A debut novel, the author paints a picture of immigrant life in New York City. The characters are described so clearly that the narrative is vivid. Add in the fact that the life trajectories of each person are so different, and the reader has a captivating plot that you will be reluctant to put down.

Ms. Natera, thank you for taking us along on a plot that twists and turns and leaves the reader holding on for more.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

“Neruda on the Park” is a debut novel by Cleyvis Natera.

This book tries to answer the chestnut of “where is home?” Is it a physical place, is it a person, is it two places or is “home” fluid? For one character, Luz, home has always been Nothar Park, an area of New York City mostly home to Dominicans. For her father, Vladimir, home is the Dominican Republic. For her mother, Eusebia, she tells Vladimir that home is back in the DR, but keeps secret that home is actually Nothar Park.

There’s a lot of trying to work things out in this story - Luz wants to work out where she’s going to work, Vladimir wants his dream house in DR to be completed, Eusebia wants to work on keeping gentrification from removing her family (and friends) from Nothar Park.

I wanted to like this book a lot more than I actually did. I liked reading about Luz trying to figure out her life path - she’s in the law field but being “just” a high powered lawyer doesn’t hold the attraction it once did, so what will she become now? Her boyfriend, Hudson, I couldn’t warm up to - and the dinner scene with his friends I was confused by - other than it setting up tension in their relationship. I wished that Vladimir could’ve been explored more, but as this was mainly a story about mother-daughter relationship issues, I can see why the author chose not to delve more into his viewpoint on things. I felt like the last section of the book was a little too quickly paced. I also found some places in this book a bit choppy and things unresolved. I do believe that if Ms. Natera writes another book, I’d pick it up to read as her writing style was enjoyable. As a note, if you (like me) don’t speak Spanish, there’s not a glossary in the back of the book (it would’ve helped me a bit, must admit). I’d give this book a solid 3.25 stars - rounded down to 3.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book Luz has lived in a city in New York with her family for years. Her mother is not happy that a neighboring building is being demolished and is hoping to stop it. I enjoyed this book and can't wait to read the next one.

"Neruda on the Park" is a deeply personal and poignant story of the Guerrera family as they struggle to combat the rising gentrification of their community and their own relationships within their family. The matriarch of the family, Eusebia, refuses to accept the displacement of their community and wages a tragic war against the development of luxury condos in their community. Meanwhile, her daughter Luz struggles to define her career goals and choose between her community and her new love interest who is actively working to gentrify their neighborhood. Academically, this book explores the relationships between low-income communities and gentrification. However, the heart of this book is all about the relationships between families and their communities-how can we heal from the trauma and expectations that our families inflict on us and form our own identities? How much are we willing to sacrifice for the common good?
The characterization and structure of the novel are central to addressing the relationship within the Northar Park community that helps the reader understand the big picture of the novel. The vignettes within the novel were very engaging and allows the reader to gain a full understanding of Luz and Eusebia's characters and relationships. The loose diction and overall dialogue in the novel switches from formal to informal but remains vulnerable which makes the novel an intimate read. The intimacy and vulnerability of the novel drives the readers experiences throughout the novel and makes it easier to follow the pace. The novel's emphasis on literature and words healing a community beautifully explores the relationship between literature and personal relationships. It is evident that the author is a student of literature given that almost every relationship in this book forms through bonds over books. The references to contemporary and historical authors of color and their contributions to the community is an interesting sub-plot within the novel. The author really takes time to develop a full identity for each character within the novel and maintain their humanity; the absence of one-dimensional characters is remarkable and is a good complement to the main relationship between the main characters.
The only critique that I have for this book is that I believe that the fullness of the story could be expanded if Vladimir's voice could be included more within the novel.
This book is a good read for fans of multi-generational stories like "Dominicana" by Angie Cruz and like the vulnerability of books like "Transcendent Kingdom" by Yaa Gyasi.

Thank you to the author and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book. This is my honest review.

On the surface the book revolves around a Dominican community in NYC that is being invaded by gentrification. More than that it is about women and the way the view themselves and relate to each other. At its heart it is a story of growth and change..

