The Wind Knows My Name
by Isabel Allende
(The Review is based on an ARC sent to me by NetGalley)

The Wind Knows My Name is a tale of two child immigrants--- a boy who escapes Nazi occupied Vienna in 1938 and a girl who escapes military gangs in El Salvador in 2019.

Samuel Adler is a 5-year-old Jewish boy in Vienna on Nov. 9, 1938,
when his father disappears during the Nazi purge of Kristallnacht. Samuel's mother manages to evacuate him to England. He travels alone, carrying nothing but a change of clothes, his violin and hopes for reunion with his parents.
Leticia Cordero has ended up (illegally) after narrowly surviving the El Mozote massacre in El Salvador. Leticia will play an important part in the children’s lives.
In alternating chapters, Allende also describes Anita Díaz, a 7-year-old girl separated from her mother in a detention facility after crossing illegally into Arizona.
Allende moves the story back and forth between Europe and the United States, switches between the past and present, as two very different children in very different places and circumstances search for the safety of home and family.
Through a series of circumstances, Samuel and Anita eventually meet through Leticia.
Allende delivers a powerful novel about war and immigration and the protagonists’ quest to find safety and a place to call home.

I will definitely have a "book hangover" and miss these characters for a few days.

That said, this is not a perfect book. Plot points are a bit too manipulated feeling and too coincidental for my liking. There are some parts that are not developed well and others that feel flat and droning just to give information (show, don't tell, please) and I really did not like (or believe) the relationship between Frank and Selena.

But overall, I found it a wonderful novel and thus was willing to excuse the shortcomings. I was able to completely engage in all the different stories - Samuel, Selena, Frank, and of course, Anita. I loved being along with each of their journeys and Allende's writing connected with me in deep and sometimes profound ways. I definitely had some emotional moments that I had to go back and reread through tears.

I'd definitely recommend the book and might consider suggesting it to the right student - most of my HS students aren't mature enough to really enjoy it, nor would most be willing to work hard enough to get through the slower or more dense sections.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

In her compassionate novel, Allende draws powerful parallels between child migrants in 1938 Austria and at America’s southern border in 2019, evoking the tragic universality of war’s innocent young victims. Samuel Adler is only five when his desperate mother, her home and world destroyed during Kristallnacht in Vienna, places him on a Kindertransport train to England. The antisemitic violence his family experiences feels visceral and immediate on the page.

Decades later, in 1981, Leticia Cordero arrives in the United States with her father, the sole survivors of their immediate family after a massacre in their El Salvadoran village. Later, in 2019, seven-year-old Anita Díaz and her mother, Marisol, are victims of the Trump administration’s family separation policies after they cross from Mexico into Arizona, fleeing a threatening home environment in El Salvador. All these stories converge during the pandemic, starting when social worker Selena Durán gets lawyer Frank Angileri to take Anita’s case pro bono and help reunite her with Marisol, who may have been deported. By then, Samuel is an 86-year-old widower in San Francisco, and if anyone can relate to Anita’s plight firsthand, he can.

Frank’s rapid transformation from suave would-be seducer (he finds Selena very attractive) to conscientious human rights defender is too convenient, and their conversations about immigration policies seem designed to feed readers background information. But all the viewpoints alternate smoothly, and Allende has a particularly delicate touch in depicting children. Samuel’s journey from Austria to England to America intertwines with his love for music, while young Anita, who is blind, retreats into an imaginary world to cope. Not only does Allende depict the heroic acts people undertake to help underage migrants, but she underscores the courage of those who do so at great risk to themselves.

Isabel Allende has established herself as an amazing writer, and she continues to prove why that is the case.
This story is painful to read due to how well written the story is. Immigration and separation is at the core of this book, and Allende makes you feel the pain.

I will say that a more refined connection between the main characters would've really elevated this to 5 stars.

Allende is a master of telling the tales of characters making an exodus from Europe to South and Central America, masterfully weaving together a story from two continents. Her newest novel, The Wind Knows My Name, connects the story of a boy escaping the Holocaust in Austria with the story of a girl fleeing violence in El Salvador. From the beginning, I anticipated seeing just how their stories would intersect and loved when I found out how they did.

The book has several narrators and the chapters alternate between them. The story reaches into the COVID-19 era, and it brought back memories of quarantine and isolation. I appreciated how she captured, without spending too much time, what isolation was like in 2020.

