Stella Díaz Has Something to Say

“I love Pancho, but I’m really glad I’m not a betta fish. I couldn’t be in a tank all by myself, without my family.”

Here, it is evident that Stella loves and values her family. As her feelings of social isolation increase later in the novel, she contradicts herself by comparing her situation to Pancho’s, in that they are both lonely. Stella often feels socially isolated because she comes from a culturally mixed background, so she doesn’t fully fit in fully with either her peers or her family. This highlights The Challenges and Rewards of Cultural Hybridity.

“At the beginning of this year, when I started getting interested in fishes, she showed me all these books on Jacques Cousteau, a famous ocean explorer. Now I love reading about him.”

This is the first mention of Jacques Cousteau, who becomes a significant figure in the novel. Cousteau was a French oceanographer, filmmaker, and author most famous for inventing the first SCUBA device. Cousteau is a role model for Stella, who also loves ocean life and writing. Stella dresses up as Cousteau for her final presentation in school, signaling that she finally has the confidence to view herself as fearless and successful—traits that Cousteau embodied.

“Still, even if I weren’t shy, I wouldn’t be able to talk right now. I’m a little speechless. I can’t believe Stanley speaks español!”

The author inserts words from the Spanish language to reflect the local vernacular of Mexican Americans like Stella. Stella is immediately drawn to Stanley upon learning that he speaks Spanish, illustrating how shared language can be a way to bolster social connection. This quote also highlights Stella’s insecurities about her speech: She initially feels that her hybrid language makes her an outsider, but she soon learns to take pride in the way her identity blends Mexican and US cultural influences.

“I stare at my drawing and think about escaping through a tiny hole. Or disappearing in a cloud of ink. Today, I really wish I were an octopus.”

Stella compares herself and others to various aquatic animals as she learns more and more about sea life. The different animals she mentions each reflect unique aspects of her inner life—at this point in the novel, Stella is socially isolated and lacks confidence, so she wishes for the expert escape skills of an octopus. As Stella evolves, the specific ocean creatures she relates to change to reflect her growth.

“If I could picture only one cute alien, I might feel better about the word. Instead, as we head out to the cafeteria, I picture all these spiny, crawly, deadly aliens, the ones people run away from.”

Stella is horrified to learn that she is considered an “alien” since she wasn’t born in the US. Stella has only heard the word “alien” used to refer to creatures from outer space, which makes her feel even more different from her classmates than she already does. As an immigrant, Stella has never felt like she truly blends in at school, and she often feels lonely and isolated. Vivid descriptors like “spiny” and “crawly” evoke imagery of a repulsive creature, which helps convey how unnerving Stella’s fears are.

“And I don’t really miss Dad because he never keeps his promises. When he still lived in Chicago, he promised to teach me how to ride a bike, but he never did.”

At first, Stella resents her dad for being a bad parent. Her dad doesn’t treat Stella and Nick very well, but as Stella matures, she comes to see the nuances to her dad’s behavior—he tries to be a good dad, but he never had the emotional resources to learn how to do so. Eventually, Stella learns to forgive him. The reference to learning to ride a bike foreshadows the end of the novel, when Nick and Stella’s mom finally teach her to ride a bike. Mastering this skill Stella waited years to learn represents her newfound maturity.

“We puff up our cheeks like puffer fish and follow that with deep breathing.”

Stella does breath and mouth exercises as a part of the specialized speech classes she attends in school. The school requires her to take these classes because she struggles with language due to her bilingual background. Stella doesn’t like going to the classes because they separate her from her classmates. Her use of a simile to liken herself to a puffer fish is another example of Stella using her interest in aquatic animals to express how she feels different from her peers.

“Whenever I hear someone spell a word out loud, my brain goes weird. It slows down like the gears on a rusty bike. I worry people think I look stupid, which I hate.”

Stella is bright and inquisitive, but it bothers her that her struggles with speech and language prevent her from being able to show off her skills to others. Using a bike in a simile here ties this idea to Stella’s longstanding wish to ride a bike, something she finally learns to do at the end of the novel. The bike functions as an extended metaphor. Stella feels at first like her mind is caught or stuck, like the rusty bike, but eventually she overcomes her challenges. She can ride a bike with ease at the end of the novel, just as she can finally speak in front of others without shame or struggle.

