on.

The opening of the story drags on at times and the ending seems to come a bit too quickly and some of the drama doesn't feel authentic. But I really appreciate the book as a whole and Marci's fierce insistence on being a kind of existential detective, and on caring about people even though she's been hurt. I thought the relationship between her and her sister was pretty compelling, though sometimes Corin's character wasn't too vividly drawn.

[Chelsea 🏳️‍🌈 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel was kind of hard to read in that it details child abuse and it doesn't gloss over it the way other novels do. The topics it deals with, homosexuality, child abuse, infidelity, religion, are all seen through the eyes of an observant and naive 11 year old girl. I recommend it but I totally understand if it's maybe too hard for someone to read.

[Alien Bookreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a good look at complicated family dynamics. There is also the theme of coming to terms with sexuality, though it seems to run more in parallel and doesn’t cross over as much as you would expect.

The tense and conflict ridden family relationships are written in a way that feels very very real. You might hate it or you might love it. Personally, I loved it. I appreciate when fiction portrays the truth, especially from the perspective of a child or teenager, whose perspectives on real life issues so often don't make it into fiction at all.

The father’s “lectures" to his daughter basically take the form of “I’m better than you, I’m smarter than you, I know more than you and the only reason you don’t realize it is because you’re too stupid to see it”. This is very reminiscent to me of my moms “lectures” to me. The dialogue is written in a way that's painfully real. Again, if it strikes a chord with your real life experiences you might love it or you might hate it.

Difficult child-parent relationships often get skipped over in YA literature. I'm not sure why. I think in reality this type of human conflict is so common that it warrants being a classic theme in this genre.

Overall a good YA literary coming of age, LGTBQ awakening story.

[Nikhil · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel is narrated by an 11-year old girl who is living with a physically and emotionally abusive father while she attempts to understand her sexual desire for women. Parts of this story work very well: her confusion about her nascent sexuality when no public model of lesbianism exists, her richly characterized extended family, and her struggles and resistance to her father's violence. However, the pacing of this novel remains off - the ending is rushed and the beginning too slow. Some of the plot points are also tedious (e.g., the girls attempts to get a photograph of their father having an affair).

I found the narrative of how the extended family deals with the father's abuse to be very interesting. Several family members try to help the girls (most famously, when the girls' grandmother pulls a knife on the father) but are repeatedly stymied by 1) the girls' mother herself; and 2) these family members unwillingness to remove the girls from their mother until the final catastrophe unfolds. Central to the girls' struggles to escape the abuse they experience is their mother, who no matter her circumstances (economically dependent, economically independent, etc.) and no matter what the fathers do to the girls (e.g., breaking their hands) refuses to acknowledge their father does anything. Her character is, at times, the most confusing. Why does her economic status not affect her willingness to exit the relationship at all? Why does she genuinely believe that she and her kids belong to their father despite everyone around her telling her they dont? This may be consistent with a strong form of psychological dependence produced by emotional abuse, but I would have liked for a greater attempt to characterize why their mother can never leave Eddie, more so than everyone just acknowledging that their mother is "crazy" when it comes to him.

[Elena Carmona · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Leído para mi clase de Multicultural Literature) ¡El último!

Después de como dos meses de haberlo comprado por Iberlibro, por fin me llegó a casa un ejemplar de What night brings lleno de pegatinas, sellos y marcas con permanente negro que decían que venía de una biblioteca de Michigan. Me gusta pensar que es un libro robado que nunca se devolvió.

A pesar de haberlo leído a destiempo, y de saber ya algunos spoilers de haber escuchado el análisis en clase, me ha parecido, junto con No-no boy, el mejor texto de la asignatura. Las voces de Carla Trujillo —que escribe mezclando el inglés y el español—, y las de otras escritoras que componen esta ola de literatura-chicana-lesbiana como Cherrie Moraga o Gloria Anzaldúa, son totalmente transgresoras, con obras poderosísimas que se están quedando descatalogadas y sin reeditar porque no las estamos escuchando lo suficiente. What night brings es una novela que pesa muchísimo por todo lo que se discute en ella: la violencia intrafamiliar hacia menores, matrimonios abusivos, maternidades negligentes, la fe y el descubrimiento de lo queer. Todo a través de los ojos de Marci, una niña de 11 años que está descubriendo que le gustan las chicas y le reza todas las noches al Niño Jesús para que le de un pene, porque esa es la única forma que ella entiende de poder tener relaciones románticas con niñas.