Allende is one of my favorite authors, and I’ll happily read all her future releases.

My thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC. I liked this book! WOW. It really was heart breaking at some parts. Children separated from their families is still happening today so it was a little hard to digest and really made you think about your own life

How to begin to describe this book… fantastic, amazing, and good don’t seem appropriate. Isabel Allende is a phenomenally skilled writer and everything she seems to write has a magical and special way of transporting me through the characters’ intricate journey.

This novel follows the effects forced immigration have on a child and how it is carried with them throughout their lives. The story interweaves many characters, but specifically two. The first starts in 1938, Austria. We follow 6 year old, Samuel Adler, who is secured a spot by his mother and neighbor on the last kinder transport train out of Austria. Which much reluctance, his mother puts him on the train with his beloved violin in hopes of finding her missing husband and then reuniting with Samuel in the future.

We also follow 7 year old, Anita Diaz who in 2019, flees the dangers of El Salvador with her mother. She is blind and seeking refuge with her mother in the U.S. Unfortunately, she is separated from her mother and left alone. She is very imaginative and find some solace in a magical world she has created in her mind. With the help of a tenacious social worker and a lawyer (who at first just wants to impress the social worker), they try and track the mother down. Instead, they find another family member already living in the U.S. and working for Mr. Samuel Adler.

I kept finding myself impatient trying to see how everyone’s story would connect. The patience paid off as I saw how the author interwove the stories together.

This novel conveys themes of forced immigration, the displacement of kids, diaspora, loss, courage, and resilience in the families that take on this mission to get their children to a safer place. The reader is left with some hope in humanity. Overall, this book is heart wrenching, thought provoking, and timely read about the suffering immigrants go through in search of a better life.

This story, spanning across decades and continents, was a heartwarming and courageous display of what lengths parents will go to in order to protect their children.

Samuel Adler was a young boy when his father disappeared during Kristallnacht. His mother, determined to save her son, secured him a spot on the last train out of Nazi-occupied Austria that would take him to safety in the UK with nothing more than a change of clothes and his violin.

Eight decades later, Anita Diaz, a blind young girl fleeing El Salvador, is separated from her mother when she arrives in the United States. Her case is assigned to Selena Duran, a social worker who goes to extreme lengths to find her family and reunite them. Along with a lawyer at one of the top law firms in San Fransisco, Selena discovers that Anita has a relative living in the United States, and she just so happens to work for Samuel Adler.

When I first started reading this book, it felt like I was reading two completely different stories. And in a way I was, but the way that the author gradually tied them together, it brought so much more meaning to this emotional roller coaster of a tale. Though their lives began decades and countries apart, they shared the same experience of escaping from dangerous situations and surviving thanks to the love of their mothers.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and while it tugged at my heartstrings, it also left me with a wonderful feeling of hope. I definitely recommend it!

*Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for providing a copy of this book to review.*

Isabel Allende once again delivers a fascinating tale that spans from Kristallnacht in the beginning of World War II, which is the event that begins Samuel’s story, to the Covid-19 & the dehumanizing immigration crises at the border, which is where we meet Anita. Along the way, we meet Leticia, who emigrated from El Salvador after a massacre in the 1980s, and Selena and Frank, who advocate for little Anita’s asylum. These characters’ storylines are woven together

Allende tackles big ideas and big “feels” in this novel. She makes the reader wonder how people and governments can be so cruel and how survivors can be so courageous and capable of love. Allende uses these characters to examine the immigration policies and femicide of marginalized populations.

Because of the mature and complex issues , I would recommend this book for independent reading to students in AP English Literature & Composition. I also recommend this to readers who enjoy historical fiction and multiple storylines. I will recommend the title to my book club members.

I would like to thank Isabel Allende, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for the ARC.

Isabell Allende has done it again. I love her writing. Easy to follow, understand and carry the story with you. The characters are all amazing. You really get involved in this story. Immigration is the big topic, but wonderfully done in this story. Makes you stop and think. I have recommended this book to all.

AHHHHHH!
I'm so thankful to PRH Audio, Ballantine Books, Netgalley, and Isabel Allende for granting me advanced audio, digital, and physical access to this sweet gem of book that held emotional weight that twisted into my with a sharp knife.

