America, 1980s-2010s

This book is set in the United States at the end of the 20th century and brings us nearly to the present. It covers the coming of age, education, and early career of the author, and we travel with her from her hometown of Miami to college in upstate New York and to work in Nebraska. She critically describes a country riddled by racial hierarchies and heteronormative ideologies.

Miami

Crucet grows up in Miami as the daughter of Cuban refugees. She presents Miami as a place where Cubans were not a minority but professionally visible in positions like medicine, the police, and education. This means that even though they are a racial minority in the country at large, this was not her experience coming of age.

Disney World

Growing up in Miami in close proximity to Disney World, Crucet loved the amusement park as a...