“I just cover my roja face with my hands. This is a new low. I couldn’t even say numbers today.”

Whenever Stella is embarrassed, which is quite often, she turns “roja”— Spanish for “red.” Stella often mixes Spanish words and phrases into her English, but “roja” is by far the Spanish word she uses most frequently. This has the effect of linking embarrassment to the Spanish language. Stella does feel shame that she can’t speak English as fluently as her classmates, but she also eventually learns to take pride in the unique opportunities her Mexican heritage affords her.

“But then again, it’s always easy to talk to Jenny. Even though I’m getting the hang of it, it’s no mystery that what I really need is Jenny in my class.”

 As Stella’s best friend, Jenny fulfills the role of the sidekick archetype in the novel. Jenny offers endless support to Stella, and her advice always proves useful. Jenny’s companionship also reiterates The Value of Family and Friendship in Stella’s life. At the same time, Stella risks being overly dependent on Jenny. Stella is mistaken to think that being closer to her friend is “what [she] really need[s].” She really needs to build new connections with others while becoming more comfortable with herself. Stella embraces her introverted nature for the most part, but Jenny’s friendship ultimately reminds her that more social connections lead to higher self-confidence and more fulfillment in general.

“The sushi was also really expensive, more than Mom ever spends on dinner. I’m not really sure why. It looks like they didn’t really have to cook it.”

Stella is describing an occasion in which her dad took her out to dinner and spent a lot of money at a fancy sushi restaurant. The description serves to characterize her dad as a reckless spender and thus as immature in general. This is one of many examples of Stella’s dad spending unnecessary money even though he never sends Stella’s mom the child support money he is supposed to pay. Stella’s assumption that sushi should be inexpensive because it doesn’t need to be cooked reflects both her youthful inexperience and her pragmatic perspective.

“I stop dancing, and Jessica giggles. ‘Nice moves.’ Bridget adds, ‘For someone who can’t talk.’ I turn roja while Jenny pulls me away.”

Jessica embodies the bully archetype common in middle grade fiction, and her friend Bridget fits the archetype of the bully’s sidekick. Stella doesn’t expect to see anyone from school while she is dancing (in fact, she says earlier that she would never feel comfortable dancing in front of her classmates), and Jessica preys on this vulnerable moment to humiliate Stella. The way Stella reacts to Jenny’s bullying changes dramatically over the course of the story. It affects her deeply at this point, but eventually Stella gains the confidence to ignore Jenny’s taunts.

“Then I realize that as much as I think I might fit in better in Mexico than in the United States, I really wouldn’t. I know only a handful of things about Mexico from my family, definitely not enough to make me feel like I fit in.”

Stella feels that she sticks out at school because of her Mexican heritage, and she often wishes her family had never left Mexico. However, when she goes to a Latin American supermarket in preparation for a family visit, she realizes that she wouldn’t fit in if she lived in Mexico, either. This is a devastating realization, because it makes Stella feel completely isolated and alone, as if she doesn’t belong anywhere. As she navigates The Challenges and Rewards of Cultural Hybridity, Stella soon comes to understand that there are many ways of connecting to others, and not all of them require a shared language or an identical set of traditions.

“Still, hearing so much Spanish feels nice to my ears. It’s like a warm blanket.”

Stella uses a simile to compare the Spanish language to a blanket. Spanish is her first language, and it’s the language of her mother, her grandparents, and most of her extended family. Having grown up in the United States, Stella speaks English much better than she speaks Spanish, but hearing Spanish reminds her of family, and her family is a source of comfort and support to her. This speaks to The Value of Family and Friendship—Stella’s family members are a huge help in building Stella’s comfort with who she is and her self-esteem.

“Plus, there are so many fun words that sound better in Spanish than in English. Like café instead of ‘coffee’ or buenísimo instead of ‘really good.’ Although I would never use both words in the same sentence. Café is not buenísimo. It’s gross.”

Like Stella’s prior criticism of sushi, this quote subtly interjects humor into a section of the narrative that is otherwise emotionally heavy. Stella relishes the sound of these Spanish words, indicating that she has begun to understand her bilingual identity as a strength and a source of pleasure rather than embarrassment. Stella’s rejection of coffee draws attention to another cultural gap: the universal cultural gap between children and adults.

