Reviews with content warning for Sexual harassment - The Book of Unknown Americans

Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'

The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henríquez

9 reviews

thenovelmaura's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

I was surprised by my lukewarm reaction to this one given that it's on so many "best of lists." While I appreciate any book that sheds light on the difficulties of immigrating to the United States, I've read much stronger YA books in recent years that deal with these topics (We Are Not From Here by Jenny Torres Sanchez immediately springs to mind). The reader is meant to be supportive of Maribel and Mayor's relationship, but he felt almost as creepy as the bully to me. Several passages made it seem like he was only interested in Maribel's appearance, and that he felt he was "doing her a favor" by looking past her traumatic brain injury and getting to know her as a person. And while I liked Alma's chapters, I found it an odd (and infantilizing) narrative choice to never have a chapter from Maribel's perspective, since she is supposedly the focus of the story.

I do highly recommend the audiobook with the full cast reading the different characters' perspectives! This really added to my enjoyment of the story and is probably the reason I'm giving this 3 stars overall.

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coconutoolong's review

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dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

1.5

I enjoyed this novel as a perspective into the life of immigrants who cross the border, often when they have no other option left in their home countries. Where this book lost me was how the daughter's (Mirabel's) disability was written. Her disability was always talked about from her mother's or others' perspectives leading to infantilization, a common occurrence in the disability community. This is understandable as her mother is grieving the child she was before. <small spoiler?> I felt the perspective did shift by the end of the book but it was a long wait to get to a non-infantilized, more accepting view.

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dariana12's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

The beginning was very slow and quite uninteresting in my opinion. We get random chapters of random people who have no importance to the plot and are only mentioned once, so reading those chapters are just annoying. The ending was written very well and I did enjoy the writing because I felt you could really feel the real and raw emotions the characters were feeling but the rest of the book was meh. Maribel and Mayor are adorable through ❤️

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melmoony's review

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This story follows a young girl who suffered a tragic and debilitating accident. Her parents would do anything for her, so they move to the US to seek better care and education in hopes of having her return to who she was. Here we meet other Latinx folks in the neighbors, and the book alternates between telling Maribel’s story and the story of how the neighbors came to be in Delaware.

It’s a story about the hardships of being transplanted to a new country, of struggling to make ends meet, of persecution and of being willing to do anything for those you love.

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btodd12's review against another edition

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emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

We hear a lot about the reasons people immigrate to the U.S. (and debate the legitimacy of each, as if we should judge such a personal and monumental decision for people we’ve never met), but I haven’t often heard about families who immigrate here seeking better education and related services for their disabled children.

Spoiler

This novel follows a family who legally immigrates to the Northeast specifically so their teenage daughter, Maribel - who suffered a TBI at her father’s construction work site - can attend a special school. The slow-moving relationship between Maribel & Mayor showed the depths of both of their characters. Maribel’s parents display their protectiveness time & time again, as well as the very real ways their daughter’s sudden disability shakes their marriage. Unfortunately, Maribel is also targeted and taken advantage of by another teen boy with sinister intentions. I enjoyed how the author made Maribel’s interactions with him the catalyst for other plot points.

Spoiler

Very well written (and narrated) book that left me emotional several times.

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reebeee's review

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challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A moving, devastating narrative of Latinx immigrants' complex relationships with the United States and each other. I especially enjoyed the inclusion of chapters from the POV of minor side characters, explaining why they immigrated and what their personal history and outlook on life is; it added an extra layer of vibrancy to the community in the apartments and drove home the message that immigrants aren't a monolith or just a category of public policy, but people with their own stories and motivations.

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catherineelkhattabystrauch's review against another edition

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emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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kaddyren's review against another edition

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challenging tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I hate Mayor.

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amandaquotidianbooks's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

An excellent snapshot into the lives of Latinx immigrants to the US. My favorite plot was Major’s as he navigates his difficult father and becomes friends with Maribel, whose recent accident prompted her family to immigrate to enroll her in an American school. I loved seeing their relationship grow. Alma and Arturo’s dedication to making Maribel’s life easier was eternal and inspiring. Henriquez brings to life the little joys and everyday anxieties of moving to a country that doesn’t want you there.

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