As a child of a Spanish immigrant, this one hit hard and home. Oh, did I mention I share the same name as the MC?

This is 100% heartfelt and accurate. It’s so easy to essentially assimilate to the whitness that I didn’t want to embrace my other side for a while as a child. I missed out on many moments, and realized my mom never pushed because it was easier for me in the world that way.

This was a very stunning read and I never reviewed it because it left me in tears that I forgot to write this part on NG

Thank you, Netgalley, for the opportunity to read this book. I really enjoyed the story and how Melanie discovers herself through her Mother's journals.

Melanie is a second generation Colombian American journalist living in Miami. The last time she visited Colombia was for her Quinceañera 10 years ago. When an opportunity for a story comes up looking at the cocaine imports into Miami and its effects comes up she takes the opportunity to visit family. But she learns more than she ever expected.

This book was really great for the first 60%. I loved learning through Melanie’s eyes about Colombia (I need to visit asap myself clearly it sounds so beautiful and fun) and through her mother’s journey to America. But the last 40% really dragged and I skimmed the last of it. I think if this was 100 pages shorter and more succinct in its ending it would’ve been a much more incredible book. It had all the right elements - personal story turned into a novel, but the level of detail about Melanie’s work dragged in the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and WaterBrook & Mutlnomah for this ARC.

Johanna's debut novel is an intimate journey into her own family's immigration experience. The writing is vivid and transports you to South America in a way that wouldn't be possible without the author's personal accounts.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2HtSFGSV84CNRX9RtbKoJH?si=AP9eIdQpStSKJJmUADVo2g

Here is our podcast review of this title and interview with the author.

This is an ownvoices story about a second generation Colombian-American woman.

We follow Melanie, who has always tried to fit in and be like everyone else but has never managed to be "American enough", as she goes to Colombia for the first time. There she gets to know her mom's family, their stories and her own roots. The story is told in the present time from Melanie's pov and we also get to read from her mom's pov when she crossed the border into the US in the 80s.

I liked the message and the concept but the execution was kind of boring. It didn't grip me and I ended up skimming through it.
2.5 stars.

An American Immigrant by Johanna Rojas Vann

Melanie is a second-generation immigrant from Columbia. She just doesn’t understand her mother until she receives an assignment to visit Columbia and write a story about the drug problem there. Her mother insists that she visit her grandmother in Cali and Melanie’s life takes a drastic turn.

This was an enjoyable story, but one to which I really couldn’t relate. But not everyone will be able to say that. With so much of our political life focused on the many immigrants who have recently entered our nation, this book has an important viewpoint for people like me who don’t have an immigrant experience in their recent past. It was a valuable story in that it showed me the human element of illegal immigration.

The characters showed growth, especially Melanie, and the plot moved along nicely even though the ending was not a total surprise. All in all, it was a satisfying read which conveys an important message of empathy towards others who walk a different path in life from ours.

I received this book in exchange for this, my honest review and I thank the publisher for their generosity.

An American Immigrant is a story most of us 1st generations have, however this one is more nuanced. Melanie never was interested to hear about her mother's story before America or how she crossed over. How her family benefitted from having in America and how her life would have been if her mother would have stayed in Colombia. She just took it for granted or maybe not have given it much thought. This book read more to me like a memoir than anything else and I wish more Americans would read stories like this one and understood the immigrant story.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review as always, all words are my own.

About this book:

“A Colombian American journalist tries to save her career by taking an assignment somewhere she never thought she’d go—Colombia—in this heartwarming debut novel about rediscovering our family stories.
Twenty-five-year-old Melanie Carvajal, a hardworking but struggling journalist for a Miami newspaper, loves her Colombian mother but regularly ignores her phone calls, frustrated that she never quite takes the time to understand Melanie’s life. When the opportunity arises for a big assignment that might save her flagging career, Melanie follows the story to the land of her mother’s birth. She soon realizes Colombia has the potential to connect her, after all these years, to something she’s long her heritage, the love of her mother, her family, and the richest parts of herself.
Colombia offers more than a chance to make a name for herself as a writer. It is a place of untold stories.”


