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A review by lattelibrarian
The Grief Keeper by Alexandra Villasante
5.0
Wow, just wow. Villasante has taken on the task to write a novel encompassing science fiction, a PTSD survivor, a lesbian main character, asylum-seekers, a mourning family, jealous friends, the struggle between assimilation and retaining one's culture, and how able one is to "withstand" trauma based on the color of one's skin. HOO BOY. That's a lot. And she succeeds at every inch of it.
When Marisol and Gabi, her younger sister, decide to leave the border camp after their request for asylum was denied, they figure it's better than the alternative--waiting even longer for the request to go through, or be sent back to El Salvador where Marisol might be killed. But the woman who picked them up as hitchhikers gives Marisol an interesting proposition: in exchange for keeping someone's grief for one month, the last stage of an important experiment, she will grant both her and her younger sister a green card. Well, how hard could it be?
As per the experiment's guidelines, Marisol is paired up with a girl her age. And this girl is wild. She's cut off all her hair, she's trying to sneak out at night, and she threatens suicide. She also refuses to take part of the experiment. Without the experiment, Marisol might be sent back to El Salvador, so she takes it upon herself to get this girl--Rey--to agree to the experiment.
Villasante immediately brings up some of the most important questions this book asks. Why is it okay to transfer someone's grief to another? Everyone says that Marisol can "withstand" so much. But does she have a choice? And regardless, why did they choose her of all people, to help a white girl with her grief when she already has so much of her own? And then, of course, are the romantic questions. If we only know someone's grief, can we ever truly know them? Can we truly know people across language boundaries? And then, of course, the class questions. How possible is it to accept somebody else's way of living when they can't even remember others who look like you? How can somebody be so incredibly distraught and sad when they've had everything handed to them? And then, of course, the questions about family. When there are no parents, must you assume that responsibility? Are secrets best kept from each other, and can forgiveness help heal?
This is the science fiction that I'm into. I don't want outer space or alien take-overs or anything like that. I want realistic experiments that have a deviously and deceptive downside to their ethics. After all, what use is taking someone's grief and trauma away from them if it's only going to contribute to those searching for asylum and immigration entries? What's the ethical side of it all? How many people will such experiments help? And how many--and who--will it harm?
Just, oh my god. This book, this BOOK. There are very few books that I check out from the library that I immediately place into my shopping cart, but this is one of the few that have felt so important that I've used my credit card as a bookmark. Here's to poignant writing and copious amounts of creativity!
Review cross-listed here!
When Marisol and Gabi, her younger sister, decide to leave the border camp after their request for asylum was denied, they figure it's better than the alternative--waiting even longer for the request to go through, or be sent back to El Salvador where Marisol might be killed. But the woman who picked them up as hitchhikers gives Marisol an interesting proposition: in exchange for keeping someone's grief for one month, the last stage of an important experiment, she will grant both her and her younger sister a green card. Well, how hard could it be?
As per the experiment's guidelines, Marisol is paired up with a girl her age. And this girl is wild. She's cut off all her hair, she's trying to sneak out at night, and she threatens suicide. She also refuses to take part of the experiment. Without the experiment, Marisol might be sent back to El Salvador, so she takes it upon herself to get this girl--Rey--to agree to the experiment.
Villasante immediately brings up some of the most important questions this book asks. Why is it okay to transfer someone's grief to another? Everyone says that Marisol can "withstand" so much. But does she have a choice? And regardless, why did they choose her of all people, to help a white girl with her grief when she already has so much of her own? And then, of course, are the romantic questions. If we only know someone's grief, can we ever truly know them? Can we truly know people across language boundaries? And then, of course, the class questions. How possible is it to accept somebody else's way of living when they can't even remember others who look like you? How can somebody be so incredibly distraught and sad when they've had everything handed to them? And then, of course, the questions about family. When there are no parents, must you assume that responsibility? Are secrets best kept from each other, and can forgiveness help heal?
This is the science fiction that I'm into. I don't want outer space or alien take-overs or anything like that. I want realistic experiments that have a deviously and deceptive downside to their ethics. After all, what use is taking someone's grief and trauma away from them if it's only going to contribute to those searching for asylum and immigration entries? What's the ethical side of it all? How many people will such experiments help? And how many--and who--will it harm?
Just, oh my god. This book, this BOOK. There are very few books that I check out from the library that I immediately place into my shopping cart, but this is one of the few that have felt so important that I've used my credit card as a bookmark. Here's to poignant writing and copious amounts of creativity!
Review cross-listed here!