"Seventeen-year-old Marisol has always dreamed of being American, learning what Americans and the US are like from television and Mrs. Rosen, an elderly expat who had employed Marisol's mother as a maid. When she pictured an American life for herself, she dreamed of a life like Aimee and Amber's, the title characters of her favorite American TV show. She never pictured fleeing her home in El Salvador under threat of death and stealing across the US border as "an illegal", but after her brother is murdered and her younger sister, Gabi's, life is also placed in equal jeopardy, she has no choice, especially because she knows everything is her fault. If she had never fallen for the charms of a beautiful girl named Liliana, Pablo might still be alive, her mother wouldn't be in hiding and she and Gabi wouldn't have been caught crossing the border.
But they have been caught and their asylum request will most certainly be denied. With truly no options remaining, Marisol jumps at an unusual opportunity to stay in the United States. She's asked to become a grief keeper, taking the grief of another into her own body to save a life. It's a risky, experimental study, but if it means Marisol can keep her sister safe, she will risk anything. She just never imagined one of the risks would be falling in love, a love that may even be powerful enough to finally help her face her own crushing grief."
Review:
Another fantastic read. An experimental study exploiting a vulnerable teenage immigrant as their lab rat, whose past carries a lot of grief already, but will soon be full of someone else’s grief.
We know from the jump that there was more to the story Marisol was telling the immigration office. And as we go back and forth between her present, her past, and Rey’s past, we learn more and more about these two girls.
I loved that this incorporated so many important themes, but they all wove together seamlessly. One never overtook the other. This was about the unfair treatment of Mexican immigrants, it was about Marisol’s relationship with her own sexuality, it was about protecting her sister, and it was also about depression and loss, and obviously grief.
It was complex but it was never overwhelming, and this story was never about one thing if that makes sense. It wasn’t about the experiment, it was about abusing vulnerable people. It wasn’t about being gay, it was about the intolerance of others having an affect on our main character. And it wasn’t about mental illness, but about how things happen to us and sometimes that pain never really goes away.
I think this story was all about how no one can take your burden away from you like a physical thing. The only thing that can take away your grief is truth and love. Being truthful to yourself and letting others in.
Overall an amazing read. I also loved the bilingual nature of the story, it wasn’t all English, because our main character’s first language isn’t English, but it wasn’t overwhelming that I didn’t understand what was happening.
Okay I can’t stop gushing about this book, but I’ll force myself. Now go and pick it up for yourself, it’s a MUUUUUUUST read!!!!
Lemme know your thoughts and feels down below!
But they have been caught and their asylum request will most certainly be denied. With truly no options remaining, Marisol jumps at an unusual opportunity to stay in the United States. She's asked to become a grief keeper, taking the grief of another into her own body to save a life. It's a risky, experimental study, but if it means Marisol can keep her sister safe, she will risk anything. She just never imagined one of the risks would be falling in love, a love that may even be powerful enough to finally help her face her own crushing grief."
Review:
Another fantastic read. An experimental study exploiting a vulnerable teenage immigrant as their lab rat, whose past carries a lot of grief already, but will soon be full of someone else’s grief.
We know from the jump that there was more to the story Marisol was telling the immigration office. And as we go back and forth between her present, her past, and Rey’s past, we learn more and more about these two girls.
I loved that this incorporated so many important themes, but they all wove together seamlessly. One never overtook the other. This was about the unfair treatment of Mexican immigrants, it was about Marisol’s relationship with her own sexuality, it was about protecting her sister, and it was also about depression and loss, and obviously grief.
It was complex but it was never overwhelming, and this story was never about one thing if that makes sense. It wasn’t about the experiment, it was about abusing vulnerable people. It wasn’t about being gay, it was about the intolerance of others having an affect on our main character. And it wasn’t about mental illness, but about how things happen to us and sometimes that pain never really goes away.
I think this story was all about how no one can take your burden away from you like a physical thing. The only thing that can take away your grief is truth and love. Being truthful to yourself and letting others in.
Overall an amazing read. I also loved the bilingual nature of the story, it wasn’t all English, because our main character’s first language isn’t English, but it wasn’t overwhelming that I didn’t understand what was happening.
Okay I can’t stop gushing about this book, but I’ll force myself. Now go and pick it up for yourself, it’s a MUUUUUUUST read!!!!
Lemme know your thoughts and feels down below!
Comments
Post a Comment