The Book Of Unknown Americans (Thorndike Press Large Print Core)

About this book

"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 youve turned the final page." --Ben Fountain author of "Billy Lynns Long Halftime Walk" 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 shell 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. Its also the beginning of a friendship between the Rivera and Toro families whose web of guilt and love and responsibility is at this novels 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. "From the Hardcover edition."