Interesting stories representing the diverse experience of people with connections to Puerto Rico - whether they have roots there but live elsewhere, have always lived there or have come to call it home.

These stories focus on a wide range of topics, one centres on loss and is one of the more relatable stories of the collection. Another sets out an outlandish situation but deals with it in a realistic way. They all question identity and how an individual feels in the wider world.

A solid collection.

My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

<B>I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review</b>: Praise from Yxta Maya Murray? Say no more, send me the file! Very few authors need to worry about getting my attention who have previously gotten hers.

The author's receipt of the inaugural Tomás Rivera Book Prize is quite telling. As this isn't a Prize most of us will have encountered before, I'm going to reproduce the entire explanation offered at the LARB Books site (link is above):
<blockquote>The Tomás Rivera Book Prize is a unique partnership between the Los Angeles Review of Books and UC Riverside. Open to any author writing in English about the Chicanx/Latinx experience, the Rivera Book Prize is committed to the discovery and fostering of extraordinary writing by a first-time or early career author whose work examines the long and varied contributions of Chicanx/Latinx in the US. The Rivera Book Prize aims to provide a platform that showcases the emerging literary talent of the Chicanx/Latinx community, to cultivate the next generation of Chicanx/Latinx writers, and to continue the rich literary memory of Tomás Rivera, Chicano author, poet, activist, and educator. Known for his seminal collection of stories, …and the Earth Did Not Devour Him, Rivera was the first Latino Chancellor of the UC system and a champion of higher education and social justice. The Rivera Book Prize honors his legacy and his belief in the power of education, activism, and stories to change lives.</blockquote>
Very worthy goals, ones I'm happy to support. And as a big bonus, I found it easy and fun to do so here.

The story-by-story summaries live at my blog.

I honestly know nothing about Puerto Rico, so really loved the deep sense of place that threaded through these stories, even the ones set in the diaspora. It definitely made me keen to check out longer form work by the author.

Although some of the stories were a bit weird, I guess it's to be expected from short form!

Thansk to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC copy.