Mexican juvenile delinquent meets an American-Russian immigrant.
353310
Mara's dialogue was snarky, witty, and intelligent. The Delivery was a forbidden romance between a client and a social worker. Mozey was an eighteen year old Mexican juvenile delinquent and Lana was a twenty-five year old American-Russian immigrant.
Lana maintained professionalism with her clients always focusing on helping them succeed until Mozey. Mozey was the forbidden fruit that tempted her from the moment she looked at his case file. She tried to adhere to her rules, procedures, and boundaries to protect herself from the temptations he caused to her libido.

Mozey was an artist that painted murals on buildings. He was from Mexico living in Detroit. Mozey was a complex character that had a horrific past that carved his future.

For me their were too many road blocks between Mozey and Lana. Lana's character had too many excuses for pushing him away. Lana struggled with her feelings for Mozey deflecting it was unprofessional to have a relationship with him. Then it was the age difference. But mostly it was her fear. She was confused and unfamiliar with this type of attraction. Lana did not trust in love easily. Maybe it was her heritage or being immigrated to the US at a young age. I could not figure it out nor did I really care. Lana struggled to assimilate with others when she first immigrated causing her to have trouble forming friendships.

Lana's character was beyond frustrating. One minute she was delving out excuses why she could not be with Mozey and the next she was scrambling to locate him. Lana's character was a perpetual worrier. Whether she worried about her job, her parents, Mozey, or her image.

I grew tired of her constantly labeling Mozey as a juvenile delinquent. Yes he was young and yes he got in trouble with the law but had talent that was illustrated in those murals.
Lana's like those shoppers who have buyers remorse after spending money on products they don't need. Lana fantasized about sex with Mozey yet when he was present she had her doubts and the guilt stepped in.

Mara created two cultural characters showing both the Mexican and Russian heritage. The connection felt forced trying to mix races creating an unconventional romance. Mara achieved unconventional. I just did not feel the connection regardless of race.
Mara created some fond and memorable scenes with the characters but they were few and far between.
Lana's character battled between insecure and secure. She was secure in her career choices but very insecure about herself as an immigrant.
Where does all this fear and hesitation stem from, in Lana? If anything it should have been Mozey who had fear and hesitation given the way he came into the US.

In a crazy and weird way Mara drummed up some bizarre circumstances to test the love of these two characters. This story had too many loop holes. I had issues with the transitions.
803715
What makes it so much fun is the young cow poke falling for the young vulnerable Mex gal on her own.  He is so naive he doesnt know how to think about their friendship.  Anyway, the adventure they go on south of the border against banditos is not only convincing but has the ring of a true story.  Nicely told!!
1733357
This suspense thriller about the hazardous journey that a woman and her young son make to the U.S. from Mexico is as riveting and suspenseful as it is shocking, to anyone not familiar with illegal immigration issues along the border.

The novel centers around trial lawyer Jimmy Payne, whose life, marriage, and career has spiralled downward after the death of his teenage son Adam in a car accident caused by a drunken worker from Mexico, Manuel Garcia. The accident weighs on Payne's mind as something he could have prevented. He hits bottom low after he keeps some of the bribe money in a sting operation to expose a crooked L.A. judge. The judge, exposed as corrupt, commits suicide, and fellow lawyers start shaking their heads at Payne's folly.

Payne decides to take a new turn in his life. He drives to Mexico to find Garcia, the man who killed his son. In reality, he heads to Mexico to help a precocious and gutsy 12-year-old Mexican boy find his mother, Marisol, who was separated from the boy during their long trip to the U.S.

The boy, Tino, had sought Jimmy out in L.A. as someone famous and sympathetic, someone who had successfully defended several illegal immigrants who had survived a notorious border crossing some time back.

The trip to Mexico to trace the route taken by Marisol reveals the hazards she faced trying to reach the U.S., and the new dangers after she arrived. Called pollos, chickens, by the coyotes - men who sneak the illegals into the U.S. - Marisol and others were at the mercy of ruthless people traffickers, drug smugglers, and people running safe houses for illegals in transit from Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, and other Central American countries.

