The Book of Unknown Americans

In this latest from the author of The World in Half, the Mexican Rivera family moves to Delaware so that their brain-damaged daughter, Maribel, can attend a special school. Sharing the same neighborhood is the Panamanian Toro family, whose younger son, Mayor, becomes enamored of Maribel. As the bulk of the narrative shifts between Alma, Maribel's mother, and Mayor, the story unwinds into a Romeo and Juliet reenactment, with both families opposing the relationship, and tragedy the unexpected result. Henríquez does a spectacular job of creating highly believable characters and poignant scenarios: the guilt that wracks Alma because of the accident that rendered Maribel mentally disabled, the social and educational frustrations of a challenged adolescent, Mayor's budding teenage psyche, the inconsolable grief upon suddenly losing a spouse, and, above all, the experience of adjusting to a new culture and way of life. Regularly inserted is a series of testimonials by other participants, which, though thematically important, interrupts the story's otherwise smooth flow.