Author: Cristina Henriquez
# of Pages: 286 (paperback)
Genre: Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Romance
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Synopsis: When fifteen-year-old Maribel Rivera sustains a terrible injury, the Riveras leave behind a comfortable life in Mexico and risk everything to come to the United States so that Maribel can have the care she needs. Once they arrive, it’s not long before Maribel attracts the attention of Mayor Toro, the son of one of their new neighbors, who sees a kindred spirit in this beautiful, damaged outsider. Their love story sets in motion events that will have profound repercussions for everyone involved.
Review: This book could have been so good.
I loved reading about Maribel's story and learning about her relationship with Mayor. Concentrating on Maribel and her family's life in the United States would have made this a very interesting story that would appeal to both teen and adults.
However, there was point-of-view switching. And while I usually strongly dislike POV switching, it was so much worse in Henriquez books. Henriquez switches between not two people, not three people, but TEN people. "Henríquez seamlessly interweaves the story of these star-crossed lovers, and of the Rivera and Toro families, with the testimonials of men and women who have come to the United States from all over Latin America"? The stories are far from seamless. It took me over a week to finish this book, which is way longer than the two days I had anticipated. Part of the reason why it took me so long was because I was uninterested with the random stories from other characters. It disrupted the flow of the Maribel's story. If Henriquez had cut down the POV to Alma and Mayor, it would have so much better.
If this book wasn't given to me as a gift, and I knew beforehand that there was so much POV switching, I wouldn't have read it. While it's not the worst book I've every read, I still wouldn't highly recommend it.
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