Series: As of now, no. A stand-alone novel.


Spiritual Content- Anita wonders where God is at a low point; Melanie sees the statue of Christ in Colombia (Cristo Rey); Mentions of God (also called the Divine and the Most High); Mentions of prayers & praying; A few mentions of thanking God; A few mentions of churches & church going; A few mentions of being Blessed; A mention of a man possibly being an angel (because he was helpful); A mention of a woman in a head covering & long skirt; A mention of a place not being fully of saints;
*Note: The phrase “Only God knows” is used in the author’s note; A couple mentions of a painting that is a spoof on da Vinci’s The Last Supper; A couple mentions of another’s lecture being called a “sermon” (twice); A mention of a notebook being like a shrine to other writers; A mention of the demon inside of someone; A mention of everyone having a demon to fight; A mention of Santa Claus.


Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘dumb’, a ‘thank God’ (by a side character that used God’s name in vain in Spanish), a stinkin’, a ‘sucks’, two forms of ‘screw up’, two ‘sheesh’s, two ‘shut up’s, two ‘witch’s (calling a woman that), and five ‘stupid’s; Spanish versions: two ‘ay Dios mio’ (Oh my God), and two ‘Dios mio’ (my God), and three ‘por Dios’ (for God’s sake); A few mentions of curses (said, not written, including one by Anita); Eye rolling & Sarcasm; In a flashback/journal entry, Anita tells someone about her father being drunk, (implied) trying to drown his infant son, grabbing her hair, and shooting off a gun to scare them (Anita believes he meant to kill her, up to semi-detailed); Melanie goes to a salsa club (there is a bar there and while she doesn’t drink there are mentions of others drinking); Anita doesn’t drink because of her father & Melanie doesn’t drink anything at a club because of her fear of getting sick (she later thinks that her fear is silly); Melanie has a near panic attack (hyperventilating and anxiety symptoms, borderline barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Melanie lies a couple times and feels guilty about it; Melanie reads her mother’s journals without her permission and eventually confesses her (she feels uneasy about reading them, but gets absorbed into it); Many mentions of cartels/gangs, drugs, drug trafficking, drug smuggling, crimes, violence, & deaths; Mentions of prisons; Mentions of poverty & not feeling safe in a country (Melanie with Colombia; her mother tells her just to avoid the sketchy areas); Mentions of alcohol, drinking, bars, & an abusive drunk; Mentions of divorce (Melanie’s parents divorced when she was young and it didn’t sound like her father stayed in the picture); Mentions of envy (including when Melanie wished she had blond hair and blue eyes when she was in school); A few mentions of deaths of family members; A few mentions of kidnappings & child soldiers; A few mentions of robberies & muggings; A few mentions of money laundering; A few mentions of injuries & a heart attack; A few mentions of lies, lying, & liars; A few mentions of gossip & rumors; A couple mentions of plagiarism; A couple mentions of being teased at school growing up; A mention of assassinations; A mention of terrorism; A mention of graffiti;
*Note: The phrase “illegal alien” is never used, instead “undocumented immigrant” and “illegal immigrant” are used; Before going to there, Anita felt disgusted by America, the American government taking her country’s resources for cheap, (her brother tries to talk to her about it and see the other side, but she’s very against America for some time; including her making a comment on Americans stealing their land from indigenous people); Anita (and Melanie) comment on the rest of the world viewing Colombia with hatred and not realizing that the Colombian people are hurting as well; We see Anita traveling through Mexico (including lying about who she is and being subject to a strip search) and then with a coyote through to America (later said that she wasn’t the drug criminal that the governments were looking for, but a woman who “was sneaking into a country that promised a better life”); Anita works in a factory setting for little money with a mean boss when she’s first in America; Anita was concerned about her children not being interested in their Colombia culture or speaking Spanish (she feels as if she’s failing them); At the beginning, Melanie is frustrated with her mom (because she doesn’t understand Melanie, being embarrassed by her growing up, not wanting to eat their cultural food growing up, and often feeling resentful of her mother’s heritage and being unable to fit in) & Melanie deals with guilt over cutting their conversations short; Melanie has the goal to be able to “buy the same things that everyone else has” (referring to the lack of things when she was growing up); Melanie views her mom as a doormat because she doesn’t stand up for herself (even thinking about how she’s supposed to respect her; she learns there’s much more to her mother’s story by reading her journals); *Spoiler* In the middle of the book, Melanie realizes how hard it was for her mother on many things and learns to appreciate her while becoming closer to her *End of Spoiler*; She also thinks about how her family and family in Colombia are doing better than others is because of the few members who decided to move to the States; Melanie thinks that her mother “kicked down the door” (instead of waiting for a door to open) about her not leaving home until she was married and also not having to have a visa to go to America; It’s said that Anita’s story is similar to a lot of other women’s story of how they followed their hearts “despite the roadblocks”; Anita’s mother didn’t force her daughters to help her in the kitchen and so Anita didn’t force Melanie or her sister either (telling them to go play or focus on school); Melanie recalls a guidance counselor at school telling her not to be in creative writing and that journalism to better because “you’ll be respected. People respect journalists”; Mentions of Starbucks (*Spoiler* Melanie gets a job there towards the end of the book *End of Spoiler*); Mentions of FaceTime & social media sites (Twitter, Facebook, & Instagram); Mentions of celebrities (Frida Kahlo, Carlos Vives, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, & Justin Bieber); Mentions of brand names & items (J. Crew Factory, Keurig, Coke, Word document, & iPad); A few mentions of a young woman’s father being upset that she didn’t follow in his footsteps (career); A few mentions of car brands; A couple mentions of someone looking like a zombie; A couple mentions of a book (“Love in the Time of Cholera”); A mention of communist teachings the schools in Colombia were prone to share; A mention of a woman wanting to make sure a man doesn’t get the credit for something a woman did; A mention of a woman being “a boss” for going up against her drunk father; A mention of yoga; A mention of a smell of food calming Melanie’s nerves more than any prescription; A mention of a nose piercing; A mention of winning an Emmy; A mention of Covid.