The Wind Knows My Name, the newest book from Isabel Allende is a captivating, heartbreaking tale wrapped in an absolutely gorgeous cover & it’s also a new favorite by this author.

Departing from her usual style of generational stories within a single family, Allende shares multiple POVs in different timelines providing thoughtful & unexpected connections (my favorite kind of story). In it we learn of Samuel Adler, a six-year-old Jewish boy in 1938, who is sent alone on the last Kindertransport train out of Nazi-occupied Austria to the United Kingdom after his family is torn apart. Fast-forward to 2019 in Arizona, Anita Diaz, a blind seven-year-old girl is separated from her mother after they arrive in the US attempting to flee danger in El Salvador. Other supporting characters are also featured, but I suggest you skip reading the synopsis and let the story unfold naturally.

Allende has written a very important story that shares the heartbreak endured during times of war & political unrest that causes forced separation between parent(s) and child(ren). True to Allende’s writing style, it’s a well-researched, beautifully written story that was riveting and wrought with emotion. It reminded me of Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult and if you read it, you’ll see why. The politics are heavy, the climatic scenes are dark, but ultimately this book will leave you with a lasting feeling of resilience, bravery, and hope.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an e-arc to read & review. And thank you to my library for getting a copy on pub day since my #netgalley game is off this summer. It’s available now & I’ve heard the audiobook narration is excellent.

One of my most anticipated reads of the year and without a doubt one of my top reads of the year!

What I LOVED ❤️
- A DUAL-TIMELINE historical fiction novel spanning Europe during WWII and present day U.S. detention centers along the Mexican border
- TRIPLE POVs - Samuel Adler as a Jewish child impacted by WWII and him as an adult in the U.S., Anita Diaz, a blind child forced to flee El Salvador, and Selena Duran, a young social worker working at the centers by the border
- The IMPACT of these characters STORIES - each of these characters had incredibly impactful and moving stories, they will each live in my heart forever
- Awareness of the current CRISIS at the BORDER - this novel educated me so much about the crisis at the border and the incredibly inhumane conditions people are held in

This book is so incredible impactful and such a moving story - a forever favorite!

📚📚Book Review📚📚

The Wind Knows My Name by Isabel Allende is a heartbreaking tale of the unfathomable sacrifices made by parents and their resilient children who somehow never give up hoping and dreaming. Allende weaves the past and present seamlessly in a story spanning decades (from Nazi occupied Vienna to the border crisis today), as she writes about some very unforgettable characters. I was really drawn in by Allende's character development, particularly with respect to the characters of Samuel Adler and Anita Diaz. My only complaint about the book is that I felt there was more story to tell. And even though Allende tells us briefly what happened to Adler's and Diaz's mothers, I truly wanted to read more of their stories in the character's own voices, especially once they were separated from their children. Nonetheless, I would recommend The Wind Knows My Name as Samuel and Anita's stories are well worth reading.

Vienna, Austria, 1938; Samuel Adler is a five year old boy when the apartment where he lives with his Jewish parents, is destroyed during the Kristallnacht. Samuel's father never made it home alive, and his mother can't leave Austria anymore. He will never see his parents again. On a cold december day he is put on a childrens train to England, where he lands in the loving care of a childless couple and who become his second parents. There he lives happily and safe untill he is 35, when he leaves for San Francisco, to become a professional violinist in a symphonic orchestra.
Decades later, in 2019, seven year old Anita Diaz and her mother Marisol flee for the violence in El Salvador to the United States. But they get seperated from each other at the American border. Marisol is sent back to El Salvador, while Anita is sent to a dirty refugee camp with lack of any care for her. Months later, a social worker named Selena Duran, picks up her case and tries to get Anita out of the camp. This works, and months later, Anita finds a safe place in the foster home of Samuel Adler. For Samuel it is if history repeats itself. Together with Selena, they work hard to find Anita's mother Marisol, but if seems like Marisol has gone missing, as there is no trace of her to be found, and the question arises, if just like Samuel in his past, Anita will ever see her beloved mother again..

