Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for providing me this Digital Advanced Readers Copy of the book!

Such a fascinating story about the Panama Canal that was built in the early 1900s, which helped shape the world we live in today. I love historical fiction, and the bold characters and descriptive writing were the standouts.

*many thanks to Ecco and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

The Great Divide is the newest book by Cristina Henriquez. The setting is 1907 and the background is the building of the Panama Canal. I say background because the novel gives the reader just enough about the canal to encourage additional research but the canal is not really central to the novel.

I enjoyed this book but it was tough to pick up and read in bits because of the various characters and interactions. It's best read in a few settings where you can settle in with it.

All in all a well-done book about an interesting time and there are many sub-themes that will appeal to many readers.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of The Great Divide in exchange for an honest opinion. This book is available now.

For me the title of this book turned out to be rather apt and fitting, while this book is populated by various interesting characters, their stories were too divided for me to feel like a single cohesive storyline, perhaps that was the point, The book gave enough of a flavor for me to understand the racial and social issues in Panama at the time, and the deepest divide between the characters that came mostly from the oppressed: thr native Panameans, the African descended Barbadoseians, and the White Americans that came in and ok over as they did for many other nations, But I guess at the end of the day, I need my characters to connect o each other in a tangible way and I just didn't feel that.

I wanted to like this book more than I did, but it bounced around from character to character too much for me to feel truly invested in any one story. While it wasn't necessarily confusing for this reason, you never spent enough time with one individual to feel particularly curious in how things turned out for them. I love a book that makes me feel really emotionally invested, and I did not feel that way about The Great Divide. It almost seemed as if a series of interconnected short stories would have worked better as a format. I also was disappointed that the author didn't include an author's note at the end, indicating some of her findings during her research. She states she spent years researching the Panama Canal in her acknowledgements, and I would have loved to learn briefly about some of what she discovered. Historical fiction authors are increasingly adding an author's note to the end to help readers determine how much of what they read was true, and to peak and at the same time sate their interest in the topic. Were any of these characters real people, or based off living individuals? Without that, I felt I had more questions than answers when the novel was over.

On the positive side, Henriquez excels at showing various divides - between individuals, groups of people, countries, races, and more. She does a good job showing the turmoil, both amongst various groups and within individuals, that the building of the Panama Canal created. Overall, for me this book was just OK, although I did like the premise and setting.

I picked this book up because I loved the cover and was interested in learning more about the characters in the book.
This book was also a Read with Jenna pick!
Highly recommended for fans of Marie Benedict.

Set against the monumental backdrop of the Panama Canal construction in 1907, this novel offers a vivid glimpse into a transformative historical event. The narrative follows diverse characters drawn to Panama for various reasons: a brave teenage girl from Barbados seeking to earn money for her sister’s surgery, a determined American man and his wife on a mission to eradicate malaria, and a lonely Panamanian boy yearning for connection. The story masterfully intertwines their journeys, illustrating how their lives intersect and transform amidst the grand endeavor.

Cristina Henriquez excels in crafting relatable and compelling character studies, making the historical setting come alive through their personal stories. This focus on individual experiences enriches the novel, making it not only a captivating piece of historical fiction but also a profound exploration of human resilience and connection. This novel is a must-read for fans of character-driven historical fiction. I am grateful to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC which I read in exchange for my honest review.

3.75⭐ on 🎧

An important story to understand the impact of building the Panama Canal, so crucial to global supply chains today, that made me curious to pick this one up. However, the wandering character narrative hindered the story and I wish there had been more of a driving plot to this story centered on Panamanian protests of the canal building.

Historical fiction is great - one of my favorite genres. Learning about the history of the Panama Canal is what intrigued me about this book. I appreciate learning new things!

I appreciate the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a review.

A gripping work of historical fiction depicting the construction of the Panama Canal and the gravity of the human toll.

This was such a unique and interesting story and setting. I don’t think I have read another book set in Panama, and certainly not about the building of the Canal. This is very character-focused, so it’s not a great history lesson on the Canal, but there is enough information to pique interest. I certainly know more about it than I did before I read the book! I loved each of the characters’ stories and how compelling they were and how they all intersected. There were big themes in the book about love, home, family, racism, work, and more. They were all ably addressed with micro-looks at these individuals’ lives. I would definitely recommend this one!

Thank you to the publisher - I received a complimentary eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Set in Panama during the building of the Panama Canal, THE GREAT DIVIDE is a story of people affected by the construction - a fisherman and his son, a town that was displaced, a young girl from Barbados who has come to earn money for her sister’s surgery, a doctor and his wife, etc.

I picked this book up thinking it would be historical fiction about the canal and was disappointed to find it was only a background story. The characters are loosely tied together but I didn’t find any of them to be particularly well developed so I wasn’t attached to any of them. I set this book aside at one point because I found it so slow. I did think the pace picked up some but not enough for me. This is a Read with Jenna pick so most people have enjoyed it more than I did.

I appreciated the historical aspect of this novel because it introduced me to history that I know very little about. However, this book would have been more enjoyable if there had been less character storylines to follow. I frequently struggled to keep track of each of the characters and I started skimming through some of their sections.

There were two families that I was really interested in, Ada's family and Omar's family. They would have made for an amazing story if it had been fully developed. I loved how their storylines progressed throughout the book.

I really tried to like this book but unfortunately after reading 30+% I still wasn’t caught up. It just moved too slowly for me.

I was immediately drawn in by the cover of this book - stunning! And I was thrilled for a chance to learn about the history of Panama and the Panama Canal. I do feel like I learned a lot and I’m excited to do further research. However, getting through this book felt similar to all of the characters waiting for the rain to stop - it. Just. Kept. Going. It wasn’t bad and I didn’t dislike the story, but with the large number of characters and few events, the plot didn’t push the story forward. It was a solid three star read for me and I would still recommend it to others, but I wish we had gone deeper into the story with just a couple of the very lovable characters the author built. Thanks to NetGalley for the arc!

This one ended up being a a DNF for me. I just couldn't get into the story. However the story itself was well researched and written it just wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Publishing for an Advanced Copy of The Great Divide. I was excited to read this story as I found the subject matter, the construction of the Panama Canal and the stories of those that surrounded the historic event, very interesting. The story is well written, but for me, there were WAY too many characters to keep track of. The story doesn't seem to develop and each chapter does not move the story forward. I made it about 60% of the way through the story before I couldn't muster the interest to keep going.

The cover is absolutely *chef's kiss*. The topic was also incredibly interesting, but the writing didn't draw me in as much as I wanted it to.

I have always wanted to travel down the Panama Canal and this book made it even more interesting for Mme! Told from the point of view of varuious narrators who all have a diffenert stake in annd reaction to the Canal it reminds us that for every action there is a reaction-big or small.I did feel as though the charatcers were less developed thanin her other books and I wannted more from all of them to help me connect to their stories-not just the story of the canal. However, as always her writing is beautiful and evokes both feelinngs and thoughtfulness in her readers.

A beautiful and heart-breaking story set around the construction of the Panama Canal. Henriquez weaves a tapestry from several different characters' perspectives, which reminded me somewhat of her previous work, The Book of Unknown Americans. Like that work, this book gave me a greater perspective on the impact of this historical construction project and how it affected the people in Panama. It's a difficult read as far as subject matter, but the writing is lyrical, moving, and intelligent. Highly recommend to fans of historical fiction.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy in exchange for my honest review!