[5] Gonzalez was born in New York City to a second-generation Puerto Rican mother and Mexican-American father and raised by her grandparents[6] in the area between Bensonhurst and Borough Park.

[8] Gonzalez attended Edward R. Murrow High School in Brooklyn and earned a scholarship to Brown University.

[11] Gonzalez worked as an entrepreneur and consultant for a number of years before earning her MFA from the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop in 2021.

The novel largely received positive reviews,[20] with NPR writing that "Gonzalez's second novel brilliantly surpasses the promise of her popular debut Olga Dies Dreaming".

[21] The novel follows college student Raquel Toro as she discovers the art of Anita de Monte, a character based on the Cuban artist Ana Mendieta.