Last summer, the incoming Class of 2029 was asked to read Kali Fajardo-Anstine’s short story collection “Sabrina & Corina” and answer a series of questions as a way to connect with their fellow incoming peers. On Jan. 27, 2026, Fajardo-Anstine—a bestselling author, a finalist for the National Book Award, the PEN/Bingham Prize, The Story Prize and the winner of the American Book Award—came to Vassar College to speak with students about her book and her journey to becoming an author.
At the beginning of her discussion, Fajardo-Anstine shared the story of her upbringing in Denver, Colorado. She stated, “Like many children, I grew up in a house and a world that felt chaotic and violent.” She described a crowded house of seven siblings, which she felt contributed to her own diagnosis of depression at the age of 11. “I very much felt powerless to the whims of adults. I didn’t like how they lied. I was often angry, and I was frustrated at how invisible and incurred I felt as a child.”
For Fajardo-Anstine, reading emerged as a way to escape this environment and the mental health issues that it brought. After being taught to read by her older sister, Fajardo-Anstine began to read anything she could get her hands on: “I was reading the shampoo bottle, I was reading the Kleenex box.” This passion for reading guided her understanding of her purpose in life, knowing she wanted to be surrounded by books. Though she loved to read, Fajardo-Anstine described struggling in high school. She would often miss class and assignments due to her mental health, and eventually dropped out to pursue her General Education Development (GED) certificate.
Fajardo-Anstine credits literature for giving her an alternative path in life, claiming, “If I wouldn’t have dropped out and continued on with my schooling, it’s possible that the whole trajectory of my life would have changed, and I would not have been standing before you. I would not have written these books.”
After she earned her GED, she studied English and Chicano studies at Metropolitan State University of Denver, where she began to write short stories. She later earned her Master’s of Fine Arts in fiction from the University of Wyoming with her graduate thesis becoming “Sabrina & Corina.”
Fajardo-Anstine tied the purpose of her book to an experience she had when working at a neighborhood bookstore. “Look around you, a man once told me, as we stood in the bookstore where I worked throughout college. There are thousands and thousands of books, what could you possibly contribute that has not already been said?” Fajardo-Anstine recalled responding to him: “A lot. My people, for the most part, we aren’t in any of these books.” Fajardo-Anstine shared that, growing up, she struggled to find representation in not only society but in literature due to her “woven” ancestry as an Indigenous, Jewish and Filipina woman. She wanted to write “Sabrina & Corina” to shed light on unrepresented, Indigenous stories, loosely basing the work on her own life experiences and familial oral tellings.
This idea of highlighting underrepresented voices was the inspiration behind selecting “Sabrina & Corina” for the Class of 2029 summer reading. At the lecture, former Dean of First-Year Students Lioba Gerhardi was quoted at the lecture as having stated: “I was looking for underrepresented voices that highlight aspects of society that we don’t often encounter at Vassar, I found a combination of immigrants and native perspectives and found the stories fascinating.”
Professor of English and Director of American Studies Molly McGlennen was also quoted at the event, having explained that she had selected “Sabrina & Corina” as a book in her First-Year Writing Seminar. “Students loved reading it, it gave them guidance on how to write about personal narrative, culture and aspects of home,” she explained.
At the end of the talk, students shared their insights about the book and the particular stories that resonated with them. Tess Korenberg ’29 shared, “I do think ‘Sabrina & Corina’ was my favorite story. Just the way they were written because it’s a tragic story, but it’s not inherently a totally sad story, I think. So just something about that one just stuck with me as my favorite.”
Seren Staples ’29 also gave her thoughts on her favorite story: “I liked the chapter called ‘Sugar Babies’ because it told the story of a complicated family dynamic in an interesting way through the lens of a middle schooler. The story didn’t necessarily conclude in a well-rounded ending for the protagonist, but painted a picture of how a middle schooler might deal with the complexities of life.”