Say Hello to My Little Friend - by Jennine Capó Crucet

About the Book

"Failed Pitbull impersonator Ismael Reyes--you can call him Izzy--might not be the Scarface type, but why should that keep him from trying? Growing up in Miami has shaped him into someone who dreams of being the King of the 305, with the money, power, and respect he assumes comes with it. After finding himself at the mercy of a cease-and-desist letter from Pitbull's legal team and living in his aunt's garage-turned-efficiency, Izzy embarks on an absurd quest to turn himself into a modern-day Tony Montana. When Izzy's efforts lead him to the tank that houses Lolita, a captive orca at the Miami Seaquarium, she proves just how powerful she and the water surrounding her really are, permeating everything from Miami's sinking streets to Izzy's memories to the very heart of the novel itself"--

Book Synopsis

Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize Winner of the 2025 Joyce Carol Oates Prize Finalist for the Kirkus Prize

"A blistering, hilarious, tragic novel that is simultaneously absurd and painfully real." --The Miami Herald

Scarface meets Moby Dick in Say Hello to My Little Friend following a young man's attempt to capitalize on his mother's murky legacy--a story steeped in Miami's marvelous and sinister magic.

Failed Pitbull impersonator Ismael Reyes--you can call him Izzy--might not be the Scarface type, but why should that keep him from trying? Growing up in Miami has shaped him into someone who dreams of being the King of the 305, with the money, power, and respect he assumes comes with it. After finding himself at the mercy of a cease-and-desist letter from Pitbull's legal team and living in his aunt's garage, Izzy embarks on an absurd quest to turn himself into a modern-day Tony Montana.

When Izzy's efforts lead him to the tank that houses Lolita, a captive orca at the Miami Seaquarium, she proves just how powerful she and the water surrounding her really are--permeating everything from Miami's sinking streets to Izzy's memories to the very heart of the novel itself. What begins as Izzy's story turns into a super-saturated fever dream as sprawling and surreal as the Magic City, one as sharp as an iguana's claws, and as menacing as a killer whale's teeth. As the truth surrounding Izzy's boyhood escape from Cuba surfaces, the novel reckons with the forces of nature, with the limits and absence of love, and with the dangers of pursuing a tragic inheritance. "Blistering, hilarious, [and] tragic" (The Miami Herald), Say Hello to My Little Friend is Jennine Capó Crucet's most daring, heartbreaking, and fearless book yet.

About the Author

Jennine Capó Crucet is the author of four books, including the novel Make Your Home Among Strangers, which won the International Latino Book Award and was cited as a best book of the year by NBC Latino, The Guardian, The Miami Herald, and others; the story collection How to Leave Hialeah, which won the Iowa Short Fiction Prize and the John Gardner Book Award; and the essay collection My Time Among the Whites: Notes from an Unfinished Education, which was long-listed for the PEN/Open Book Award. A former contributing opinion writer for The New York Times, she's a recipient of a PEN/O. Henry Prize and the Hillsdale Award for the Short Story, awarded by the Fellowship of Southern Writers. Her writing has appeared on PBS NewsHour, NPR, and in publications such as The Atlantic, Condé Nast Traveler, and others. She's worked as a professor of ethnic studies and of creative writing, as a college access counselor for the One Voice Scholars Program, and as a sketch comedienne (though not all at the same time). Born and raised in Miami to Cuban parents, she lives in North Carolina with her family.