Tag Archives: Immigration

THE GARDEN OF SECOND CHANCES – Mona Alvarado Frazier

When SparkPress reached out to me to see if I’d be interested in receiving a copy of Mona Alvarado Frazier’s young adult debut The Garden of Second Chances (6/6/2023), I said “sure.”  As a former immigration attorney who worked primarily with the undocumented in removal proceedings and in the cross-sections with criminal and family law,Continue reading “THE GARDEN OF SECOND CHANCES – Mona Alvarado Frazier”

INFINITE COUNTRY – Patricia Engel

Patricia Engel’s Infinite Country (Avid Read Press, 2021) is a brief but bittersweet snapshot into the lives of a mixed-status Columbian family divided by borders.  While the novel is well-written and a very important read, it was a disappointing display of missed opportunities for this reader. As some of you know, I was an immigrationContinue reading “INFINITE COUNTRY – Patricia Engel”

CAZADORA – Romina Garber

A few months ago, I reviewed Romina Garber’s Lobizona, and I stated that “there’s a comforting familiarity” to the story.  The follow-up, Cazadora: Wolves of No World #2(Wednesday Books, 2021), continues in that familiar pattern but maintains the very unique feel that set Garber’s worldbuilding apart in Lobizona; Garber’s story relies heavily on Argentinian folkloreContinue reading “CAZADORA – Romina Garber”

LOBIZONA – Romina Garber

There’s a comforting familiarity to Romina Garber’s Lobizona (Wednesday Books, 2020) – there is an elite school for magical beings and a sporting event, and these magical beings walk the world unbeknownst to but a few humans.  But the world Garber created, the way she blends Argentinian folklore with the realities of the undocumented inContinue reading “LOBIZONA – Romina Garber”

THE MAP OF SALT AND STARS – Zeyn Joukhadar

“A person can be two things at the same time,” Itto says. “The land where your parents were born will always be in you.  Words survive. Borders are nothing to words and blood.” The power of storytelling is something that will forever unite us.  Regardless of where on the map you call home, regardless ofContinue reading “THE MAP OF SALT AND STARS – Zeyn Joukhadar”

AMERICANAH – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

“Love was a kind of grief. This was what the novelists meant by suffering.” (Americanah, 583) Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah (Originally published in the US by Alfred A. Knopf, 2013) has been around a bit but only recently made its way to the top of my TBR.  The novel puts forth some Zadie Smith WhiteContinue reading “AMERICANAH – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie”