THE BOOK OF UNKNOWN AMERICANS: A REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

GIVEAWAY ENDED
THE BOOK OF UNKNOWN AMERICANS

BY CRISTINA HENRIQUEZ

ABOUT THE BOOK:

A boy and a girl who fall in love. Two families whose hopes collide with destiny. An extraordinary novel that offers a resonant new definition of what it means to be American.

Arturo and Alma Rivera have lived their whole lives in Mexico. One day, their beautiful fifteen-year-old daughter, Maribel, sustains a terrible injury, one that casts doubt on whether she’ll ever be the same. And so, leaving all they have behind, the Riveras come to America with a single dream: that in this country of great opportunity and resources, Maribel can get better.

When Mayor Toro, whose family is from Panama, sees Maribel in a Dollar Tree store, it is love at first sight. It’s also the beginning of a friendship between the Rivera and Toro families, whose web of guilt and love and responsibility is at this novel’s core.

Woven into their stories are the testimonials of men and women who have come to the United States from all over Latin America. Their journeys and their voices will inspire you, surprise you, and break your heart. 

Suspenseful, wry and immediate, rich in spirit and humanity, The Book of Unknown Americans is a work of rare force and originality.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Cristina Henríquez is the author of the story collection Come Together, Fall Apart, which was a New York Times Editors’ Choice selection, and the novel The World in Half. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The American Scholar, Glimmer Train, Virginia Quarterly Review, Ploughshares, TriQuarterly, AGNI, and Oxford American, as well as in various anthologies. She lives in Illinois. Please visit the author's website "Bio" HERE to learn much more by this amazing artist.

PRAISE FOR THE BOOK OF AMERICANS:

"A triumph of storytelling. Henriquez pulls us into the lives of her characters with such mastery that we hang on to them just as fiercely as they hang on to one another and their dreams. This passionate, powerful novel will stay with you long after you've turned the final page." -Ben Fountain, author of Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

"Evoking a profound sense of hope, Henriquez delivers a moving account of those who will do anything to build a future for their children-even if it means confronting the fear and alienation lurking behind the American dream." -Publishers Weekly

"Spectacular . . . highly believable and poignant . . . A well-written story set among 'unknown Americans,' ostensibly Hispanic but in many ways any family adjusting to a new culture and way of life, regardless of ethnicity." -Lawrence Olszewski, Library Journal

“A novel as disturbing as it is beautiful: a testament to the mixed blessings our country offers immigrants, who struggle against bigotry and economic hardship while maintaining just enough hope to keep striving for something better. A narrative mosaic that moves toward a heartrending conclusion.” —Daniel A. Olivas, The Los Angeles Review of Books

MY THOUGHTS/REVIEW:

Christina Henriquez's THE BOOK OF UNKNOWN AMERICANS is an unforgettable story seemingly ripped from current issues facing our world but given so much emotional power that it grabs the reader from the start. The Rivera family could be any family who has journeyed to America seeking those idealistic streets of gold in order to to give their family a better life. 

Alma and Arturo Rivera arrive with the hope that their journey will result in a miracle for their daughter Maribel's health and therefore her life. They come from their old country to find themselves in an apartment building filled with families like themselves...all here for different reasons, but all sharing the same desires for a new chance. Enter Mayor Toro, from one of these neighboring families, who has come from Panama for similar reasons, and the instantaneous attraction and love for Maribel is at the heart of this story. 

Henriquez creates such profound mental images that the reader is transported and will find it hard to tear themselves away from this page turner. Her use of many others' struggles adds to the authenticity of THE BOOK OF UNKNOWN AMERICANS. Profound, relative, and just a great character study and flowing story line make THE BOOK OF UNKNOWN AMERICANS a great way to start off one's summer reading journey. 

GIVEAWAY

 THANKS TO DANIELLE AND THE FINE FOLKS AT

RANDOM HOUSE PUBLISHING, I HAVE ONE COPY

OF THIS FASCINATING BOOK TO 

GIVE AWAY TO ONE LUCKY WINNER!

  

--U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES, PLEASE
--INCLUDE EMAIL ADDRESS IN COMMENT
--ALL ENTRIES/COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE IN ORDER TO COUNT 
AS MORE THAN ONE ENTRY

HOW TO ENTER:

+1 ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FOUND INTERESTING ABOVE ABOUT THE BOOK OF UNKNOWN AMERICANS THAT WOULD MAKE YOU WANT TO WIN THIS BOOK

+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND LEAVE A LINK I CAN FOLLOW IN THE ENTRY

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FIND INTERESTING ON CHRISTINA HENRIQUEZ'S WEBSITE BY GOING HERE

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON ONE OTHER CURRENT GIVEAWAY YOU HAVE ENTERED ON MY BLOG. IF YOU ENTERED MORE THAN ONE, YOU CAN COMMENT ON EACH ON SEPARATELY AND GAIN MORE ENTRIES THAT WAY 

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON ONE WAY YOU FOLLOW MY BLOG. IF YOU FOLLOW MORE THAN ONE WAY, YOU CAN COMMENT SEPARATELY AND EACH WILL COUNT AS AN ENTRY

GIVEAWAY ENDS AT

 6 PM, EST, JUNE 18

GOOD LUCK!