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Apr 08, 2017JCLCherylMY rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
This well-written novel is primarily a struggle between a biological mother and a foster mother, and the fight between them for one young boy, Ignacio. What makes this fight unusual is that the two mothers never meet. Set in Santa Clara Popocalco in Oaxaca, Mexico, and Berkeley, California, the story is told in alternating chapters between the families of Solimar Castro Valdez and Kavya and Rishi Reddy, second generation Indian-Americans. I found the story compelling, and a fast read. Timely in its subject matter it adds a human face to the immigration conversation and a depth to the plight of undocumented workers, as well as the struggles of a couple who are unable to have children. It's ultimately a story of love and loss circling back to the beginning. This sentence from the novel sums it up beautifully: "This is a story of the wind, rushing through the trees, alongside a train, across the valley floor, billowing the drapes of a bungalow home." Go ahead, read it, and be swept away. It will stay with you long after you have closed the book.