The 2 MCs are Eustabia who emigrated to NY and Luz, her "successful" daughter. These women aren't always likeable but they are individuals who are extremely relatable ìn their struggles. I loved being immersed in their lives and culture as well as their growth.

The ending didn't wrap up everything with a pretty bow. I found myself with questions and the desire to know more.

I felt like I was right there watching everything happen in this story. What a powerful debut novel!

Neruda on the Park is a provocative story of Dominican Republic immigrants living in New York. It focuses on the mother-daughter relationship between Eusebia and Luz and their generational differences. There is an underlying theme of privilege vs. harsh immigrant struggles.

The Guerreros have sacrificed for their daughter, moving from the Dominican Republic to Nothar Park, a Dominican neighborhood for a better life. Vladimir takes a job in law enforcement, and Eusebia lives for her daughter and community. There are high expectations for Luz, who graduates from Harvard and works for a prestigious law firm. Unfortunately, thinking she will be promoted, Luz is let go. Luz re-evaluates her life and place in the world while maintaining close ties to her family and childhood friends.

At the same time, changes are happening in her neighborhood as a developer wants to turn their apartments into condos. At a protest, Luz meets Hudson, head of the development firm. As their relationship intensifies, her mother, Eusebia, sets out to destroy the new condos to preserve their culture. Vladimir has his own plans of moving back to the Dominican Republic to retire and escape their hard life. But he rushes back to save his wife and daughter from the collision course created by their differences. Neruda on the Park is a richly developed dark story that also sparks hope for the Dominican Republic community. I thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine for allowing me to read and review. This review will be posted on 1/31/2022 on https://www.instagram.com/ckumanchik, @Ckumanchik, and Goodreads. #NetGalley #NerudaonthePark

Neruda on the Park tells the story of Eusebia and Luz Guerrero, a close-knit mother-daughter duo, as they confront major life changes - jobs ending, crime, gentrification, and more - in their own ways.

Luz is her parents' dream child - a successful lawyer who has taken advantage of every sacrifice her parents made in order to advance her career and live out the American dream. Her mother, Eusebia, is defined almost entirely by her role as a mother. At least at the start.

Things change very quickly for our characters and their neighborhood. Their motivations and desires are so strong that I ended up rooting for both characters, even when they were at odds with each other.

We often talk about various threads of a story being woven together, and that's certainly true here - we see how Luz and Eusebia love each other, depend on each other, yet each is living in her own world. More than that, though, this is a book of unraveling. We watch close relationships unravel, the fabric of a neighborhood unravel, the mind of one character unravel. And yet we also see the unraveling of old arguments, allowing the characters to come back together with a fresh start.

Overall, this was a very powerful novel, tackling big themes while remaining grounded and real.

3.5 stars, rounded up.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Random House for this ARC (my very first!).

This is a beautiful and unique story of an immigrant family and their struggles. The writing was good but the plot felt a little far-fetched at times. I enjoyed the general premise of the novel and the characters but some of the events pulled me out of the immersive experience and reminded me I was reading a fictional book. For that reason, I give it 3 stars.

Thank you Netgalley and Ballantine Books for the digital ARC!

Riveting debut novel from Cleyvis Natera! Neruda on the Park is beautifully written and provides a strong sense of place in an immigrant Dominican community in NYC. I was totally drawn in to Luz and Eusebia's respective stories and their experiences of assimilation and gentrification. This is an important book for people to read. It's not perfect, but it's rawness and imperfections make it all the more interesting.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC, in exchange for my honest review.

I picked up this book because the summary of the book was intriguing to me. I enjoyed reading this book although some chapters were harder to read than others. I do feel this is an important book to read to help people understand the difficulties that immigrants have. I encourage people to read it. The author's words are creative and engaging and draw you in.

