Hi there! I’m Sara Crow, co-owner of Crow & Co. Bookstore in Hutchinson, Kansas. Because of my work, of course, I end up reading a lot of books every year, and I absolutely MUST talk about my favorite read for this summer: Tita Ramirez’s brand new book releasing July 9, Tell it to Me Singing.
Have you ever stepped back from the chaos of your life, attempted to take it in from some sort of objective distance, and thought, "My lord, I'm living in a soap opera?" This very quickly becomes the situation for Mónica, the twentysomething daughter of refugees from Cuba currently living in Florida. As her mother is rushed in for a risky emergency surgery, she groggily confides the first of a series of shocking family secrets to Mónica that ends up entirely upending her life. The stakes end up getting excruciatingly high (and, at certain points, amusingly ridiculous) as the clues her recovering mother drops end up causing Mónica to doubt everything she used to take for granted in her life.
As a part of her weekly time with her parents, Mónica and her mother have a long-standing tradition of sitting down together to watch their favorite telenovela, or Mexican soap opera. As her story progresses, Mónica discovers that her life is slowly deteriorating into a wacky and sometimes hysterical real-life version of the show she and her mother used to watch together, and she begins to wonder: is her mom really revealing deep family secrets, or are the narratives of her favorite melodramas somehow melding with her memories of her family’s true story?
At some point, the only choice Mónica will feel she has left is to go on her own journey to find out.
From here on out, I'll have Mónica with me whenever I'm in those moments where life just seems to be too weird to be true, reminding me that, for better or worse, things could always get MORE ridiculous. Mónica is a friend who will live rent-free in my brain forever, someone I'll be able to share my story with as we commiserate about our mothers and our ridiculous relatives and the people who have been blessed or cursed with being in love with us. I think the fact that Mónica will always be a friend with me in my imagination is probably the highest praise I could give this epic, absurd, frantic, funny, and sometimes deeply relatable journey of a book. I'd follow my new, messy bestie Mónica just about anywhere.
Sara Crow is the co-owner of Crow & Co. Books in Hutchinson, KS. Crow & Co. Books is a bookshop and café that offers a variety of books and book accessories, as well as locally-made art and gifts. We also offer handmade coffee, teas, and other drinks, as well as a constantly rotating variety of house-made pastries including gluten free and vegan options. We’re dedicated to remaining an open and welcoming gathering space for people from all walks of life and offer space for groups, meetings, and special events. Join us for one of our many book clubs and events or find us online at crowandcobooks.com.
