Beach, City, Villages: Jessica

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"Beach, City, Villages" is an eclectic novel intended to bring emotion and curiosity back into leisurely reading. The story of a young woman in New York finding balance between her identity and spirituality transforms into a series of conversations about deeper issues within society. Discussions on race, class, beauty standards, spirituality, social norms, immigration, social justice, and Covid-19, all arise and are tucked into a neatly wrapped love story. This is a masterful work of fiction with a refreshing use of language. Throughout this story, readers will come across conversations featuring the use of Spanish, English, Mandarin, Jamaican Patois, and African American Vernacular. The descriptions of places, people, and things are detailed without being convoluted or flowerful. At times, readers receive somewhat of a topography of New York and other cities mentioned in the plot. The memories and travels of the protagonist and her friends bring globality to a storyline that can be mistaken for being superficial, due to the frequent use of designer labels and celebrity comparisons. "Beach, City, Villages" is as multifaceted as the characters it depicts.