Natalie Guerrero’s 'My Train Leaves at Three' is a Fervent Late Coming-Of-Age Debut

By Dianna Vega

My Train Leaves at Three is an emotionally layered story as well as a fiery love letter to the Latina diaspora and female quarter-life crisis. With a writing that is sharp and straightforward, author Natalie Guerrero writes about young women, connection and loss. The story follows Xiomara, an aspiring singer and actress whose life fell apart when her sister unexpectedly passed away. While navigating grief, she’s rejected everything related to singing and castings—until a golden opportunity arises, and Xiomara starts gathering the strength to move forward. 

Despite its short length, My Train Leaves at Three (out July 15 from One World) addresses many themes and all of them are harmoniously given their appropriate space: Grief, misogyny, power imbalance and abuse, but also sisterhood, family and growth. Being that the book is heavily character-driven, Xiomara’s arc is one of the main takeaways of the story. Xiomara is a messy woman. She makes bad decisions, sometimes knowingly, and is willing to hurt others—perhaps because she’s hurting, too. She is grieving and is against the world with a vengeance. And although this type of character is often hard to write, Guerrero did an excellent job at making Xiomara a person who is painfully relatable. You’ll get angry at her because of her self-destructive behavior, but not without understanding where she’s coming from. She is written in such a grounded way that you’ll want to protect her from the maladies that befall her, and you’ll cheer at her successes.  

The cast of secondary characters doesn’t fall short. They’re deeply shaded and drawn very clearly. A detail that I found remarkable is that none of the characters is entirely likable—and I mean this as a compliment. Guerrero sprinkled most of them with a colorful array of good and bad personality traits, and sometimes these wrestle over the reader’s attention. I loved these characters the same way you love a childhood friend: they can be annoying sometimes, but you know they keep your wellbeing at heart. Xiomara’s mom, and Maria, her cousin, are excellent examples of this. They’re tough women, as Dominicans often are, and have a hard time emotionally connecting with Xiomara. Do they have room for improvement? Yes. However, through their actions, you can see that they’re doing what they can with the tools that they were given. Another character that pleasantly surprised me was Jacey, who rivaled Xiomara for most of the book but offered a helping hand when she noticed the woman might be being abused. The traces of sorority traced throughout the book are a very lovely detail.  

Another brilliant aspect of this book is the way it portrays relationships and bonds, sometimes drawing on parallels. The stronger opposition occurs between Manny and Santi. Both act as pulling forces in Xiomara’s life, but pull her in different directions. Manny, a famous director, wants Xiomara for what she can offer him. On the contrary, Santi wants her for who she is. Interestingly enough, each of their relationships with Xiomara are blurred from the very start, as they’re tainted by her own biases and assumptions. An element of Xiomara’s character arc, besides reclaiming her voice and her hold over her life, is learning to pick and choose: out of these two, who is only mildly annoying, and who is truly negatively affecting her life? 

There are multiple concepts cordially coexisting in this book, all essential and beautifully integrated. I invite you to read it, and then reread it. I’m certain readers will discover a new angle each time. A brilliant debut, My Train Leaves at Three is a story of hope and a testament to hard-working women. This book seems to say, “it’s okay to make mistakes” and “keep moving forward.” I can’t wait to see what Guerrero will write next.

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About the Author: Natalie Guerrero is a writer based in Los Angeles, California. Her writing has been featured in publications such as Electric Literature, Byline, Goop, and Blavity. Natalie's long-form work includes "On Silence," an essay published in Hungry Hearts (Dial Press), and Walking in My Joy (Amistad), an essay collection by actress Jenifer Lewis that Natalie co-authored. She has previously held positions at HarperCollins, WME Books, and Macro/M88. In her "free time," she can be found walking her dog, Tupac, in the hills of Los Feliz.

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Dianna Vega is a Dominican assistant editor, fiction writer, and poet based in Florida. She holds a bachelor’s degree in creative writing from the University of Central Florida. She is a 2024 Periplus Fellow. Her poetry has appeared in Outrageous Fortune, South Dakota Review, Tint Journal and Poetry Magazine.