Catalina

What were your first impressions of Catalina as a character? How did they change over the course of the novel?

What does Catalina have in common with other books in the “campus novel” genre? In what ways does it stand out?

Catalina is full of cultural references, from “lowbrow” nods to music and pop culture to highbrow citations of the Western literary canon. How did these references influence your reading experience?

How does Catalina relate to—and feel separate from—her fellow Dreamers?

Discuss Catalina’s relationship to Ecuador. How does it compare to her relationship with America?

“The problem with being an object of beauty, a beautiful object, is that you exist only when you’re looked at . . . It feels like soul death when their eyes are off you,” Catalina says. How does it affect Catalina’s sense of self to be constantly objectified by those around her? How does she begin to see herself as a subject? What were the major turning points in this journey?

Catalina has her share of struggles, but she never doubts that she belongs in the Ivy League alongside her peers. What was it like to experience life through the eyes of a character who doesn’t struggle with impostor syndrome?

What does Catalina want from Nathaniel? What does he want from her?

What is Catalina’s relationship with her grandparents like? How do their expectations of her affect the relationship?

Discuss the documentary Catalina works on with Byron. Where does this go wrong? How, if at all, do you think the project could have succeeded?

What is the significance of the khipu in the novel?

What do you think happens to Catalina after the novel ends? What feelings were you left with about her future?

If you could ask Karla Cornejo Villavicencio anything about Catalina, what would you ask?