^aDepartment of Modern Languages, Northern Arizona University, AZ

Abstract

This article focuses on a comparative study of two important US Latina narratives, Caramelo (2002) by Chicana author Sandra Cisneros and American Chica (2001) by Peruvian-American Marie Arana. Although the authors descend from different Latin American national heritages, both address key issues to contemporary US Latina narratives post-2000 in the representation of transnational gender identity in their respective historical and social contexts. This study contributes to the growing field of comparative US Latino/a literary studies through questions of genealogy, gender, ethnicity and urban matters.