After the Falcóns flee Peru, they struggle to make it as undocumented immigrants in New York City. In this timely debut novel, Melissa Rivero tackles themes of family, immigration and opportunity in vivid and accessible prose. - featured in my Ms. Magazine column 4/1/2019

Their goal is to not be seen, to blend into a world where so many are trying to stand out. They are the Falcóns, a family of undocumented immigrants who have fled their homeland in Peru and settled in New York City, where they are just trying to get by in a world that doesn't exactly accommodate their kind.

Mother Ana and father Lucho are holding down jobs as factory workers and taxi drivers to make ends meet and support their two young children, while living in the spare room of Lucho's unsupportive cousin. They are wearing out their welcome, and to make matters worse, Ana has borrowed money from a loanshark who is demanding repayment. Ana is trying her hardest to keep her family afloat, but is finding it so difficult when her family's opportunities are limited due to their undocumented status. No one ever said that fighting for the American dream was going to be easy, but does it have to be this hard?

Peruvian Melissa Rivero has written a timely novel about the undocumented immigrant experience. Her writing hits hard and gives an authentic telling of what it is like to be an undocumented family in America. Rivero explores issues of family, relationships, health, finances, and career, and gives a well-rounded account of the lengths people will go to survive. While this isn't an exciting or dramatic story, it is a poignant and haunting one, and will give readers much to think about regardless of which side of the immigration issue they stand on.

A powerful book about the choices we make and a look into the hardships of being an undocumented immigrant in America. This book is depressing but well-written with great character development.

The Falcóns, Ana, Lucho, and their two children, flea Peru during a difficult time to New York City to start over. But being undocumented has proven to be harder than imagined. Struggling for money, the Falcóns borrow money from a loan shark and move into Lucho’s cousin’s home. After Lucho mentions either sending their children back to Peru or going back as a family, Ana feels the pressure of keeping her family together and is haunted by what she left behind.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Compelling novel about a woman and her community of Peruvian immigrants in New York City. Timely and thought provoking.

This novel invoked feelings of belonging and displacement, freedom and confinement, responsibility and unrest. It is tinged with Spanish words and Peruvian phrases which, for me, is like sharing an inside joke with an old friend since I am also Peruvian. However, I am not sure a non-Latin reader will understand since the phrasing between the English and Spanish is not seamless and seldom translated. The situations encountered are very real and the struggles faced can be universal. While the writing style of this debut may be choppy, the subject matter is relevant and poignant.