Welcome to Litsy!

Heartbreaking story about love and coming to the United States from all over Latin America.

â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸� I absolutely loved this book! The audio was excellent! I listened at my desk at work with tears running down my face. Loved how in between the two main voices, Alma and Mayor, there were different South American characters who lived in the apartment building telling their stories. It just heightened the book‘s emotional level. I highly recommend this one!

3â­�
I know there are race reviews about this. I listened to the audio and maybe I should have read it.
While the story is well written and I appreciate the way it lays out the different reasons and challenges it takes to get to the US. I can tell though that this book is not going to stick with me. There is some sort of depth missing for me.

#bookspin thanks @TheAromaofBooks I am excited to get these off my TBR!

Bookspin #2 The Book of Unknown Americans
Double Bookspin #18 The Salt Path

I was completely entranced and enchanted by these characters and families. Beautiful and heartbreaking and an immigrant perspective that needs to be heard.

This book just fell into my life and I am glad that it did. Exquisite characters and great storytelling. I will definitely be reading more by Cristina Henriquez.

This was beautiful and moving in a quiet way. Highly recommended. ������

Finally reading this after having a copy for ... 5 years at least? It‘s good so far in a quiet way.

My best of 2020! I didn‘t think 2020 had been my year of reading, despite too much time at home, but then I went back through what I‘ve read and loved and these beauties were all amazing enough to pull me away from everything else going on. To do that, this year of all years, means these books were truly fantastic. After far too much procrastinating I think I loved the tagged book most of all. Whatever 2021 brings I‘m excited for all the books 💛

Loved this book - especially on audio!

Such a nice moving story about a Mexican family moving to the United States to get a better education for their injured teenager daughter. 💙💙💙

My #readinggoal for today! #saturdaymorning #weekendsareawesome #immigration

What a great moment! sharing my love for reading with my youngest ! #raisingreaders

Wow- I super-loved my #Panama pick for the #ReadAroundTheWorld challenge!! I definitely ugly-cried & came to really love each character. The book is fabulously written & offers a real sense of community within this Delaware apartment complex. The two main narrators, Mayor (from Panama) & Alma (from Mexico), keep the story moving & their love of Maribel at the center stops this from being a completely depressing read. I didn‘t want it to end!!

I liked this, but I‘m not sure I connected with it quite as much as I‘d hoped to - a me-not-it issue.

Alma and Arturo move from Mexico to Delaware, to get teenage daughter Maribel the special ed support she needs. Mayor, lonely & of similar age, whose family come from Panama, watches them move in. Interspersed with the growing friendship between the two families, we learn the stories of the other residents, the myriad hopes that brought them

Starting this for #readaroundtheworld #panama. Good do far. Expecting tears later! Also, how different is this cover?

The lives of a group of immigrants who live in an apartment building in Delaware. Each has their own reason to live in the US, their own hopes. But all are looking for a better life.

“Back then, all we wanted was the simplest things: to eat good food, to sleep at night, to smile, to laugh, to be well.�

@ShyBookOwl #FirstLineFridays

I‘m still wiping the tear from my eye, even if reviews had forewarned me! The story is heartbreaking on numerous levels and it‘s installment like structure broke the tension with “true accountsâ€�- the last of which is the most heartbreaking of all.

If I was prone to crying, I would be sobbing hysterically right now.

#BBRB Pretty in Pink @LibrarianRyan @Sarahreadstoomuch

July's double book spin @TheAromaofBooks

That first day, the words were merely sounds in the air, broken little shards of glass, beautiful from a certain angle, and jagged from another.

Oh my, this story stole my heart then broke it. So many things in so few pages. There are snippets of the stories of those in an immigrant Latino community and how they each ended up in a little town in Delaware, woven into the story of Arturo, Alma and their daughter Maribel, as they arrive from Mexico. Simply, heartbreakingly beautiful.

Another great read! This book is great on audio, too—it‘s narrated by various people which works great for the stories! I loved getting the multitude of perspectives—each chapter is narrated by a different character(mainly between 2)but it follows a same story.Woven into the stories are testimonials that shed some light into the Latino immigrant experience in the U.S. showing differences in family structures,status,and levels of “Americanization.â€�

Alma Rivera is certain that the US will bring her family the fame and fortune they are after. In the case of her family, it is about getting her daughter into a good special needs school, and her hard-working husband a good job. The reality is harsher than that, as we know. “I assumed that everything that would go wrong in our lives already had.“ #Panama #readingtheworld

4â­�ï¸� Took me awhile to understand the point of the book; it was the section titled “Micho Alvarezâ€� (about 2/3 of the way through the book) that made me understand the author‘s intention of the book. Made me understand even more why people risk their lives crossing the US/Mexico border. #bookstagram #ownvoices #fiction #bookreview #immigrantstories #2020

This was a sweet story. I really enjoyed the dynamic between Mayor and Maribel. I also appreciated the way the author handled difficult topics. She didn't sidestep the realities of grief and guilt and the way our own minds can become our enemies.

