Jessica Abel's "La Perdida"

When I first flipped open this book I was surprised to see how it resembled a comic book. I wasn't looking forward to reading it at all because I was never into comics when I was younger and thought I definitely would dread trying to read La Perdida. My roommates even commented on it when I was reading while we were laying out, "Oh my God! Are you reading that for fun?!" I even felt like I had to defend myself because for some reason I felt like graphic books were for nerds eyes only.

But to my surprise, I enjoyed the book. It was easier to see what the characters looked like instead of just imagining what they would look like from just text and it was just more entertaining than staring at text. It took me a while to figure out how to go about reading it, like what box do I go to now, what bubble do I read first to make their conversations make sense? After a few pages it just seemed to come naturally and easier to follow.

The plot was interesting because Carla, the main character, wanted to see her roots and experience her heritage. She wanted to "become" more Mexican, and I think that's something that everybody can relate to. We all want to know about our family history, the customs, the stories. But of course the story wouldn't be interesting if she didn't run into a few problems along the way!! You know how when you're watching a scary movie and you're screaming at the television, "You're so stupid!! Nobody is dumb enough to do that in real life!" Well, I found myself thinking that a lot with some of Carla's actions.

I wish I had more background information of history about Mexico so I could understand Memo's anger toward Americans. I found it annoying and wanting to skip over his bubbles sometimes when he was ranting about communism every other page. He needed to chill, but maybe there's something I don't know about where he has the right to be angry, but I doubt it should be included in every conversation he has.

The story took me on a tour through Mexico and how they potentially think of Americans. After just reading Gloria Anzaldua's article, "La Conciencea de la Mestiza: Towards a New Consciousness," I beleive that there is some hostility between Mexican culture and ours, and there is hostility, or what I would just say is ingornace, between many cultures because of differences. This book conveys that as well.