Sexual Content- Noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); A few Blushes; Dancing & Nearness (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of dating, boys, boyfriends, & breakups; A few mentions of a handsome man & potential predators; A few mentions of staying temporarily with a boyfriend (does not happen); A couple mentions of flirting; A mention of girls gossiping about boys;
*Note: Anita is subject to a strip search where she has to take off all clothing and underwear and move around to make sure she isn’t hiding anything (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed).

-Melanie Carvajal, age 25
-Anita
P.O.V. switches between them
Melanie in 2018 & 2019, Anita in 1987 & 2009
352 pages

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Pre Teens- One Star
New Teens- One Star
Early High School Teens- Two Stars
Older High School Teens- Three Stars
My personal Rating- Two Stars (and a half)

{ Add up to a full star for those who have a connection to Colombia and/or may relate to this story. }

This story feels personal—like the author based many elements on her own life and experiences—which makes this a harder book to rate.

As someone who knows the importance of speaking more than one language, it really hurt my heart to see Melanie be so ashamed of her Colombian heritage and speaking Spanish. That’s why it was really nice to see her character development just in that regard. I was a little shocked by the pacing of this book because major character development and conversations happen at about halfway in. It almost felt like the book was going to end there but I still had 50% to go. I do think it book was about 50 pages too long, but it never felt like it was completely dragging to me.

It definitely highlighted the side of Colombia most do not see or even know. I have no connection to Colombia, but have friends who do and are second-generation immigrants, so I thought I would try out this book. I found it interesting, even if a bit uncomfortable at times because of being a Texan and knowing other kinds of stories of those crossing the border illegally. This book definitely highlighted those who mean well and only do it to provide for their families. It’s definitely a touchy topic, though, and something I have to mention.