Me he leído esta novela bastante rápido y al terminarla siento que me ha dejado llena de moratones. Se pasa mal. Te sientes impotente. Por ponerlo de alguna forma, leer a Carla Trujillo duele, pero también te obliga a apreciar los diferentes colores —morado, amarillo sucio, verde— que aparecen en la piel después de haber recibido el golpe.

[Faith Reidenbach · Rating 4 out of 5]

The "Working Classics" imprint publishes stories by working-class people. In her debut novel, Trujillo describes a father who smacks around his 2 daughters and, in even sharper detail, describes the mother who can't bring herself to leave him. The doomed mother-daughter relationships are the focus, but the story is lighter than it sounds, in fact laugh-out-loud funny in places. The main character, 11-year-old Marci, is a hoot and there's a cast of lovable characters, including a knife- and rifle-toting grandma.

The novel is kin to Bastard Out of Carolina, but there's no sexual abuse. Also, Bastard isn't exactly a lesbian novel; this one is. Marci is already out to herself, although she can't imagine how she's going to attract girls since she lacks a "birdy."

Knowledge of Spanish would have helped me but wasn't required to appreciate this book. It was well paced except for a rushed, pat ending. I hope Trujillo will write another novel; coming-of-age stories are fine, but another novel from a Chicana lesbian perspective and such a good writer would be a treat.

In a better world this book would be required reading for prospective social workers, teachers, and others who wonder why kids don't "report abuse."

[Sunny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved the two young girls in this book. They're facing a scary abusive dad, a mother who refuses to see their bruises and a whole lot of other complicated stuff. Marcí is also trying to figure out what she needs to do for it to be okay to like girls. There's a lot going on but you always feel rooted in Marcí's perspective which is always full of wry observations about the world as an 11 yr old. The heartbreak is real but the book gives off a child's resilience.

[Elisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was such a beautiful book (except for, you know, the parts that weren't). i loved marci and her innocent logic and how she battles normativity without almost realizing it. the use of language and its power is making me wanna write academic stuff about this. maybe i even will.

Edit: April 20233
…so I did write academic stuff about this…

december 2025: my students are NOT ready

[alexa king · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to read this in like three days for my women's lit class and I was kind of worried about it but it was actually amazing, and lowkey also a really quick read (probably like 3 or 4 hours total max). The narrator and main character, Marcia, is such a fun snarky character while also having really incredible depth, and even though the book dealt with a lot of pretty heavy topics it wasn't despondent or depressing, since Marci's narration integrates humor consistently throughout the novel. Marci's struggle with her sexuality and religion was really interesting and framed totally uniquely from anything I've seen before, and it was refreshingly free of internalized homophobia which was really nice. Overall, a beautifully written examination of queer girlhood in a traumatic setting and the resilience so many girls develop.

[Ansh Tripathi · Rating 5 out of 5]

just. too. good.

novel hit like a truck and was so incredibly relatable for a culture that was across the world from mine. i felt every moment as if i’d lived it before, and carla trujillo expresses every situation with a detail from marci’s character that offers unparalleled insight into the greater topic of the life of a butch chicana lesbian woman. and by god it is funny.

[Bea🌷 · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5

[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gran recomendación de Maripepa, como siempre. Un libro que debería leer todo el mundo y que me ha dado ganas de leer más literatura chicana.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in the Bay Area of the 1960s, this novel is narrated by Marci Cruz, an eleven-year-old Latina who fervently wishes for two things. The first is for God to turn her into a boy, because she has something of a crush on Raquel, her teenaged neighbor; the second is for Eddie, her father, to disappear.

A couple of times a week, Eddie beats Marci, and Corin, her younger sister, for some infraction, usually with his leather belt. It always occurs when Delia, their mother, isn’t home. Eddie always accuses the girls of lying, or says that he had to break up their fight, and Delia always believes him. During an argument, Eddie leaves the house, and doesn’t return. Delia is forced to get a job at the local Woolworth’s, and things settle down at home. Several months later, during which time he has been living with a woman named Wanda, Delia takes Eddie back, despite the girls’ pleading with her not to do so. The beatings resume.

