Catalina by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio

Catalina PDF is a campus novel that follows our titular character throughout her journey at harvard. Karla Cornejo Villavicencio is one of Harvard’s first undocumented graduates. This is her first novel, following the success of her nonfiction “The Undocumented Americans.”

There is obviously a lot drawn from her life experiences, but she has succeeded in creating a bold, fearless woman who refuses to be confined by the expectations of others.

Catalina Ituralde is in her last year at Harvard. She is not your typical undergraduate, though– there is very little typical about her. She is an orphan from Ecuador, undocumented, and being raised by her undocumented grandparents.

Having arrived here at a very young age, she has always felt an outsider, seen as an “other.” Her grades have propelled her into Harvard, but an uncertain future beyond graduation has her overwhelmed at times.

From outside it seems she has won life’s lottery; a Cinderella story of a poor immigrant girl who is living the American dream. Inside, she often feels immobilized by the high expectations everyone has set for her.

Catalina does not remain a victim. She understands she is living with the ultra-privileged and refuses to be intimidated. She is attracted to the good-looking Nathaniel Wheeler, the son of a famous film director. She even fantasizes about a life with him, that people will say she found “a good man.” She quickly rejects this trap at their romantic peak.

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