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This book is a series of short stories, semi-autographical, about a young woman (named Michele Serros) trying to make it as a writer. In the process, she must deal with a teacher who tells her she can't write, a Hispanic community leader who doesn't pay her for her public appearances, school children who giggle through her poetry reading, relatives who call her up and talk non-stop when she's trying to work, a small publisher who wants her to sell her own books, an In Living Color Hispanic fly girl who won't give her the time of day, and much more.
Serros tells us what it's like to be a Mexican-American who was born in the U.S., ate microwaved pot pies when she was growing up instead of homemade Mexican food, and barely speaks Spanish. She also tells us what it's like to be an aspiring artist in today's commercial, corporate world—and what it's like to be an American twenty-something (of any race, color, or creed). There are many stories in here that would lead to wonderful classroom discussions, such as "Breaking the Major Rule" in which Michelle peeks in her roommate's private journal, or "Buy American" in which she learns that you don't have to look beyond your own family to find subject matter for your fiction writing.