High Spirits

Pura Belpré Honor Book

BEST OF THE YEAR
Chicago Review of Books · Kirkus · Los Angeles Public Library

Publishers Weekly Flying Start

High Spirits is a collection of eleven interconnected short stories from the Dominican diaspora, from debut author Camille Gomera-Tavarez.

It is a book centered on one extended family – the Beléns – across multiple generations.

It is set in the fictional small town of Hidalpa – and Santo Domingo and Paterson and San Juan and Washington Heights too.

It is told in a style both utterly real and distinctly magical – and its stories explore machismo, mental health, family, and identity.

But most of all, High Spirits represents the first book from Camille Gomera-Tavarez, who takes her place as one of the most extraordinary new voices to emerge in years.

For fans of Elizabeth Acevedo, Sandra Cisneros, Angie Cruz, and Yaa Gyasi


P R A I S E

★ “Authentic and immersive…A labor of love imbued with dedication to family.”
—Kirkus (starred)

★ “Deeply personal and relatable. Steeped in nostalgia and harsh but fierce love, this is a memorable family saga in its own right.”
—Booklist (starred)

★ “Full of vivid and poetic imagery… settings worthy of drinking in, and thematic material ripe for contemplation about identity, intergenerational memory, and patriarchy and toxic masculinity, Gomera-Tavarez’s soulfully crafted debut is a sensitive, intrinsically feminist work.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred)

“A magical and unflinching look at the Dominican Diaspora.”
—Dominican Writers Association
 

Camille Gomera-Tavarez is an Afro-Dominican writer, designer, and creative from New Jersey. She has a BFA in Graphic Design & Creative Writing from the Maryland Institute College of Art and is currently based in Philadelphia, PA. Her debut short story collection, High Spirits, received critical acclaim and was named a Pura Belpré Honor Book.

Author Residence: Philadelphia, PA