Stella Díaz Has Something to Say

Stella’s mom is a compassionate and hardworking parent to Stella and Nick. As a caregiver, her primary role in the novel is to support Stella through the challenges she faces personally and at school. Stella’s mom faces plenty of her own challenges, but she always pushes them aside to prioritize her children. In this way, she is a foil for Stella’s dad, who often seems to prioritize himself ahead of his family. Stella’s family came to Chicago from Mexico when Stella was a baby, and Stella’s parents divorced a few years prior to the start of the novel. Though Stella doesn’t know the motivation behind her parents’ divorce, certain details in the novel suggest that her dad cheated on her mom. Despite this, Stella’s mom never displays any bitterness or anger, and she seems to enjoy raising her children singlehandedly, doing everything she can to show up for them whenever possible. She even comes to Stella’s classroom frequently to help out, even though she also works a stressful full time office job as “a boss at a radio station” (94). In fact, Stella’s mom sometimes goes to the office on weekends to catch up on work, in which cases she brings Stella with her.

Stella’s mom teaches her children to take pride in their Mexican American identity, peppering her dialogue with Spanish words when she speaks to her children, even though she can speak both languages perfectly. She seems to intentionally expose Stella and Nick to certain aspects of Mexican culture—in addition to using Spanish words, she cooks traditional dishes for them, tells them stories from when she lived in Mexico, and hosts their Mexican relatives when they visit. She also frequently plays salsa music around the house. Stella’s mom has a professional job at a radio station, but it’s not made explicitly clear exactly what her role is there. Her father (Stella’s grandfather) used to perform on the radio for a living, suggesting that a love for music and performance runs in the family.

Nick is Stella’s older brother. Like his mother, Nick is a supporting character whose role is mainly to help and encourage Stella in her personal conflicts. If Nick embodies any archetype, it is that of a mentor. Nick is more than five years older than Stella, so at times he takes on a parental role. He walks her to school and helps her with her schoolwork and personal conflicts. Sometimes, though, he acts like a stereotypical older brother—he often teases Stella, and sometimes they argue. Nick is in eighth grade, so he’s only at the start of adolescence himself. Dominguez characterizes Nick as intelligent and responsible. He doesn’t share Stella’s speech difficulties, likely because he learned Spanish as his first language in Mexico (unlike Stella, who learned to speak in the US). Stella often envies Nick’s confidence and academic skills. She “can’t even picture Nick being nervous. He’s so good at school presentations” (125).

Nick and Stella both seem to harbor mixed feelings about their father, from whom they are mostly estranged since their parents’ divorce. Nick, however, appears to resent their father more than Stella does. Though not explicitly stated, the novel implies that their dad cheated on their mom, and that Nick, being older, is aware of this while Stella is not. On the topic of their parents’ separation, Stella comments that “it made Mom sad,” and that “Nick tells me he’ll explain to me when I’m older” (39). Nick also displays irritation toward their father more outwardly when they speak to him on the phone and go bowling with him, indicating that Nick sees him in a more negative light than Stella does. Nick’s deeper understanding of their father could contribute to the nurturing and parental role Nick takes on when it comes to Stella—he wants to do what he can to fill the paternal role that Stella’s father has abdicated.

Jenny, another flat and static supporting character, is Stella’s best friend. Jenny fills the role of the sidekick archetype—she is loyal, trustworthy, and gives Stella advice when needed. Like Stella, Jenny is raised by a single mother who immigrated from another country. Jenny’s family is from Vietnam, but Jenny was born in the US. Jenny and Stella love to trade food and try traditional dishes from each other’s heritages. They seem to bond over the shared experience of having immigrant families, but their experiences are also quite different. Jenny was born an American citizen, for example, while Stella has a green card and is classified as an “alien,” which causes her significant stress. Stella has never met Jenny’s father, and Jenny has never mentioned him.

Jenny is more socially adept than Stella, which becomes clear when she makes a new friend, Anna, in her class right away. Jenny also provides social support to Stella by “translating” for her when others don’t understand her accent—unlike most people, Jenny has never struggled to understand Stella—and by offering advice on how to make friends.

Stanley is the new student in Stella’s class, who just moved to Chicago from Texas. When Stella hears there is a new student joining her class, she expects it to be a girl, so she is surprised and somewhat disappointed when she first meets Stanley. Though it’s not stated explicitly, Stanley and Stella seem to have a mutual innocent crush on each other. When Stella sees Stanley for the first time, she accidentally stares at him for too long, causing her to misspeak and then fall over in her chair. From that point forward, Stella blushes every time she sees Stanley, and she is too anxious to speak to him. No other character makes Stella this nervous. Stella even idealizes Stanley, putting him on a pedestal. She thinks so highly of him, for example, that she assumes he will win the spelling bee, even though she has no real reason to believe he’s a good speller. When he doesn’t win it, she realizes that she has more in common with him than she thought.

Stanley, on the other hand, seeks out Stella’s company. He is naturally outgoing, and he makes friends easily. When Stella tries to speed-walk away from him as they enter the school, he speeds up, seeming to want to catch up with her. At the aquarium, Stanley appears wherever Stella goes, and he even admits to bringing her a cookie to try to win her over. The more Stanley and Stella learn about each other, the more they realize that they are more similar than they thought. Eventually, they become friends.