Notes and Links to Carolina Ixta’s Work

Carolina Ixta is a writer from Oakland, California. A daughter of Mexican immigrants, she received her BA in creative writing and Spanish language and literature at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and obtained her master's degree in education at the University of California, Berkeley. Her debut novel, Shut Up, This Is Serious, was a Morris Award finalist, an LA Times Book Prize finalist, and the winner of the Pura Belpré Award. Few Blue Skies is out now.

At about 1:50, Carolina responds to Pete’s question about how she feels with her book at Pub Day

At about 3:35, Carolina shouts out Mrs. Dalloway’s and other bookstores to buy Few Blue Skies

At about 4:25, Carolina talks about her language and reading background

At about 6:00, Pete and Carolina reminisce on taking the challenging Spanish linguistics class

At about 8:25, The two reflect on the unceasing reading list

At about 9:15, Carolina shouts out Pam Munoz Ryan and Esperanza Rising-a transformative book and wonderful person

At about 10:45, Carolina highlights the wonderful evolution of young adult fiction

At about 12:45, The two fanboy and -girl over Jason Reynolds

At about 14:55-RILKE!

At about 16:30, Aria Aber is cited as a great fan and proponent of Rilke

At about 18:10, Carolina gives an intricate and wise explanation of how writing and teaching elementary school and her own schooling have come together in a balance in writing for young people

At about 24:30, Carolina gives information on seeds for Few Blue Skies-an urban education class and references to drinking water in Oakland Public Schools is cited

At about 27:05, Pete compliments the universality and specificity of the book in asking Carolina about the area in which she writes and connections to real-life companies

At about 28:30, The two set the book’s exposition

At about 32:40, Carolina expands on familial connections to the Bracero Program and cites Alejandra Oliva’s Rivermouth as a great source for information about the shocking (or not) racism associated with the program

At about 36:20, Carolina likes to

At about 38:00, Carolina makes interesting points about the “invisible” work done by Paloma’s mother and many women

At about 42:00, The two discuss the strike undertaken in the book and ideas of practicality and idealism

At about 42:40, AQA days are discussed in connection to air quality issues that happen in the book and in real life

At about 44:00, The two discuss grief, and Pete compliments the realism shown by the character in the book after Julio’s father’s death

At about 45:20, Carolina responds to Pete’s question about the significance of a garden envisioned by Julio in the book

At about 47:40, Carolina expands on Julio as a “wholesome character” and drawing his dimensions and his future and romantic life

At about 49:00, Carolina talks about stretching her Bay Area loyalties in writing realistically about the IE and their sports loyalties; she talks about wanting/needing to write something that shows her "range"

At about 51:15, Carolina responds to Pete’s question about the provenance of the book’s Mayor Warner

At about 55:45, Pete and Carolina talk about ideas of ignorance with regard to Paloma, and real-life versions of naivete and idealism

At about 59:00, Carolina talks about anxieties around proving that she can write fiction rooted in nonfiction, and how she so wants kids to go to Wikipedia and do deeper research in enjoying reading

At about 1:01:55, Pete cites the “good and fun awkwardness” in some of the romantic scenes in the book, and Carolina talks about struggling to write those scenes

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Please tune in for Episode 322 with Peter Orner, the author of eight books, most recently the novel, The Gossip Columnist’s Daughter, named one of the best books of 2025 by the New Yorker and the Chicago Tribune, as well as the essay collections, Still No Word from You, a finalist for the PEN Award for the Art of the Essay, and Am I Alone Here?, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism.

The episode airs February 3, later in the day.

Please go to ceasefiretoday.org, and/or https://act.uscpr.org/a/letaidin to call your congresspeople and demand an end to the forced famine and destruction of Gaza and the Gazan people.

Episode 321 with Carolina Ixta, Author of Few Blue Skies and Master of Nuance and the Balance Between Nonfiction Concepts and Real-Life Ossues and Fiction in Her Fictional Work