Cara Romero, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, meets with a job counselor so that she can continue to receive her unemployment benefits after being laid off from her factory job in her mid-fifties. Over her sessions with the job counselor, Cara recounts the stories of her life, including her struggles with relationships, caring for others over herself, debt, and the gentrification of her neighborhood.

This book was extremely engrossing and I was sucked in from the opening line. Cara’s character is so pure and you can’t help but fall in love with her and cheer her on. I love that Cara tells her story in a mix of English and Spanish. You definitely don’t need to understand Spanish to read the book, but it adds a lot to the narrative if you know Spanish.

One of my favorite quotes: “Like my neighbor Lulú says, El Obama is good, but not God.”