Marci and Corin disown Eddie as their father, refusing to call him "Daddy" or "Father." With help from a neighbor, they tie him up and threaten him with a switchblade. Marci gets a book on karate from the local library, intending to learn some moves to use on Eddie. He resumes his relationship with Wanda; Delia will accept a lot of things, but she will not tolerate Eddie even looking at another woman. Marci borrows a camera from her Uncle Tommy, and sits across the street from a local bar, intending to get pictures of Eddie and Wanda together. Unintentionally, the pictures get into Delia’s hands, and then comes the "final" confrontation with Eddie.

This book is not just about domestic violence. Marci nearly gets thrown out of catechism class, for asking too many questions that eleven-year-olds shouldn’t ask. Her teacher, Miss Beauchamp, insists on speaking with a French accent, even though she is from Wisconsin. One day, at church, she sees Uncle Tommy and Father Chacon, the parish priest, come out of the same door in the confessional.

In a way, this book is not pleasant reading, but it is very good reading. The author does a fine job at "doing" a pre-teen Latina. This book could easily take place in any part of America. All in all, it’s very much worth reading.

[Candela Diaz Pacheco · Rating 4 out of 5]

These books is a pinche rollercoaster! I had the most fun but also the worst time. The author has the hugest gift in transmitting an 11-year-old innocence, curiosity and genuineness. Be prepared to laugh and cry and get mad.
One of the best I ever read.
Thank you Carla Trujillo for making this amazing piece of work!

Este libro es una pinche montaña rusa! Me he divertido muchísimo pero también lo he pasado fatal. La autora tiene el más grande talento para transmitir la inocencia, la curiosidad y la naturaleza genuina de una niña de 11 años. Prepárate para reír y llorar y enfadarte.
Uno de los mejores que he leído.
Gracias Carla Trujillo por hacer esta increíble obra.

[Chalida · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick and beautiful coming of age story about a young Chicana lesbian coming into her own in a household with an abusive father, passive mother and supportive younger sister.
Excellent characters include really heroic young girls and a feisty grandmother.
It is so amazing that this book exists for young people today. Would be fabulous to teach.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

What Night Brings was such a beautiful depiction of family, domestic abuse, sisterhood, queerness, and love. Marci, the 12 year old protagonist, has a voice that makes everything in the story so dynamic and come to life while also being true to her age and innocence. Her father’s physical abuse towards her and her sister Corin was extremely heavy and graphic but Marci’s childlike wonder and thoughts made the book so lighthearted at times.

The depiction of physical abuse was done so well, as were the family dynamics. The mother, Delia (fuck her by the way) is an enabler and I feel like a really strong portrayal of what so many kids deal with from their enabler parent. Marci, the older sister, protects her younger sister Corin in any way she can and their bond was so strong. I can imagine a lot of middle school aged kids relating to everything in the book.

Almost every character is Latinx and its very strong and accurate representation. In addition, theres quite a few LGBTQ characters and Marci’s struggle with her sexuality is done really well, especially for a book thats almost 20 years old at this point. Its another point that I can see a lot of adolescents/preteens relating to. Nothing is done for the sake of it- there’s so much emotional development for every plotline and everything is handled with such nuance.

This is one of those books that everyone reading will become emotionally attached to. I loved Marci and Corin so much and their personalities shine through every scene. The side characters were also so well developed and complex. The setting was so strong and vivid that I felt like I lived there throughout the entirety of reading this. Marci and Corin’s curiosity, intelligence, love, and resilience were some of the best I’ve ever read.

I think its absolutely criminal that this isn’t more widely read and popular. Its timely and sensitive and I think every person would benefit from reading this book. In my opinion, this should be as high regarded and loved as the House on Mango Street and its an instant classic. If I were making a required reading list for middle school this would be the first book on it. Regardless of Marci’s age and the young voice, I think anyone of any age would fall in love with this.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't typically read this genre of a novel. It is sort of a coming of age story. It is told from the perspective of a young girl, who struggles with identity and violence in her family. I found the story to be compelling and moving. There are a lot of ups and downs for Marci (the primary character) and her family. As others mention, Marci and her sister are victims of child abuse. Trujillo does not shy away from describing the abuse by her father, the compliance of other adults in the family. However, within this Marci shows fortitude, creativity, and strong will to remain true to herself. She is not defeated! Sadness, anger, but also inspiration are some of the feelings that were evoked in me.

