Includes bibliographical references (pages 129-135) and index.

"Chica Lit illuminates how discourses of Americanization, ethnicity, gender, class, and commodification shape the genre of 'chica lit, ' popular fiction written by Latina authors with Latina characters. Tace Hedrick argues that its stories about ethnic class mobility and gendered romantic success tend to celebrate neoliberal narratives of hard work and individual success. However, its focus on Latina characters necessarily inflects this celebratory mode. Chica lit also struggles with questions about the actual social and economic place of Latinas in this same neoliberal landscape; these questions unsettle its reliance on the formulas of chick lit and romance writing. Looking at chica lit's market-driven representations of difference, poverty, and Americanization, Hedrick shows how this writing functions within the larger arena of struggles over popular representation of Latinas and Chicanas."--Page 4 of cover

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