Reminiscent of Jean Kwok's "Girl in Translation", Cristina Henriquez's new novel is a powerful and compelling story of the contemporary American experience. The main characters, Alma, Arturo, and Maribel Rivera, move to Delaware in order to seek special education for teenage Maribel after she suffers a tragic accident in their hometown in Mexico. They move into an apartment building where they meet other Spanish-speaking immigrants from Venezuela to Puerto Rico to Panama, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. The families in this story struggle with issues that other Americans never think about: maintaining visa status, finding jobs, feeding their families, fearing racial profiling by the police, and trying to ward off bullies who don't accept them as Americans. The main story centers around Maribel and her friendship with Mayor, a teenage boy in her building.

I love the structure of the story, which is told mainly through the point of view of Alma and Mayor, but also from half a dozen other characters who play more of a supporting role. I found that these different voices just added to the richness of the story.

Although this book is adult literary fiction, it's also a must-read for teenagers and other young adults.

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