What are the characteristics of this genre?

The genre of this story is coming-of-age and magical realism. Coming of age simply means a transition to some more mature stage of life, usually young adulthood. As Antonio moves from childhood to adolescence, he tries to make sense of the conflicting traditions of both his parents and his community. Like most coming stories Antonio discovers, through trial and error, his own way in life. Magic realism is a mixture of magical elements with the real world. Symbols such as the golden carp, Ultima’s owl and the Virgin of Guadalupe serve to add meaning to the story through a sense of the magical.