One more thing that didn’t settle the best with me were the phrases "Por Dios", “Dios mio”, and "Ay Dios Mio" being used. Which I've learned in the past mean phrases that take God's name in vain. I’ve checked with a handful of reader book friends (some who Spanish is their first language, another who grew up speaking it at home, and a couple who are nearly fluent in Spanish) and the general thought is that those phrases are used in frustration or desperation and are not praising God’s name—some adding that they’ve been told that as Christians they shouldn’t say those phrases. (Thank you to those that reached out to confirm this for me!) Because of this and a few other comments, my personal rating continued to drop as I did this review.

I do wish there had been more faith content, because it was very light and while apparent that characters have faiths, we don’t see much of it, which was a disappointing. I did appreciate that there really wasn’t any romance in this book—only slightly hinted towards at the very end.

Overall, this book gave me a lot to think about. It was also overall clean, so I could see High School Aged Girls reading this one if they have an interest in Colombia and/or are “American Immigrants” themselves.



Link to reviews:
https://booksforchristiangirls.blogspot.com/2023/12/an-american-immigrant-by-johanna-rojas.html?m=0



*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
*I received this book for free from the Publisher (Revell) for this honest review.

"An American Immigrant" by Johanna Rojas Vann is a compelling memoir that explores the immigrant experience in the United States. Vann's storytelling is heartfelt, offering a unique perspective on the challenges and triumphs of building a new life in a foreign land. This book is a poignant and enlightening read.

While I didn't love this one. I do have to say it is an awesome debut novel as well as an own voices novel. Which is something that haven't seen from a Christian fiction publisher, so I hope this trend grows. I will read more by this author. I will admit for this reader, that might not be a problem for other readers. Was I had a hard time reading how Melanie was treating her mom. I get that she had a career, but when your mom calls you take the time to really talk to her. But I loved watching Melanie grow and change through out the book and learn what really matters.

An American Immigrant by Johanna Rojas Vann is the kind of book I wish I had read sooner. Melanie, our main character, volunteers for a journal assignment in her mother’s home country of Colombia, a country she’s avoided visiting for some time. Though she takes on the assignment in a desperate attempt to keep her job, the trip changes her in ways she could not have foreseen. While there, she comes across her mother’s journals, and the peek into her mother’s past–to the person Anita was before coming to America–knocks the world out from underneath Melanie’s feet.

I loved this story because it had so many layers to it. On the one hand, it’s very much a mother-daughter story: two women who’ve never quite understood each other have the chance to finally address what’s kept them apart. It’s also the story of identity: Melanie spends much of the book trying to figure out who she is, whether that be American or Colombian or both. Finally, it’s the story of a writer trying to find her authentic voice, and I’m a sucker for those.

My favorite parts of the narrative were the “excerpts” from Anita’s (Melanie’s mother’s) journal. Watching Melanie try to reconcile the passionate young woman taking daring chances and raising her voice in the journals with the calm, quiet woman she knows to be her mother and regretting not knowing such an important part of her mother’s life really struck a chord. Tough moments were addressed thoughtfully, and the importance of telling the stories that are true to you remained a strong theme throughout. I did feel like the ending came together a little too easily, but I still enjoyed it. If you’re looking for an inspirational story, this may be the book for you.

Thank you WaterBrook & Multnomah and Netgalley for the free advanced reader copy! Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I finished this one a while ago and i just simply forgot to give feedback on Netgalley, as I've been a little hiatus recently.

I found this title very interesting and fun! I can't remember how I felt about it in a deep way but I do remember loving it! Thank you for the ARC!

I have a very limited perspective on the American immigrants true stories and was keen to read Vann's debut. We meet, Melanie, a first year journo trying to cut it in the rough and tumble of the newspaper world in Miami. It's tough for anyone starting out and Melanie, in particular, is struggling to find her voice in the articles she writes. Her editorial boss is struggling with her for the same reason and Melanie is seriously questioning whether she's cut out for the job.

She accepts an assignment that requires her to travel to Columbia, her mother's birthplace. Her mother happens to be visiting at the same time and Melanie chooses to spend a few days with her grandmother, Alba, and mother, Anita. This is Melanie's first time in Columbia and after the initial shock she has a form of awakening to her mother's experience in growing up and then fleeing the country to immigrate to America.