A captivating read, Neruda on the Park captures the lives and emotions of its characters in a fantastic way. Highlighting the real life struggles of not just immigrants but first generations the novel rings true in every word. From mothers working tirelessly both at home and outside to make sure their loved ones lives are easier to emotions and thoughts of letting loved ones down because of perceived failure, Neruda displays all these moments not ​only perfectly, but accurately.
When Eusebia saves the mango for Luz, it is such a small moment in the novel but capable of taking you right back to your own mom giving you something she thought you would enjoy. Or making your favorite food because that's how they show their love.

Being able to relate to a book and the characters, to a certain extent, make sit difficult to put the book down. Reading the book as a first-generation American, Luz is as relatable as a character can get.

Cleyvis Natera does an incredible job capturing every aspect of life in this novel. You sometimes forget that this is her first novel.

Focussing on a loving family, each withholding secrets and dishonest motivations, Neruda on the Park presents a picture of Dominican immigrant life in New York. Luz, the daughter who has seemingly attained the American dream, armed with her law degree that means less than she'd envisioned, enters into an unlikely relationship with the developer threatening to destroy her family's neighborhood. Eusebia, her mother, has found she treasures the life she's found in New York and comes up with a questionable means of dealing with it. Vladimir, Papi, a member of the NYPF, is the least represented but whose encounters with the upheavals incurred in the course of his job. There is a Greek chorus of gossipy sisters, rounding out the primary characters. I loved the premise of the book, but there were areas where the writing could have been tighter, not as repetitive. But any story with love of the poetry of Neruda at its core holds my interest.

This was a very intense book. I had trouble following it at times because I didn't always understand the references. There was a lot going on in this book and it was not always believable. I don't want to give anything away to the reader so I am unable to give explicit detail. If you are able to suspend disbelief, you would probably really enjoy this book. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the kindle edition of an ARC. I rate it 3 stars because it was intriguing and well-written.

This book was quite simply fabulous. Wow, gave me so much insight into what it’s like to be an immigrant, To land in this country and to find a neighborhood in a community where you belong. Such a great sense of family life. Well developed characters. I loved this book. It has stayed with me for such a long time. Looking forward to reading much more from this author. Thanks for my advance copy

Neruda on the Park by Cleyvis Natera was an engaging read, Characters were richly developed. The author's vivid descriptions made it easy to visualize various settings, as well as people and their emotions and relationships. The book offered a rich examination of families, communities and their intricate interactions. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Yes, yes and more yes! This book is fantastic. Following a Dominican family with encroaching gentrification in their community in NYC. The book is well written, has great character development and I loved the cultural aspects shared. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for something heart-felt, beautifully written and will leave you wanting more from the author!

This book is so well-constructed and tightly-built that it gave me serious anxiety. I wanted to yell at Luz and take her mom to a doctor and ask the Tongues for help and sit down with coffee with Vladimir and tell him what was going on with his family. But all I could do was wait and keep reading and see how author Natera spun out the stories and threads to a satisfying end. You, too, might want to yell at Luz and roll your eyes so hard at her boyfriend that they get stuck in your head, because it's the kind of book that rouses your emotions and makes you try to figure out why people make decisions you wouldn't make and to think about how people just think about the world. Go read it. Go yell at Luz. But definitely read all the way to the end, where her mom does exactly what I would do--and what you might do.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy in exchange for a fair and honest review. Neruda on the Park is completely, beautifully earnest. Split between the perspectives of mother Eusebia, daughter Luz, and neighborhood gossips The Tongues, Neruda on the Park tells the story of a family and neighborhood impacted by gentrification. I loved how firmly rooted in the stories of women this book was and the urgency and tension was deeply felt, becoming more and more interesting in the latter third of the book. I wish that the novel had dived even further into Eusebia's backstory and Luz's tension with her love interest, to round out who mother and daughter are outside of each other. Clevis Natera's worldbuilding and the fierce love is evident on every page.

Stories of immigrants in New York City aren't new, but I typically enjoy reading them both for the interactions with such a vibrant place, but also for the breadth of experiences that they can convey. This novel had a strong immigrant story at its core, but the storytelling did not transport me the way others have.