Marisol's journey leads Payne and Tio to safehouses both in Mexico and in the U.S. and finally to a ranch and farm in the San Joaquin Valley. The book is a thriller with no holds barred. It reads like stark realism and has graphic violence, against men and women, but the book 's harsh reality depicts the journeys as full of danger, despair, and death, even for some who make it across the border.

The novel also shows Payne resolving his personal problems and finding purpose in his life. Well worth reading! I recommend the book for anyone interested in the plight of Mexican nationals seeking to enter the U.S.

Thanks to the author/publisher for an opportunity to review this book.
2197606
This is the life of Domingo Martinez, who somehow made it out of the barrio and all the cultural paradymes that were ingrained in him and all his siblings and friends.  One worries that while he has escaped to higher education and Seattle, will he ever really be free of his sadistic father and grandmother.  It is a riveting story of one boy's ability to embrace all the culture of growing up a poor low class Mexican and all that includes and yet, somehow with the intellect to know there was more, being able to reach for more.  This was a real page turner.
3413416
During the decade of 1910-20, tensions between Mexico and the United States over incidents relating to Pancho Villa's threat to Mexico's president Venustiano Carranza and U. S. incursions into Mexico led by General John Pershing had become so tense that the "situation was not dissimilar to that of Jewish settlers in the West Bank"; with the small number of white Texans along the border being compared to the Jewish settlers surrounded by a much greater number of resentful Palestinians. In this situation, the Texas governors of this decade--Colquitt, Ferguson, and Hobby--used the Texas Rangers to protect Texas citizens and combat the tactics of Mexicans directed by Carranza and in some cases acting as vigilantes. The unique and in ways controversial activities of the Texas Rangers in this complex, volatile, and fluid situation is the subject the authors hone in on. Harris and Sadler, both former professors at New Mexico State U., bring to light little-known dimensions of the historical events, which continue to affect relationships and feelings between the white Texans and Hispanics in the area. There was much lawlessness on both sides. Mexican Army troops dressed as civilians crossed the border to raid Texas communities. After Texas Rangers executed two Mexican agitators after taking them by force from the F.B.I., the U. S. Attorney General issued an order that all prisoners henceforth be held by the U. S. Army. The situation was especially complicated not only because of points of opposition between Texas and the U. S. Federal Government, but also because of Mexican president Carranza's desire for recognition by the U. S. while trying at the same time to stand up to it. While concentrating on the unique role of the Rangers in this complex historical situation, Harris and Sadler also construct the context in which their activities took place.
1693354
Great read if you are the descendant of 1 or more immigrants.
1825971
The master Mexican story teller has assembled stories of interconnected lives on the on the Tex-Mex border. The stories are loosely interconnected in that a few characters appear in more than one story and most have some connection to a Mexican Master of the Universe -- a multimillionaire mover and shaker who can make and break lives. We learn a lot about the politics, economics and sociology of the US-Mexican interrelationship, to the point where at times the lesson seems a bit heavy-handed and the story suffers  a kind of  before we go on, Im going to explain the bracero program to you.

But we get some good stories. The Mexican Donald Trump character entices a beautiful woman to marry his socially inept son, whom he genuinely loves, and yet he thinks nothing of keeping her for his mistress as well. Obviously the rules don't apply to him. One poignant moment that sticks with me is when a Mexican window washer flirts through the glass with a beautiful gringa lawyer and she writes her name in lipstick on the window Audrey, and he writes Mexican and walks away. There are stories about the perils of the border crossing, the life of women in the maquiladoras (border factories), and the special burden of being a Mexican-American if you are a US border guard (gonna let all your friends and relatives slip through, aren't you?) A young gay Mexican man lives with a very Republican American family while at Cornell and the mother of the family never refers to their guest as Mexican because she is afraid of offending him. The young man has a heartbreaking relationship with an American man. Good stories.
3778944
This fast-paced story sees challenges with Russians, plutonium and international criminals. What more could you want? Jenny gang adds a junior member. The quirky characters and their acceptance of each other is the glue that binds the whole story together. It's entertaining give it a try.
961896
This is a must read book for those who don't believe immigrants add anything to the United States.