“He is also the only person I try to speak Spanish with other than Mom. That’s because he lets me talk really, really slowly and takes the time to listen to me. He’s so nice that I don’t even mind when he laughs at me for saying the words wrong or not rolling my r’s.”

Stella’s characterization of her grandfather reveals just how uncomfortable she is speaking Spanish. This is ironic because one of her greatest issues with speaking aloud in school is that she often speaks Spanish unintentionally when she wants to speak English. The quote reveals how complex language can become for people from bilingual backgrounds.

“‘Quiero…’ I say, looking at the picadillo. ‘Más pavo,’ says Juanis, who starts putting more turkey on my plate, which is not at all what I wanted.”

Again, the author sprinkles the dialogue and narration with Spanish words to imbue the novel with authenticity. The interaction in this quote exemplifies how Stella is misunderstood and isolated due to her limited Spanish vocabulary. Even though she enjoys listening to her family speak Spanish, Stella struggles to express herself in the language, and she ends up feeling like her family from Mexico doesn’t listen to her, which deepens her sense of isolation.

“I’m really happy that giggling and smiling is something that doesn’t have to be translated.”

After an uncomfortable Thanksgiving dinner wherein Stella feels misunderstood and left out, she ends the evening by dancing and laughing with her family. She feels much better after bonding with her family through music and dance, as she realizes that language is not the only way to form social connections. This experience helps Stella feel more socially rooted and ultimately build up her confidence so that she can more easily form new connections at school.

“‘Well, did you also know that male anemonefish take care of the eggs?’ She puts down her phone. ‘That I did not know. Lucky anemonefish moms.’”

Stella tells her mom some facts she’s learned recently about aquatic animals. Stella’s mom’s sentiment implies a comparison between anemonefish and Stella’s parents. Stella’s mom considers the fish “lucky” because she herself works hard to raise Stella and her brother with no help from their dad.

“Suddenly, I picture Pancho swimming alone in his fish tank. He can’t be around other fish, but he also can’t live outside of the water. He doesn’t belong anywhere either.”

Earlier in the novel, Stella feels glad that she is not as alone as Pancho is since she has her family for companionship. Now, however, she feels disconnected from her family. Stella feels that she doesn’t fit in with her family because she doesn’t fully understand Mexican culture or speak Spanish perfectly like they do. She also feels that she doesn’t fit in at school. Stella’s comparison here is not completely accurate. Since Pancho is a betta fish, he simply prefers to be alone and thrives in his own tank. Stella, on the other hand, desires company, and she just needs to build the self-confidence to make more friendships.

“Being that happy is just what happens whenever you’re near your best friend.”

Stella sees Jenny’s friend Anna smiling and knows that the other girl sitting beside Anna must be Anna’s best friend. When Stella first hears that Jenny befriended Anna, she is hurt and jealous. Now, Stella sees that Anna does not pose a threat to Stella’s friendship with Jenny, because Anna has her own best friend. Stella makes an effort to talk to Anna and the other girls in Jenny’s class, which shows how much progress Stella has made in terms of Finding Self-Confidence and Overcoming Fear. Before, she could barely speak to people she didn’t know, but now she recognizes The Value of Family and Friendship, so she actively strives to form new social connections.

“It makes me feel a little better, but my legs feel wobbly like flan as I walk onto the stage.”

The novel uses figurative language to compare Stella’s shaking legs to flan, a traditional Mexican dessert. The simile illustrates the severity of Stella’s social anxiety while also using Mexican culture to characterize Stella’s heritage.

“I whisper to Mom, ‘She’s a starfish.’ She puts her arm around me and kisses me on top of the head. Then I realize that maybe I’m a starfish, too. My name is Estrella, after all.”

Stella often compares herself and others to various aquatic animals. She likens herself to a starfish here because starfish are strong and resilient, as they can regrow lost limbs. Stella has shown that she is indeed tough and flexible like a starfish, as she bounces back quickly from her recent hardships. Over the course of the school year, Stella transitions from being too shy to speak aloud at school to having many new friends.