Reviews

Unaccompanied by Javier Zamora

harkless's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.75

lottie29's review against another edition

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3.0

Second book of poetry I've read now, and I think I'm understanding how the poetic form is really effective in conveying trauma, and the process of recovering from trauma. In this collection, Zamora reflects and remembers his experience as a 9 year old making the journey, unaccompanied by family, from El Salvador to Mexico. His use of child perspective and bilingualism, reveals the conflict in crossing the border, and what it means for his identity. The border (a man-made construct) as a place of violence, and also of limbo, is something one cannot recover from - 'the war has never stopped', and so he dismisses the concept. Zamora's status of a refugee undoes his identity, and physically removes his sense of kinship, leaving an open wound that the hope of assimilation in the US does not heal.

dontjudgemebymybooks's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

4.0

claudiakarmina's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

5.0

ashleykta's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

4.0

candaceallison's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

3.5

book_cwtch's review against another edition

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A poetry collection following a young man trying again and again to fulfill his families dreams of coming to stay in America. 

espresoul's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad fast-paced

2.5

leestewart's review against another edition

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medium-paced

3.0

I need to know more about the history of El Salvador to better understand this collection, but I’m grateful to the student who recommended Javier Zamora to me. A complex text that deals with complex realities. 

scrow1022's review against another edition

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4.0

Moved by his voice. Like how the poems are ordered, like the use of different voices, both within a single poem and across the series.