A review by cahistorygeek
The Hummingbird's Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea

4.0

I think I wanted to like this book more than I liked it. I'd learned about Teresa Urrea when I was in college and I never forgot her name or her story. When I heard there was a novel about her life I was so excited to read it. I was even more excited when I heard it was done by Luis Urrea- an author who is not only related to her but also wrote Into the Beautiful North, which I recently read and loved.

While I appreciated the humor of the book the first half was a bit too flippant and silly for me. I liked the story when she was coming of age but the part that followed her child hood was less than captivating. I almost didn't stick with it- which is sad because it really turned around half way through.

But by the end of the book I really wanted to see what would happen next, which is why I'm glad the sequel- Queen of America- exists. Some of the phrasing in this work is beautiful- I especially liked the descriptions of the desert. It made me really curious about the actual woman- and made me wish that I could see all the amazing materials that he had access too. I'm hoping that the next work is better than this one because I can't wait to hear more about Teresita.