Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of America, Let Me In.

I have personal immigration stories within my own family (many people do) so the title immediately caught my eye.

I wasn't sure what to expect but I remember the Choose Your Own Adventure books when I was young. I didn't like them but I didn't dislike them. because I usually ended up getting eaten by a gator or kidnapped by a dragon.

I made a few choices which ironically ended quickly and pretty well, but I still learned quite a bit of the arduous process on how to immigrate to the US.

The writing is funny and silly, it's supposed to be, and I liked how the author didn't take himself too seriously, though the forms and steps an immigrant does take is real and serious.

Read this for a laugh.

It is funny, but the author does note the immigration process is a long, tedious process for many and it's no laughing matter for those who seek the American Dream.

4 stars- I wasn't quite sure what to expect of this book from the description--I think I thought it would be more of a memoir with context on how our immigration system in the US works. That's not what it is though--it's a choose your own adventure book, like the kids series, but with characters going through the US immigration process.

The book is clever and interesting, and the details and stories that Medina creates show the maddening bureaucracy and arbitrary rules that qualified immigrants have to navigate to get through to live in the US. I do a lot of work with immigration processes with my job and I still learned quite a bit from the book. Medina also highlights Melania Trump's immigration experience and makes a lot of comments about the Trump administration and Elon Musk that I thought would be funny if they weren't so troubling.

Overall I enjoyed the book, it's about an important topic in a lighthearted way and I'm still ready for that memoir when Medina wants to write it.

Caveats:

This is not a great book to read on ebook because of the flipping around. I'd recommend buying a physical copy.

Medina is very clear that he does not include information about the experience for people who are not privileged with an obvious legal route to immigrate, because this is a comedy book and that experience isn't at all funny.

Thanks to Abrams and Net Galley for my advance review copy.

A hilarious, informative book with an ingenious structure. Felipe Torres Medina’s AMERICA LET ME IN straight up educates the reader on the byzantine American immigration system while making you laugh so hard you barely notice you now know the difference between an O-1A and an O-1B visa. Playful and weighty at the same time, this is required reading if you love comedy and hate filling out online forms.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! As an avid fan of TLWSC, Felipe was put on my radar when he became one of the writers for the show, because as a Latina who wants to work in comedy, I love seeing other Latinos succeed.

This book is really funny and explains the immigrant experience in a way that those who would never need to be familiar with it (i.e. white people) can understand the hoops that people jump through just so that they can come to this country.

Thank you, Abrams, for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I just finished America, Let Me In: A Choose Your Immigration Story, by Felipe Torres Medina.

This author is a writer for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, for which he has gotten five Emmy nominations.

This book is a satire on the immigration process. Unfortunately, I did not find it funny or entertaining at all.

I give this book an F.

Goodreads and NetGalley require grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, an F equates to 1 star. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).

This review has been posted at NetGalley, Goodreads and my blog, Mr. Book’s Book Reviews

I finished reading this on November 6, 2024.