Given the tumultuous period in which many of us Americans find ourselves (again), I was eager to read Jiménez’s memoir, if only to gain a bit of insight into the undocumented immigrant experience. As a daughter of an immigrant who thankfully naturalized decades prior to the uncertainty of the current immigration policies, I cannot understand what the undocumented immigrants in our country have endured. Thus, Jiménez’s story, along with others, is one I am seeking to read in order to better educate myself on the topic and not just rely on my surface-level knowledge via the news. To this end, Dreaming of Home does a superb job of providing the reader with not only an overview of our country’s history with respect to immigration, but also the minutiae of the legislation, social justice work, opinions of many of our elected leaders, and the hardships experienced by those who are/were undocumented.

That said, the memoir read more like a textbook than a retelling of Christina Jiménez’s life up to this point. While she discussed her joy, her fears, her frustration, and at times, her grief, her writing style did not evoke much of an emotional response from me. Perhaps it was because I was too focused on keeping track of which organization and which movement she was referencing at any given moment. There were probably close to 100 mentioned (or so it felt), many in quick succession. In addition, Jimenez only included a few pieces of dialogue and true interactions in the memoir. Rather, almost everything was described, which made the reading experience a bit laborious and drawn out for me. Thus, my enthusiasm waned periodically, with my goal becoming simply to get through the book.

Thank you for the ARC, NetGalley! Writing style fluctuates from informal to scholarly, and story ranges from about the author to about many, many others in the movement. Appreciate how the author calls out the shitty behavior of both republicans and democrats alike. Overall a compelling story about a sadly still VERY relevant topic. #istandwithdreamers

Timely and authentic and full of exceptional writing! I enjoyed this title very much. I was fascinated about how and why people come to America and what actually happens to them when they arrive. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I'm building a small collection for a private bookstore pop-up, and I'm recommending this for a section on belonging, with a focus on marginalized creators. Very grateful to have titles that expand the diversity of offerings! Also appreciative to have a title that offering such insight (in relatively little book-space) into immigration in the US given all recent developments. Thanks for making this available.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this book!

What a good book! I really enjoyed this book and had such a hard time putting it down. I enjoyed the writing style. The characters worked so well together and the plot was great.