Mexicans and Central Americans cross this desert to try to make a better life for themselves. They often die in the desert due to lack of water. When they make it to America, they work jobs that no American would work, like picking agricultural products. They receive little of the American pie since they live in cramped apartments, yet many Americans believe they siphon off valuable social services. This book details the hazardous journey to the American dream of seven day work weeks at little pay to provide Americans with cheap food. The men seek employment to provide a better life for their families at home. They die in the deserts by the hundreds with little mention in the news. The author details the hazardous journey to a better life. The book contains grim photos of the dead entombed in the American desert.

For those who hate what immigrants bring to America, they should read this book and understand the risks these people go to find a better life.
442994
The generations of Russian Jewish families' lives were entwined.  Much hope for the move to the United Sates followed by the reality of fitting in and finding profitable employment.  Real life names were used for some individuals.  Perseverance and  success was possible in many cases.
2615293
Touching story of an immigrants struggle to forge a new life in the United States
1968803
It's nice to read about present time middle class teenagers living in Mexico City and their perspective towards the people outside the Mexican Nation's capital.
3082725
It's difficult to find a good book that explores the tensions in the nation's heartland fueled by both legal and illegal immigration, but I think Craig McDonald has aced it in "El Gavilan" , a novel that the author has said was inspired by true events,

New Austin is a fictional south central Ohio town that is roiling in the clash of cultures between Latinos and Anglos. Horton County Sheriff Able Hawk (Hawk is "gavilan" in Spanish) is a complex character who is Joe Arpaio  -- the controversial sheriff of Maricopa County Arizona, the greater Phoenix area -- tough on gangs and illegal immigrants from Mexico and Central America. He blogs about illegal immigrants and sends bills to the federal government for reimbursement of expenses incurred when illegals are jailed. But the widowed Hawk is fiercely protective of the county's legal immigrants of Hispanic origin.

When Ohio native and former California based Border Patrol officer Tell Lyon arrives in New Austin as the city's newly appointed police chief, the two dance briefly around in a macho display but soon agree to cooperate in law enforcement in the county, if only because the corrupt sheriff in neighboring Vale County  make cooperation mandatory. Tell got his name from a character, Tell Sackett, by Louis L'Amour, a writer his dad loved.

Lyon, a fluent Spanish speaker, quickly gains the trust of most of the county's Hispanic community, and is dubbed "El Leon" -- the lion. His Mexican-American California-born wife and their daughter were murdered by Mexican criminals and Lyon is still mourning their deaths in a house-firebombing when he meets lovely Patricia Maldonado, 15 years younger, ambitious for education and the daughter of the couple, Kathleen and Augustin, who run the county's best Mexican restaurant. Tension increases when Patricia ends her brief but torrid relationship with Shawn O'Hara, editor of the town's weekly newspaper.

The novel toggles back and forth with "Now" and "Then" chapters, providing context for the events. For instance, we learn how Thalia Ruiz, a New Austin resident and a widow with a young daughter after her husband died in a propane gas explosion, fared in the deadly journey from her home in Mexico to "El Norte" the now greatly diminished promised land for Latinos.  When the now grown up Thalia is brutally raped and murdered and her body dumped near a sports field close to the county line, Able "El Gavilan" Hawk is faced with a jurisdictional dilemma when the corrupt and brutal sheriff of adjoining Vale County, Walt Pierce, says the body is in his county. Thalia was one of the Hispanics under Able Hawk's protection and he vows to bring her murderer -- or murderers -- to justice.

