Before starting college this fall, I was assigned summer reading for the first time in years! We were to read Make Your Home Among Strangers by Jennine Capó Crucet before arriving on campus in August. Then, the summer reading program was rounded out by a lecture held by Jennine Capó Crucet herself.

Make Your Home Among Strangers is Crucet's second book, the first being a collection of short stories and this being a full-fledged novel. Make Your Home Among Strangers follows the main character Lizette as she struggles to adjust to life in college, as a first-generation college student. Or, as Crucet described it, "a novel about people landing in places and having no clue who they are as a result."

I related to the novel, and Lizette's feelings, more than I expected to. Honestly, I believe every incoming college student should be reading Make Your Home Among Strangers either to get accustomed to the specific culture that permeates college campuses, or to learn about microaggressions people of color can face at college, or even to read an example of what it feels like to discover your passion in a classroom.

-Laura