Like I said above, the words in this story are powerful.  We see a similar issue with Efrén – although presented with fantastic opportunities, he can’t necessarily take them (and possibly elevate his family’s socio-economic status) because he has to stay home and take care of his siblings and family. I read this book after reading Invisible Women by Caroline Perez (review coming soon!) and it discusses how women have “invisible” burdens that can make it difficult for them to take opportunities, even if given to them.It was simply the story of a boy whose mother was deported, and what that experience meant to him and his family. This includes situations where both parents are deported, so the children, who are United States citizens, have to move as well or situations where half of a family lives in the United States and half of a family lives in Mexico. Along with sharing the different impacts this situation could have on a child and his family, we also see characters in different, but similar situations.Because if his mother does manage to make it back home, it can’t be common knowledge that she’s in the United States illegally. And he couldn’t tell any of his friends, teachers, and other family friends of the situation and rely on them for support. It also highlights how emotionally difficult it can be for a child in this situation – Efrén could no longer rely on his Amá for emotional support, because she was no longer in the country. For example, we see how distress at home can make it difficult to focus at school, even when school is important to a child. This book addresses so many aspects of the situation.The words and points brought up in this book are powerful and will stick with me for quite a while. The story drew me in and I finished listening to the audiobook in one sitting because I just couldn’t walk away.  Normally I’m not a fan of books that make me cry – but this book made me cry in a good way. This story was well-written and touching. He doesn’t fully understand the gravity and intricacies of the situation. It was really interesting to see this story told from the eyes of a child. Suddenly he needs to take care of his two younger siblings and keep a house together while his father takes on extra jobs to make ends meet and bring his mom back home.  Efrén is a junior high student who finds his life turned upside down when his mother is deported back to Mexico.

Efrén Divided by Ernesto Cisneros

“Dex was a temperamental bag of beaver dung.”īut holy hell, she held a grudge for fucking ever!!!! Once Dex realized he was a douchecanoe, he tried apologizing over and over again and she wouldn’t have it. But you know, something he could get medicine for.” “The snot-faced asshole that I only kind-of, sort-of hoped came down with an infectious illness in his private parts.  I really liked Iris’s inner thoughts about the dickish Dex when she met him and overheard him saying some not-so-nice things. But I am in my late 40s, maybe that’s why. Now it sounds like I hated it, right? I didn’t! I enjoyed a lot of it, it just all felt so….immature. It’s like every popular theme was rolled into one book. It really dragged for me at times.Īnd there were too many common themes competing with each other. Kristen Ashley is also highly descriptive and it works for her, in Under Locke, it felt like too much unnecessary detail and not enough story. While the main characters I think are mid twenties and early thirties, it felt like they were much, much younger, and the narration, while good, sounded crazy young too. The thing I love about Kristen Ashley is the maturity of her stories, and to me, Under Locke felt like a young adult/new adult attempt at a KA book. It’s been compared to Kristen Ashley a lot. I don’t mean to be snarky, I just found this to read like a YA book. Her loser deadbeat dad was in the MC, so she grew up around it, yet somehow she is in her 20s, sweet and innocent and doesn’t curse, doesn’t know how gorgeous she is and yup….she’s a virgin. She left a really bad life behind and needs a new start. Iris (‘Ritz’) just moved from Florida to Austin to live with her half brother. They are in a club, but never at a club, they run a tattoo shop.  But Under Locke didn’t really have the grittiness, nor was it really an MC book.  I do like the grittiness of most MC books I have read though, they are a nice break from the plethora of romcoms out now.  I don’t mind them, but some do run together a bit in my head. I have read and loved a few MC series, but feel like the 3-4 series have read are enough. So when I saw this was out in audio (16+ hours!), I grabbed it. But at over 800 pages, this wasn’t a book I could just squeeze in. Under Locke by Mariana Zapata has been on my radar since it released. Under Locke by Mariana Zapata Narrated by Callie Dalton Standalone New Adult Romance

Leviathan falls audio book