One is never sure who the monsters are in these poems, only that the narrator desperately doesn’t want to be one. In his brilliant debut collection, HernÁndez explores grief, loss, identity, lineage, and belonging with grace, insight, and compassion. These pages are infused with comfort, with desire, with heartache. Never absent is love, family. HernÁndez—hyperaware of American society’s dismissal or hatred of people who look like him—writes with a refreshing confidence, a sure knowledge of who he is and where he comes from. Transcending any particular experience, this volume will continue to resonate with multiple readings.> I love him. I want to kiss him, tell him love isn’t measured. I squeeze his hand instead, afraid of the thought of anyone looking at us from the outside of my car. —Excerpt from “Defying the Dangers of Being”
