Van Wagenen, Maya. Chronically Dolores. Penguin/Dutton, 03/2024. 320pp. Fiction. Trade $18.99. 978-0-525-42682-0. GRADES 7–12. OUTSTANDING.
Dolores has interstitial cystitis, a chronic bladder condition that is a source of pain, frustration, and embarrassment. After a mortifying incident at school, the fourteen-year-old Mexican American girl spirals downward as she is rejected by her best friend and taunted by classmates. Sharply irreverent and very much a teenager, Dolores tells her story using a variety of literary techniques, including short, one-act plays written in telenovela style and transcripts of dialogue with a priest at confession. Her starred reviews on the quality of local bathrooms add a note of levity, providing further insight into Dolores’s character. Secondary players are equally vivid, including Terpsichore Berkenbosch-Jones, a white, costume-designing autistic girl struggling to break free from an over-controlling mother. Authentic and heartfelt, this young adult novel is based on the author’s own experiences with chronic illness.
Jenny Andrus—Independent