Melanie's awakening is enhanced by the discovery of her mother's journals and many of the chapters in the first 60% of the book are Anita's words she'd written long ago. It's both enlightening for Melanie but also we the reader. It's hard not to develop an empathy for Anita and Alba for their bravery in leading the lives they led.

On returning to Miami, Melanie's world is turned upside down and leads her to both realise her own passion for storytelling but her identity as a dual citizen, not fully American and not fully Columbian. It's fascinating to read and I got increasingly absorbed in Melanie's story in the final third of the book. I also enjoyed Melanie's friendships with Genesis and Evelyn together with Alba's wonderful cooking. The latter made me want to find a Columbian restaurant to sample some of their delicacies.

I was a little disappointed that there was talk about God and clearly a belief in Him and would have loved to read how Melanie's faith helped her make the significant changes she made in the final part of the story. Perhaps we'll see more of that in Vann's follow-up.

I was really pleased to have received an early ebook copy from Waterbrook via NetGalley with no expectation of a positive review.

A Colombian journalist living in Miami reluctantly takes a job in Colombia. However, it ends up connecting her to her roots.

I think this one started out really slowly. It definitely picked up more once Melanie got to Colombia.

As a first-generation immigrant myself, there isn’t much I didn’t like about this book. At first. It was hard to relate to Melanie, she sounded too whiny and completely unfair to her mother. From the Prologue I knew Anita would be the one I would relate to the most. Also it didn’t help that my personal story has more similarities to Anita’s than Melanie’s given I also left my home country looking for a better life, and now that I’m raising my kids as an expat, all I want is for them to understand both realities and to appreciate being in a multicultural family.
Anita’s fears about having made a mistake with her children, her doubts and sorrows, although in different ways and circumstances, is what breaks my heart, while her resilience and patience puts it back together.
As the story progressed, I finally got to see the pieces and bits of Melanie in myself: attempting to control the uncontrollable; realizing that sometimes we jump to conclusions about what’s different from us without giving others a chance to show us who they truly are; and above all, realizing that all places and cultures and people come with the good and bad attached to them and there are no exceptions on this Earth.
The one thing I missed was a deeper connection of emotions. I think the fact the author is a journalist might have influenced all her characters’ voices, taking away a little of that feeling you can have with a deeper POV. The story is still interesting and an eye-opener and I definitely recommend it.
My favorite thing overall: This is a Christian fiction book that isn’t preachy. We need so much more of these in the market. Thank you!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was amazing. I did not come from an immigrant family, however my mother in law is an immigrant and it made me truly inspired of her and how she raised my husband. The story had my attention from beginning to end, truly allowing me to see and feel the characters and their experience. It was an amazing first book by Johanna and I can’t wait to see what else she creates!

Melanie Carvajal is a twenty five year old woman who is a journalist at Miami based newspaper The Herald. Things are not going very well for the newspaper, and for Melanie. Her editor in chief Ignacio is not that keen of her style of writing and reporting. And her job is somewhat in danger. But then she gets the chance to go to Colombia for the Herald, to write a piece about where Colombia in the mainstream media is known for; drugs and Melanie has to do a story on it. But for Melanie, Colombia means something entirely different then is always shown in the same negative way in the media. For her, it is the country her mom and abuela live, altough she never visited Colombia herself. And before she starts on her newspaper work there in Bogota, she will visit her family in Cali first. Once landed, she connects with the Colombian part of her she tried to ignore. During her time in Cali with her family, she slowly loosens up and begins cooking with Alba, dancing with cousins she had never met and reading her mother’s old journals,She finds a diary that belongs to her mother, and during the story she reads it, and the reader learns about how Melanie's mother Anita, once made the dangerous border crossing into the United States alone. By reading the diary she learns more about her mother, her family background, Colombia and herself. Things take a turn for the worse when her beloved abuela suffers from a heart attack, and Melanie discovers what's more important in life then her job back home. Once back home in Miami, she is fired from the newspaper because of everything that happened in Colombia in her family life that was more important. She takes a job at a local Starbucks and finally finds the people in her work life that somehow makes her more happy, and she starts to follow her dream, to become a writer on her own, for her blog about the immigrant experience in America, and later on, she gets an offer to write and publsish her own book..