Tell Lyon acquires the nickname "Leon" when he gets into a fight with a non-Spanish speaking firefighter during a fatal house fire. He says first responders must learn enough basic Spanish to deal with the town's growing Hispanic community. His influence grows when he translates for New Austin's mayor at a Hispanic fiesta.

"El Gavilan" is a nuanced thriller with very graphic sex scenes and equally graphic violence (I would give it a hard R or a NR if it were a movie, which I'd like to see made from this book). The novel is a reminder that Hispanic immigration -- both legal and illegal -- is a major element in the demographics of the Midwest and other areas far from the nation's southern borders.
4334188
I appreciate the insights I learned in this book.  Thanks to it, I now know that I can never have anything but a superficial relationship with a Mexican person, especially a Mexican man.  I'm stunned by the cultural distances between us.  I don't think they can ever be bridged.  Thank goodness I found this out now and not in some disastrous future scenario when the blame for the inability to communicate is placed on my doorstep.
328990
Mariposa or "Mari", an intelligent, Puerto-Rican fourteen-year old living in San Francisco, aspires to be an MC.  While her parents are going through a divorce, she spends a lot of time alone, writing lyrics that depict her pain and how she sees the world through her eyes.  She becomes attracted to Ezekiel "EZ" Mathews, another aspiring MC, whom she meets at summer camp and who also attends her high school.  The problem is that EZ, being three years older than Mari, refers to her as Lil' Sis instead of what she really wants to be, and that is his girl.

Due to EZ's urging, Mari befriends his younger sister, Sadie. Along with Mari's best friend, Liza and Sadie's best friend, Evita, the girls form an all-girl group called The Sista Hood.  Mari rhymes, Sadie sings, Evita plays keyboards and Liza dances.  The girls learn how to bond through their daily rehearsals for their high school's talent show.  They end up learning so much about each other and mostly how to have each other's backs through the ups-and-downs that are common, and uncommon, to a teenage girl's life.

E-Fierce does an excellent job of illustrating to the reader what life is like for Mariposa, "butterfly" in Spanish.  She touches on issues that any teenage girl growing up in an urban city would witness - divorce, a parent's alcoholism, homosexuality, teen domestic violence, race relations and teen pregnancy.  She also makes an admirable effort to show how Mari and her friends come together to be a support to each other, step-by-step.  Girls reading this novel will be able to gain so much from this book and hopefully apply Mari's learnings to their own life.

This book was written from Mariposa's voice and sometimes she would say things that were not consistent with her voice/language from other parts of the book.  Other than that, I would highly recommend this book to middle and high school girls that struggle with friendship issues.

Lena Willis

APOOO BookClub
2643586
The author has put together an intriguing story here. The horror of illegals crossing from Mexico  into the US is well described. The story is well planned and the characters come to life at various stages throughout the story. One to buy and allow generous time to read as you won't want to put it down.
8876
AUDIO
"The Migrant's" narrator Paul Michael Garcia does a remarkable job with his Irish brogue and Spanish. (With his last name "Garcia," he could very well be Spanish.)

There is much going on in this story with many characters, making it especially difficult in audio with keeping track of who's who.

The Kelley family is Irish. Ethan Kelley while at college studying to be a priest in Boston, receives a letter to serve in the Vietnam War. Angel and Junior also serve in the War.

Victor, Maria, Tina, and Gilbert are Spanish. Tina has a special gift but since they are illegal immigrants and want to avoid the media, their family doesn't stay around any one area long. Especially after Tina's gift has been put to use.

There is much foul language. Revenge. More deaths than births. Bitterness. Murder. Suicide. Love, hate. War.

Lives merge in so many ways, through death and life. These characters become acquainted with folks who bring them joy and with folks who bring them pain. Even death.

Priests, doctors, nurses, orderlies, gang bangers, news reporters, a business mogul. Family, friends. The characters come to life in this story of much detail.

One thing lacking is the aftermath -- the nightmares and daymares associated with Nam.