The Book of Unknown Americans * Cristina Henríquez

Leaving behind a comfortable life in Mexico after their fifteen-year-old daughter suffers a severe injury, a devoted couple moves to an apartment complex in Delaware in hopes of finding specialized care where their daughter's tender romance with a Panamanian neighbor's son brings two families and a vibrant community of immigrants together.

The Story. Written by acclaimed American author Cristina Henríquez, this moving novel offers an intimate, chorus-like portrait of hope, sacrifice, and belonging in modern America. Settling into a modest apartment building in Newark, Delaware, Arturo and Alma Rivera work long hours while supporting their daughter Maribel's recovery. When Mayor Toro, the quiet teenage son of Panamanian neighbors Rafael and Celia, meets Maribel, a sweet and genuine bond blossoms between them. Interwoven with the Rivera and Toro families' daily lives are the heartfelt first-person testimonials of neighbors from across Latin America, including Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, sharing what brought them north and what they left behind. Recognized as a New York Times Notable Book and a Dayton Literary Peace Prize finalist, this novel brings warmth, empathy, and humanity to everyday stories of family devotion.

Perfect For. Book clubs and contemporary literary fiction readers who enjoy compassionate, multi-voiced family stories alongside Cristina Henríquez's The Great Divide and The World in Half, Julia Alvarez's In the Time of the Butterflies or How the García Girls Lost Their Accents, Reyna Grande's The Distance Between Us, or Jeanine Cummins's American Dirt.

Dayton Literary Peace Prize Nominee for Fiction (2015), Andrew Carnegie Medal Nominee for Fiction (2015), Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Fiction (2014).

First published 2014; this edition 2015 by Vintage Contemporaries.

Literary & Contemporary Fiction /  Immigrant Experience & Family Sagas / Latin American & US-Latino Literature / Coming-of-Age & Young Love / Multi-Perspective Novels / Book Club Favorites