Marci's Catholicism also plays an important role. She prays for her father to stop beating her and her sister. She prays that God will make her a boy. She expresses her insightful views of the nun who teaches catechism and the priest to whom she confesses. I often find that writers have difficulty bringing religion into a story in a fashion that is realistic - not overly reverential nor critical - but Trujillo manages this very well.

I was rooting for the protagonist throughout the novel, and not to spoil the ending, she does achieve some sort of victory over her problems. In other words, it is not a sad, depressing book, which the abuse may indicate. I also thought the book was very well written, both in its overall construction of the story and at the smaller sentence level. Trujillo seems to have a gift with words.

As I said, I don't often read these types of stories, but I thoroughly enjoyed (if that is the right word for such a story) this novel. I would certainly recommend this book to anyone.

[M. C. Mendez · Rating 4 out of 5]

*warning for depictions of domestic abuse, child abuse, violence against children, homophobia.*
This book is one of those books that after you've read, you're left with the feeling it gave you. This is my second time reading it and I'm still left with that feeling.
The first time I read this, it was for a uni class (I don't remember what class though) and I decided to read it in one sitting because I was being lazy and putting it off. And I remember from that reading that I had to take a break somewhere in the middle because the scene that had occurred was so intense. This book has a lot of those intense moments, with graphic descriptions of Marci (our main character) and Corin (the younger sister) being abused by their father and their complacent mother.
While it was a tough read at times, Marci was such a good lense to read this from, with her 11 year old logic and reasoning and showing that children are fully capable of higher thinking than we give them credit for. You spend the whole book rooting for the two sisters, hoping they get their happy ending. Did they? You'll have to read to find out.

[RensReadingRainbow · Rating 4 out of 5]

For once, I am thankful for the tidy little bow at the end of a novel! This is a heart-wrenching tale about a young girl figuring out what her sexuality is all the while wrestling with her faith and an abusive father. I had to take several breaks while reading this because the abuse is graphic and relentless. All the same, there are some tender moments between Marcí and her sister, and Marcí’s intuition and curiosity give you hope throughout the novel.

There are some questions I’m left with at the end: Does Marcí feel she is a boy trapped in a girl’s body, or was that the only way she thought she could be with other girls, instead of her it being her true identity? You could argue it both ways given the evidence in the novel. Did the author feel it was best not to explore it too deeply because it’s set in the 1960s? Did Tommy get the courage to leave Arlene, or did Arlene get the courage to leave Tommy? What happened to Father Chacón? To Ringo?

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. This story was so deeply engrossing and was somehow both humorous and devastating at the same time. The author weaves in Spanish and English in the most authentic way, and really makes you feel like you are inside of this dysfunctional family. It’s a sad tale with glimmers of hope, and it is not easy to read the details of physical and emotional abuse that take place.

In addition to the story of family abuse we also had a main character struggling with sexuality and identity in an honest and thoughtful way.

I wanted a little more from the ending, which is why I didn’t give it 5 stars. Though, maybe being anticlimactic in the end is exactly what it’s like to deal with familial abuse. The ending kiss was extremely touching though and redeemed everything!

[Hung Thang · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so good! It is about a girl name Marci and she wants to turn into a boy. She has other problems such as her dad who keeps hitting her and her sister Corin. The problems almost changes every time and that makes it cool. The book is also good because there are some Spanish words for Mexican readers. The dad name Eddie is a very big problem for the girls, but its interesting on how they deal with him. The book will make you laugh and sad at some point of the book. I really want you to read this book because the author includes inappropriate words to describe how the characters feel.

[Asrai · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved 'What Night Brings', the book tells such an amazing story and it gives the reader a taste of another person's life from their perspective. The book's language and story is overall amazing and I think lots of people should read it. 'What Night Brings' tells such an emotional story of abuse and how it's seen through a child's eyes, which people need to hear about more often. The book gives it's audience so many conflicts and so much drama that it makes it worth reading. I want so many people to read this book because of how emotional and beautiful it is, I think that this book is overall really emotional but heartwarming at the same time.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

First, i believe that "what night brings" is a good book. I believe this because this book show how a character changes because of her dad. Also in this book Marci doesn't like Eddie because of the way Eddie treats both Marci and Corin. Next, the part that i think is the best is when Marci and Corin and also Randy tie up Eddie and torture him because of what he does to both Marci and Corin. Also this story is pretty good because Delia doesn't believe Eddie hits Marci and Corin not even when they have bruises. Finally this book is good because Marci turns out to like boys like Eddie but doesn't want to tell anyone about her secret.