I listened to the audiobook, and appreciated that the characters were voiced by different narrators. It felt immersive as each person told their own story. Reading it myself couldn't compare.

This is an incredible tribute to the Latino community and how some arrive to CONUS. It was recommended as an alternative or companion (depending on your POV) to America Dirt (which I liked). It was published in 2014 and received many accolades. A few chapters in I realized I hadn‘t researched the author - she‘s from Delaware. Her father immigrated from Panama as a college student. Her passion is obvious.

#ReadTheUSA2020 Delaware

1. Absolutely, it‘s one of my favorite things to do!
2. I have a library hold on this book (reading Latinx authors alongside American Dirt) but yesterday I stopped in a thrift shop, and found my own $2 copy.
3. Mainstream online media. Very little TV - pundits are not healthy for me.
4. Snooze button! I have to use alarms daily less I sleep 12 hours. If only I could donate my sleep!
5. Love you all! #FriYaYintro. @4thhouseontheleft

Cristina Henriquez created such a beautiful story. It made me cry, and that doesn't happen with a lot of books I read.

I adored this book. A perfect #ownvoices alternative to American Dirt. 4/5 stars.

Full review: https://reneereadsbooks.wordpress.com/2020/02/01/book-review-the-book-of-unknown...

Pick with reservations—this is actually a YA book, which I did not know. This story follows Maribel, a Mexican girl with a TBI. Her parents have waited for a work visa to get her into an excellent school for kids like her. Her family lives in a small apartment building with Spanish speakers from a variety of countries. The story focuses on her friendship with Mayor, the stories of the other residents, life in America, and the boy harassing her.

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While heartbreaking at times, I really enjoyed this book. It opened my eyes to the struggles of immigrants, especially those from Latin American countries. As a native born, white woman, I have not experienced a lot of what these characters have, but the universal experiences of guilt, loss, and first love speak to all.

What a great and terrible book. It's hard to look at your life through the eyes of someone else. When Alma talks about how she is simultaneously conspicuous and inconspicuous, I wonder how many times I've unintentionally made someone feel that way.

The loss Alma and Maribel experience is one that hits me close to home. I know the loss of a father and the pain I saw in my mother because of it. It takes immense strength to go on.

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Getting a head start on next month's book club pick.

#everythingbutselfhelp #irlbookclub #bookclub

“You shouldn't want to be like everyone else. Then you wouldn't be like you.� �⠀
― Cristina Henriquez, The Book of Unknown Americans�⠀
�⠀

This was such a great book. 💚 The differing POVs with each chapter was an interesting way to immerse the reader in the various obstacles that immigrants face and bring a depth to the characters that made you care about their struggles and their triumphs.

#ReadingUSA2019 #Delaware @Librarybelle

����� a story about the immigrant experience. Specifically the Latino immigrant experience. A family moves to Delaware from Mexico. They are looking for a better life for themselves and their daughter, who has a medical condition. You see them struggle to acclimate yet never lose hope as they rely on one another and a network of other immigrant families. I feel it's a book about hope more than anything. �����

Tonights read.. if i can keep my eyes open. It has been a long day 😴😴😴😴😴😴

Today‘s #audiobook is wonderful. The narrators are all very good.

This was a pleasant read that gives a good insight into the lives of immigrants in the US. I would have liked a bit more critical depth though as everyone in this novel is just happy even though they are living on the edges of society. There is a full review on my blog - clickable link in my bio. 😊

Just started this one yesterday and enjoying it.

#MayMovieMagic #BeatleMaynia #Because it‘s Mother‘s Day I‘m combining my #ImmigrantSong with a book that focuses on the immigrant experience told through the eyes of a mother‘s love. Alma, Arturo and Maribel, travel across the Mexico-U.S. border to Delaware to start a new life. Maribel has been involved in a mysterious accident and has suffered a traumatic brain injury. Her parents are hopeful that America will “fixâ€� their problems. If only.

We're the unknown Americans, the ones no one even wants to know, because they've been told they're supposed to be scared of us and because maybe if they did take the time to get to know us, they might realize that we're not that bad, maybe even that we're a lot like them. And who would they hate then?

Enjoying some "linner" before heading to the Branch Thanks for the ebook @dariazeoli it is off to a great start!

A vitally important novel that is sadly illustrative of the country we live in today.

In the words of Michelle Obama: “It‘s hard to hate up close.â€�

5🌟

It feels like the right moment for this one. #currentlyreading

Thank you so much @dariazeoli !! So sorry I missed this on the 24th!! I really appreciate it! It sounds like a great read! Merry Christmas!! ğŸ�„📚😻 #kindlitsy

A really nice story about the Latino immigrant community in Delaware with special focus on one family who has a child with traumatic brain injury. Well written and a quick read.