You're Prettier When You're Quiet chronicles the secretive and scandalous lives of a multi-generational Puerto Rican family and features unique perspectives, décimas (a form of Puerto Rican poetry) and elements of magical realism to richly illustrate the coming-of-age story of an eleven-year-old girl named Carolina, a child of accidental incest.
The novel inevitably portrays the generational damage inflicted by those complicit in the keeping of family secrets and the traumatic burdens inherited by those who are none the wiser.
Ultimately, You're Prettier When You're Quiet also conveys the possibility of healing through the acts of self-acceptance, truth-telling and choosing what is right over what is self-serving.