I truly didn't know what to expect of this book and it is the first book by author Isabel Allende I've read so far. But it truly is a book that I like!
The start of the story where the reader meets Samuel Adlers family in the start of WWII , it truly is gripping and sad, then the story takes a completely different turn and takes you to present time El Salvador to the story of Anita and Marisol. This part felt very realistic because of Anita's sad stay in the refugee camp, which are the sad reality of many immigrants from Central and South America.
At firsthand, it truly made me wonder what the two seperate stories meant, as I was truly curious what happens next to Samuel. It truly takes the reader to far over the middle part of the middle part to find out there is going to be a connection between the two main characters, as other previous parts are sometimes told from Selena's point of view. So it takes a while to figure out how exactly the storyline is build op, but afterwards you can only conclude that this setup of the storyline is truly original and different in a good way than any other book. The characters are very well developed and the conclusion of the book, altough it was not a very happy one, was good. Overall I can say that I truly enjoyed reading this new book by Isabel Allende and I recommend reading it.

Allende can do no wrong and The Wind Knows My Name is no exception. This is beautiful, lyrical, and I can't stop thinking about the characters.

This book was so good -- both heartbreaking and heartwarming, and I thoroughly loved it. 

The book follows several main characters over several time periods. The book starts in Vienna where Sam's mother has to make the choice to send him alone on the kindertransport to get out of the country. From there we follow Sam's life as he moves to England and eventually the US. We also meet Leticia, who eventually comes to work for Sam. Lastly we meet Anita, whose mother has brought her to the US and then disappeared, and the two people helping to find her mother. 

The intersection of these characters, as well as the parallels between what is happening now and what happened during the war, was incredibly powerful. I loved each of the characters and loved how they all came together and the beautiful relationships that were formed. 

The descriptions of early pandemic lockdown made me anxious, Isabel Allende captured that so well -- and the new situations and routines we all found ourselves in. I loved the end and was so happy they all found each other. 

Overall I highly recommend this book, it was so beautiful. 

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

I am a big fan of Isabel Allende but this book didn't land for me in the same way as the others I have read. I of course loved House of the Spirits and found her last novel Violeta to be equally compelling.

This one seemed to lack the richness and complexity that I've come to expect in her books. This book also took place mainly in the United States so perhaps that is why it felt disconnected to me. It's also possible that the plot taking place during the pandemic just didn't feel interesting enough to me. The pandemic was mentioned but only in a very vague and cursory way when in reality it likely would have consumed the main character's thoughts a whole lot lore than the story let on.
I enjoyed the characters in this one but didn't feel they were fully developed the way I've come to expect with Allende's books.

All in all I found the storyline somewhat entertaining and enjoyable but wouldn't recommend this book Ober the author's other works.

This is another great time-spanning novel by Isabel Allende. While this story is bit shorter and tighter than the epic A Long Petal of the Sea, Allende still manages to weave multiple narratives from parallel refugee crises spanning over 80 years. The way Allende does this in under 300 pages is a feat in itself, and it really could have probably been longer and still remained compelling. The overarching idea of how history parallels itself, many times tragically, in ways that aren't always immediately apparent is present through these connected stories. While the content and time periods covered definitely ensures that parts of these stories will be deeply saddening, Allende has again written a historical fiction novel that is captivating and humanizing. I would definitely recommend this read from one of the best historical fiction writers of the moment.

I’m not big on fantasy or what I think of as magical realism, so I wasn’t sure about this one… but I had just finished reading Ms. Allende’s stunning memoir The Soul of a Woman, so I was eager to read her latest The Wind Knows My Name, and happy to receive a copy from Random House Ballantine and NetGalley in exchange for this honest review.

This story is so touching and gripping, and the way it is written is incredibly beautiful. There are actually two stories presented, each centered around a child fleeing something horrible, looking for a place to LIVE and grow. The first child is a musically gifted young boy named Samuel, whose father has disappeared during Kristallnacht in Austria in 1938. His mother, desperate to save her child, sends him ALONE to England. After a series of orphanages, he is adopted by a Quaker couple.

Eighty-some years later, a 7-year old girl named Anita flees with her mother from the horror of her family’s homeland of El Salvador, hoping that the U.S. will take them in. Thanks to the insanity of immigration under the Trump administration, Anita finds herself in a freaking CAGE where she escapes into fantasy using her imagination. Fortunately, a social worker and an attorney work to try to help her.

Both stories are heartbreaking. There are sporadic glimpses of hope in both stories, but they are both definitely emotionally challenging, particularly for hyper-sensitive readers. But I highly recommend this, and give it five stars. Oh, and by the way, Allende is a genius.