Reader Score
89%
89% of readers
recommend this book
Critic Reviews
Great
Based on 7 reviews on
WINNER OF THE KIRKUS PRIZE FOR NONFICTION
Named One of The New York Times' 100 Notable Books of 2023
One of Time's 100 Must-Read Books of 2023 A Top Ten Book of 2023 at Chicago Public Library
"Easily his most personal book. . . Tobar uses his biography sparingly to illustrate larger aspects of Latino experience. He is as likely to quote historians and cultural theorists as he is to cite students, store clerks or an undocumented Trump supporter randomly encountered on the street. . . Tobar takes care to depict Latino life in a universal light, as something easily comprehensible to anyone who has ever felt the pull of a far-off person or place. . . There is power in the refrain of Tobar's direct address, which gives his writing the feel of warm advice dispensed to youngsters grappling with a sense of self."
--Francisco Cantú, The New York Times Book Review