Reviews with content warning for Vomit - Solito

Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

ivi_reads_books's review

adventurous emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

3.25

The story is being told from the point of view of 9 year-old Javier who grows up with his grandparents because his parents emigrated to the US early in his life. The author describes the harrowing story of how he immigrated illegally to the US to be united with his parents.

I felt for the characters and loved to see that Javier found people he could rely on while being at the mercy of coyotes. At the same time I would have preferred to hear this story from adult Javier and his point of view. The coming of age awkwardness and bathroom stories were a little much for me.

If a reader doesn't understand basic Spanish they might not get every situation or nuance as there is quite a bit of untranslated Spanish in this book.

I think it's an important story for anyone to hear to understand how terrible the cirumstances in their home countries must be to decide to get on this journey to the US not knowing if they will survive it.

Thanks to Netgalley and Hogarth for a copy of this book!

Content Warnings

readandfindout's review

Go to review page

emotional tense medium-paced

4.25

Style/writing: 4 stars
Themes: 4 stars
Perspective: 5 stars

Content Warnings

alexisgarcia's review

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

5.0

wow wow wow. i cannot explain my love for this book. this is such a harrowing tale and at some points i forgot it wasn’t fiction. my heart just broke for the people in the story and it got so tense at times i worried for the survival of javier that i forgot i was reading a memoir. i will never forget this book.

Content Warnings

ladypolf's review

Go to review page

emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

5.0

Content Warnings

rayannotates's review

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

Content Warnings

knkoch's review

Go to review page

challenging emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

5.0

I read this for a local book club focused on race and own-voices writing on various BIPOC experiences in the US. This is such a well-made book and I’m glad it was selected.

Javier Zamora writes here of his journey from El Salvador to the US, and as a white American whose citizenship has never been front of mind, I really needed to read this account. Zamora was born the same year I was and made this trek at age 9, so it was uncomfortably easy to think back on myself at the same age, during the same era, and attempt to place my child-self in his shoes.

I liked that Zamora wrote from the perspective of his childhood mindset during the journey, as it fully embedded me in his experience. It must have been challenging, both in terms of the trauma he had to relive and the difficulty in recounting so much detail. He travels unaccompanied by relatives, but his relationships with the people in his group are moving and provide a sense of the adult experience, too.

This was dramatic without exaggeration, painful, visceral, unforgettable, and yet something untold thousands of people have gone through and are still going through. Truly a book everyone (especially US citizens) should bear witness to, and the kind of account that should foster deep, human empathy for an experience too often flattened into an impersonal political conflict.

Content Warnings

caseythereader's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

4.0

Content Warnings

simplythegirl's review

Go to review page

adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

4.5

If you'd like an authentic story about an immigrant's journey crossing the border than this book is it! There are similar books out there that are all just trauma p*rn but Javier Zamora really encompasses the beauty along with the hardship that he endured on his journey. His perspective of a kid also makes the whole thing very heartwrenching cute heartwarming and scary at the same time. There was a sense of community and a sense of loss but also victory when he reaches the USA. It's such a touching and sweet story but also very nerve-wracking and scary because of the stakes. I absolutely loved this book. This is super relatable in terms of culture for me even though I never went through what the author did the culture is what we share so that was really fun. There's also some sweet and light humor that flows pretty nicely. The book definitely explores the importance of family and what it means to be a family. If you are not a spanish speaker I would definitely keep a piece of paper and make a key for the spanish words because they come up a lot. I'm a Spanish speaker so it wasn't something I dealt with but others may. It definitely is worth a read.

there is some cursing, violence, guns, blood, vomit, other bodily fluids, and abuse so read with caution.

Content Warnings