“Mexican High” by Liza Monroy; Spiegel & Grau, 2008. 334 pages.

Milagro Marquez (her mother, a former hippie who now works for the Foreign Service, decided that Milagro Epstein didn’t sound sufficiently melodic) returns to Mexico, the country where she was conceived. A stranger in a strange land, reluctantly separated from her latest home and set of friends in her senior year of high school, Mila plunges into Mexico City’s elite with a grim determination to succeed.

How exactly she manages to succeed in a mad routine (of snobbery, teenage ostracism, drug assassinations, corrupt cops, food poisoning, violence and even encounters with the Mexican father she never knew) is a story with the dizzying feel of a roller-coaster ride, and one well worth taking.

This may be a teenage coming-of-age novel, but its subtleties will appeal more to anyone who remembers being young and a little lost. Mila is neither good girl, nor genius, nor loose woman, nor addict ... the joy of reading this book is learning exactly who she is, while she tries to figure it out herself in the midst of absolute chaos.

Monroy’s narrative voice is a clear, elegant blend of teenage rebellion, the world-weary ennui of Foreign Service brats and seasoned travelers and the wide-eyed wonder of a girl with the soul of a poet.

Mexican High is not just about adolescent angst – it’s about a society’s very real problems and the tragedies they create. Monroy, herself the child of a U.S. Foreign Service officer who lived in Mexico City, presents the Mexico foreigners wish they could forget and locals secretly wish they could live. This is the world of designer-clad tragicomic teen monsters raised by the maid and shepherded to nightclubs and resorts by the chauffeur/bodyguard, and of occasional misfits buffeted about in an increasingly violent and divided society. Welcome to fresas, nacos, the smog-choked streets of Mexico City, its trendiest boutiques, its sprawling entertainments and the magnificent fenced estates that don’t quite manage to keep out the worst life has to offer.

Monroy’s Mila is a great guide and narrator – clever and sensitive, never confusing emotion with melodrama and masterfully selecting each small detail showcased. Through her eyes, characters gain extraordinary depth.

Everyone except for the men, that is. In a way, that makes sense – to the teenage Mila, the male of the species, adults included, is alternately sympathetic, frightening, magical, incomprehensible and beloved. What could have been a serious flaw in this novel becomes a strong statement of narrative realism.

Inevitably, this is a novel that will whisper more intimately to women, from the complex relationship between Mila and her all-too-human mother to the cutthroat, downright vicious arena of high school popularity gladiators. For everyone else, there is amazing insight into the female mind, a great feel for the Mexican elite and the circus of culture, a bit of humor, a few tears, a few sentimental smiles and a well-written, satisfying read.

And don’t worry – by the time the readers get to the happy ending (yes, there is one, and it’s even somewhat realistic), they’ll feel like everyone who matters went through more than enough struggle to deserve it.

“Mexican High” is available on order from Sandi Bookstore in Colonia Chapalita, Guadalajara, or from Lake Chapala area English-language bookstores.