Books

Maya’s comfortable life comes to an abrupt halt after high-school graduation, when her wealthy father insists that it’s time for her to start supporting herself. While he’ll still pay for college—if she follows his vision for her future—she’s otherwise on her own. Maya finds temporary housing in a cramped NYC apartment with friends from her library job and writes for her sister’s magazine. When she finds out that her father has been secretly (and illegally) funding a conservative politician who speaks ill of all immigrants, Maya, as the daughter of an immigrant mother herself, must decide whether to break with her father and speak out for what she believes in. Mickelson offers an interesting portrayal of a pampered, rich upbringing coming to an abrupt end and the realistic decisions and challenges that ensue, from finding housing and food to learning how to wash one’s own dishes for the first time. With a unique take on the current political climate, this novel explores finding one’s footing in the adult world and standing behind one’s beliefs.–Booklist Review

This timely novel by Mickelson (The Weight of Everything) centers 18-year-old Maya, a budding writer who, like her siblings before her, is evicted from her father’s luxurious Manhattan apartment following her high school graduation. Believing his children should make their own way, as he did, Maya’s multimillionaire father forces her to get by without financial help beyond college tuition. Frustrated but stalwart, Maya plans to support herself by working at the public library and freelance-writing. Feeling abandoned by her mother, a doctor who moved back to her native Guatemala two years earlier, and her siblings who also left N.Y.C., she accepts her older coworker’s offer to share a studio apartment, where neighbors and a community activist group are frequent guests. Seeking a quiet refuge for her work, she joins a shared writing space managed by her distrustful neighbor Jake. Over the course of the smoothly wrought narrative, Maya encounters immigration issues challenging individuals in her new neighborhood, expands her literary leanings beyond her beloved classics, and pursues a relationship with Jake. Though Maya’s father reads like a one-dimensional villain, an opportunity to expose his financial support of a disturbing anti-immigrant politician injects tension throughout this accessible offering. Characters are racially diverse.—Publishers Weekly

A privileged 18-year-old is forced into adulthood when her rich father cuts her off financially. Maya Michell’s white, self-made millionaire dad raised his children in luxury in Manhattan—but he kicks each kid out immediately after high school graduation to force them to learn how to earn the good life for themselves. When her turn comes, Maya is prepared to live with friends and work at the library before entering Columbia (college tuition being the one expense her dad will still cover). But Maya struggles to understand her father’s meanness; he refuses to let her keep her copy of her favorite childhood book, Charlotte’s Web. Readers will empathize with Maya’s loneliness and sensibility. Though her doctor mom has returned home to Guatemala to care for Indigenous patients and Maya’s aging grandmother, and her siblings are also far away, Maya doesn’t wallow. She lines up freelance writing gigs and finds community with new neighbors and at a local shared writing space. She also finds a love interest in Jake Canales, the cute, mysterious teen manager of the writing room. When Maya realizes that her dad is supporting a racist, anti-immigrant candidate for governor, she must decide whether to risk the future she’s always counted on by finding the strength to speak out.–Kirkus Reviews

The Writing Room is a timely and compelling portrait of people who rise above broken families and oppressive systems to find belonging and solidarity with one another. Through the eyes of the well-rounded and unique character of Maya Mitchell, Mickelson explores with deft and unflinching craft the racism and anti-immigrant fervor directed against Latines and other communities of color. But more than the ongoing fight against bigots, The Writing Room confronts head-on the confounding and deflating betrayal by the very ones who once declared themselves family and allies, people who seemed to love and value the marginalized but who turn on us the moment it’s expedient. Still, Maya finds purpose and strength alongside others who refuse to be broken in a beautiful bildungsroman anchored by a sweet, slow-burn romance. Daringly defiant and achingly hopeful, The Writing Room is an essential book that speaks to this moment with clear vision and powerful prose. Not to be missed! —David Bowles, author of They Call Her Fregona

“An inspiring story about learning what’s important to you and finding the inner strength to stand up for it.”—Ismée Williams, author of This Train Is Being Held

“As emotionally gripping as it is heartfelt, The Writing Room is a powerful novel about family, finding your voice, and the potency of first love. Mickelson masterfully weaves trauma and tribulations with hope and healing, affirming the necessity of making space for yourself alongside and within your community.”—Jessica Parra, author of Rubi Ramos’s Recipe for Success and The Quince Project