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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
Luz or "little light" as her loved ones call her, is blessed with the prophetic abilities of her ancestors, capable of seeing glimpses of the past and future. When her brother Diego is driven from town after a vicious beating by a white mob for pursuing a white woman, Lux suddenly finds herself navigating 1930s Denver without him, wondering what the future holds for her in work and life and love. Intermixed with poignant anecdotes from her ancestors that are revealed to her through her gift, Luz's own journey is one full of frustration and mistakes as well as healing and the deep, formidable love of family.
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What I loved about this book is that it highlights how rapidly the world and landscape of America changed for Indigenous Chicanos over the span of fifty years, after half of Mexico was ceded to the US. Hometowns filled with memory become ghost towns. Open land where they built their lives and livelihood are overtaken in the name of capitalist ventures. Racism drives the breaking of homes and families. I think in general we ignorantly associate the most severe racism with the American South, but the violent acts by the KKK described in this tale and prejudice experienced by the characters remind us that no part of America is immune. Being new to Denver, I enjoyed that the book was set here. It had me googling historic maps to identify the neighborhoods and see myself walking the same streets. It also served as a reminder of how this city, and most cities, were built, through the hard work of ethnic minorities (though I really think we should question the "minority" aspect of it) and immigrants.
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I loved the realization Luz has that she is an American. She was born in America and has as much right to call herself that, though others may not see it that way.
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I loved the contrast between Diego and Luz. The way a man is able to love freely and without consequences as he wanders the land, while a woman must think more critically about the consequences, whether she is ready to be pigeonholed as a wife and mother, whether she could risk pregnancy outside of marriage despite the passion she is tempted with.
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I wish the characters and history was explored more. There were parts that were not explicitly explained and thus confusing (Lizette is Luz's cousin but the true relationship is not explained; Maria Josie and Sara are described as "mixed breed" but I wasn't entirely clear on their heritage, possibly Native American and Mexican?). I wish we had been given more insight into Luz's inner thoughts and feelings that drive her decisions. I feel like things are just happening to her, even though at the end she explains it was her choice. We don't entirely have closure or a clear conclusion or a lesson learned when the tale ends, though I was able to interpret my own.
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I read this book in two days, almost unable to put it down, and am happy I read it as a way to celebrate Native American Heritage Month.
.
What I loved about this book is that it highlights how rapidly the world and landscape of America changed for Indigenous Chicanos over the span of fifty years, after half of Mexico was ceded to the US. Hometowns filled with memory become ghost towns. Open land where they built their lives and livelihood are overtaken in the name of capitalist ventures. Racism drives the breaking of homes and families. I think in general we ignorantly associate the most severe racism with the American South, but the violent acts by the KKK described in this tale and prejudice experienced by the characters remind us that no part of America is immune. Being new to Denver, I enjoyed that the book was set here. It had me googling historic maps to identify the neighborhoods and see myself walking the same streets. It also served as a reminder of how this city, and most cities, were built, through the hard work of ethnic minorities (though I really think we should question the "minority" aspect of it) and immigrants.
.
I loved the realization Luz has that she is an American. She was born in America and has as much right to call herself that, though others may not see it that way.
.
I loved the contrast between Diego and Luz. The way a man is able to love freely and without consequences as he wanders the land, while a woman must think more critically about the consequences, whether she is ready to be pigeonholed as a wife and mother, whether she could risk pregnancy outside of marriage despite the passion she is tempted with.
.
I wish the characters and history was explored more. There were parts that were not explicitly explained and thus confusing (Lizette is Luz's cousin but the true relationship is not explained; Maria Josie and Sara are described as "mixed breed" but I wasn't entirely clear on their heritage, possibly Native American and Mexican?). I wish we had been given more insight into Luz's inner thoughts and feelings that drive her decisions. I feel like things are just happening to her, even though at the end she explains it was her choice. We don't entirely have closure or a clear conclusion or a lesson learned when the tale ends, though I was able to interpret my own.
.
I read this book in two days, almost unable to put it down, and am happy I read it as a way to celebrate Native American Heritage Month.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
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:
Complicated
I think maybe I had different expectations for this book. Since her short story collection is a prize-winner I thought this would be more literary, but instead it feels just upmarket of a Reese’s Book Club book (no shade, just a mismatch of expectations vs reality that clouded my reading experience). I feel like not much happens until the end, then what does happen is a bunch of actions I don’t agree with done by characters I liked. The romance plot line in this book didn’t do it for me. I also thought that the background stories that were interspersed throughout were way more interesting than the actual story, but were told so sporadically that sometimes I was confused about what we were actually learning. I think the ending was also anticlimactic. Overall the strongest part of this was the setting/perspective but the vibes this gave weren’t enough to overcome what felt like a fairly straightforward story.
A co-worked lent me this book. I enjoyed the depth of the stories of this particular family over four generations. I appreciated that it wasn't told chronologically but alluded to different eras in different stories and then circled back to certain moments which helped to build out those stories. What I missed was some of the processing of some of the events that happened in Luz's life (some of which were extremely traumatic!), especially since she was the "main" character. Sometimes I got more out of what the author revealed about what she (Luz) didn't talk about with her family than her inner thoughts, but I still wanted the inner thoughts. The ending came a bit abruptly I thought, and while I liked the sentiment, I wonder if she is really able to pass on the family stories without having processed how they came to be and how her "powers" changed over time.
3.5/5
While I liked this, there wasn't a lot of flow between chapters, making my reading experience a lot more... jumpy and sporadic. Had I read this in bigger chunks, I probably would have given this a solid 4 stars instead of a 3.5 rounded down
While I liked this, there wasn't a lot of flow between chapters, making my reading experience a lot more... jumpy and sporadic. Had I read this in bigger chunks, I probably would have given this a solid 4 stars instead of a 3.5 rounded down
This was a super disappointing read. I absolutely loved this author’s short story collection from a few years ago. This novel did not work at all, and I really wanted it to, given the setting and aim of the story. I had to make myself finish it—the story was not engaging in the least and the characters never came to life. I finished it only because I thought surely it must get better, given all the rave reviews.
emotional
reflective
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:
No
I enjoyed the characters and history of this book. Immersive and expansive, I felt transported to the world of Luz and her family. Not too surprising, even though a lot of loud things happened, I walked away feeling like the book was a quiet read.
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No