It's not often you can find such an original and outstanding book set in Colombia.
And its not often that you read such different point of vieuw about Colombia. Just like Melanie struggles with with covering the story she has to write for the Herald, she wants to read and write about the real Colombia. And I think author Johanna Rojas Vann wanted to do that too. And she did it very succesfully, because this is just a beautiful and moving read. The storyline is very original, what happens in the story is original, and Melanie and her family are characters you just start to love. The story of Melanie, her struggles at the newspaper , her time in Colimbia and in the end finding her place that fits her well was a very entertaining and the main character truly made a progress during the book. The story of her mother that Melanie read in the diary was very moving and sometimes heartbreaking; it is the immigrant story of the search for a better life.
I thought this is a beautiful book with an original and important story, there can't be enough groundbreaking books like this!

Melanie is trying to make it in the newspaper world, but is struggling to find her voice. After getting assigned a job in Colombia, Melanie decides to travel with her mother back to her mother's homeland and visit her family there. Melanie didn't realize what she was missing and quickly discovers that Colombia is more than she ever imagined. Based on true events, this is such a story of finding one's voice, the connection between a daughter and mother, and discovering family. Highly recommend for lovers of women's fiction.

I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

“Who would have known that in just one generation, with one simple decision, everything could change?”

There are some books that make you happier for reading them, lifting your heart while you’re in those pages and maybe lingering with you because of a story or characters well-told. And then there are some books that do all of the above but also change something in you, for the better, words that will shape you from this point forward. An American Immigrant is one such book.

This is a difficult review to write because I have so many feelings fighting for dominance and it’s hard to sort out what I want to say and what I want to let you discover for yourself. But, in short, this is a beautifully-written story of choices that had ripple effects, of missteps that weren’t wasted, and of family roots. Vann’s writing voice draws you in from the very beginning, easily getting you invested in Melanie’s career and her trip to Colombia – and then shifting the spotlight to one that’s shared with her mother’s past experiences as a young immigrant to America many years before. And tucked away in this poignant look at a mother and daughter’s respective journeys is a most profound message – What stories have we been missing because we don’t take the time to ask, to research, to dig, to listen? Stories about where we come from, about where the person next to us comes from… stories with the power to change the trajectory of our lives (as the author mentions in her note at the end of the book). I needed that reminder to look for and listen to the stories of the people in my path. How about you?

Alba (aka Melanie’s Abuela / grandmother) deserves her own full review (lol) but I’ll force myself to stop at this: I loved her so very much. She made me laugh, she made me teary, and she quite simply delighted me. Her vibrant spirit, her stubborn will, her resilience, and even the twinkle in her eye reminded me not only of my maternal grandmother (as American as they come) but also of the ‘bonus’ grandmothers God blessed me with as I taught beginner English to immigrants and refugees from all over the world for over ten years in Kentucky. Including precious Olga from Peru who became my abuela in every way but genetics (in fact, my social media handle is a nod to my querida Olga and what she always called me, with an Alba-like twinkle in her eye and the sweetest smile on her face).

Bottom Line: An American Immigrant by Johanna Rojas Vann is fresh and compelling, with layered characters and a vitality that leaps off the pages in bursts of vivid color, lively music and tantalizing aromas. Melanie’s journey to see Colombia through her family’s eyes, to learn her mother’s immigrant story, to find her own purpose, and to somehow share those perspectives with the world touched me deeply, in large part because of my own work with immigrants and refugees. It really resonated with my heart. But even if you don’t have experience or roots in other cultures, there is much to be gleaned from this engaging novel. It’s a story of finding yourself, of finding your roots, and of finding where the two connect. A beautiful novel that you can enjoy just as an entertaining story or let it go deeper and maybe change your own story.

(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book)