[Blake · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was good because it started off with her wishing her dad whould leave because he always beats them bad for little thing. Around the middle was my favorite part because the dad found a girl named wanda and started dating her kinda and mom dident so he ended up buying the kids a cat. Finally around the end the kids find out that the dad was seeing wanda so they started to spy and take pictures and gave them to ucle them he gave them to a girl and she sent them to the mom and the mom got mad. When the dad got home the mom was yelling at him and he started to punch her in the face and dident stop so corin got off the couch and went and grabbed eddie's gun and shot him in the back.

[Cassy · Rating 4 out of 5]

despite the heavy content, this book was a breeze to read through mostly because of trujillo's ability to construct main character marci with a distinct voice. marci made for a great narrator even through the hardships she was facing. i think of all texts i was assigned in my chicana lesbian lit class this is the one i enjoyed reading the most and felt comfortable incorporating into my analysis. i should have mentioned before that we had the opportunity of meeting, speaking and hearing from trujillo, perez and cordova's wife in class so that was a rare opportunity of getting to hear insight from the writers themselves!

[Jess Tell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tender, familiar writing introduces two siblings navigating a neglected childhood. I found it so easy to like the narrator, share her dreams & frustrations.
The story is honestly told, direct and blazing in its truths and not overly flowery.
This would be a wonderful read for any YA audience but also a good read for adults who could use a perspective on how often adults can fail young people.
A story about finding identities, holding secrets & how violence chisels personalities.
The ending of this book deserved the standing ovation I gave it in my living room. Prepare for big feelings if you're moved by stories of butch identity, lesbian roots or transmasculine imaginations.

[Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

diverse teen/adult fiction (Latinx, LGBTQ+ interest)
11 y.o. Chicana, tomboyish girl (her Catholic family includes a physically and vindictively abusive dad, a mother that refuses to leave him, a younger 9 y.o. sister, a closeted gay uncle and his wife who live next door, a cousin recently come back from Vietnam with mental health and drug addiction problems, and a kickass grandma who escaped from her own abusive husband by stabbing him) identifies as a girl but also knows she is attracted to girls. She tries to make sense of it on her own (without having anyone really to talk to) and eventually (after she and her sister escape the never-ending peril that is their angry dad) makes friends with another girl her age who also likes girls.

Because of the time period, this would resonate more with an adult audience, but a queer+ teen would be able to appreciate the themes nonetheless. Marci's voice is smart and true and honest, and her character is easy to like.

[Isabella Gonzalez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a surprise for me. When i began reading I didn’t realize I would be reading a YA novel, and to be honest I am not too sure if that’s what this was. It is told from the perspective of an 11year old, who hates her father and wants to be a boy, but only because she doesn’t “know” that women can like women. The book got very dark at times, but the main character felt older in her thinking and rationale.
One scene in particular that really made me start to like the book was ruined when I realized it was a daydream, a scene in the narrator’s mind. This story also infuriated me because children are getting abused, and essentially everyone in the children’s lives are aware, but no one steps in to do anything? Not the grandmother, not the nuns or priest, not the tias or tios. It is disgusting, and makes me feel saddened and angry about how society gives men unlimited power and passes to treat everyone as they please, with no recourse. Disgusting.

[Angelica Munoz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, I would give this book a 4 out of 5 because in the novel Marci, an 11 year old girl who is living with a physically and emotionally father while she attempts to understand her sexuality. I wish that the author could add a little glossary for those who're non-Spanish speakers because its sometimes difficult to understand what they mean. Lastly, the reason why I give this novel a 4 out 5 is because the book has its own powerful scenes, great characters, and heart wrenching lines.

[Alexys · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story was so heartbreaking yet so beautiful. I absolutely loved the inner monologue of the 11 year old narrator as the author did an incredible job showcasing the innocence and curiosity of children at this age. There was never a dull moment and I constantly found myself laughing out loud. As a queer woman from New Mexico myself, Marci’s struggle with her sexuality and catholic upbringing was so relatable!! For a good laugh, a good cry, and a warm heart, I highly recommend this book!