The novel opens with a Prologue titled “note to self.” From details provided in the note, it is apparent that Arturo writes it while detained in the mobile holding cell, following his confrontation with Wilfrido at the festival. This occurs in the second half of the novel, at a point when Arturo believes he has “epically failed” at everything. Why might Cartaya have chosen to begin the novel with this particular moment from Arturo’s narrative? What makes this moment noteworthy in relation to what follows it?

Discuss the role of Arturo’s close friends Bren and Mop in the novel, and how their presence—or absence—fosters Arturo’s growing maturity over the course of the summer. Consider why the only two dramatic “dialogue” sections of the novel (Chapters 4 and 9) feature Bren and Mop, and why, for most of the novel, Arturo’s two friends are absent.

The novel foregrounds Arturo’s relationship with females—his mother, Abuela, and Carmen—and presents his male relationships through the medium of letters or social media, or, largely sidelines them, as is the case with his father. Curiously, even Arturo’s surname—Zamora—is that of his mother’s family, not his father’s. Explain how traditional gender roles relate to the novel’s focus on family and community and how they shape Arturo’s developing sense of himself.