Primas

The little girl at the heart of this story lives between two worlds. On one hand is her house, where she lives with her Latin American father and North American grandmother. Her mother is dead. Here there are many beautiful things, lots of books and plenty of money. On the other hand is her other grandmother’s house, where her cousin lives with her own mother and many others. This is a Catholic household, where material possessions aren’t especially important. Here the house is always full of people – those who live in the house as well as those who come by for a generous afternoon feast and a good gossip.

Despite the child’s many possessions at home, she loves the Catholic world in which her cousin lives. She is especially fond of the icon of the baby Jesus and a moonstone rosary. She is also envious of her cousin’s forthcoming First Communion.

All these feelings come to a head when she steals the rosary and, while she must confront her awful feelings of guilt, she realizes that she is a very lucky child to be able to move between two such wonderful worlds.