A review by chrisralonso
Make Your Home Among Strangers by Jennine Capó Crucet

5.0

Whew, ok. This one hit very close to home for a myriad of reasons. I remember the Elián González debacle, the hysteria, the news of the raid. But this book is also about the culture clash between the bubble that can be Miami and everything outside of it, how sometimes people not of a particular place will never understand the trauma of having something taken from them. Crucet weaves a back-and-forth between Lizet's (protagonist) time in college and her returns to Miami during her first year amid the madness of the custody battle. I'll say it, this book doesn't feel like a book most people outside of Miami will fully understand, but I urge you to strongly consider that. Like, some books aren't *meant* for you, and that's ok. So, this is all to say that I get Lizet's struggle with her family and herself, and how that's a thing that some people will forever carry with them.