Welcome to Litsy!

Think of this book as the story of an empath on steroids, brought on forcibly by the government. When two young sisters enter America seeking asylum, they are denied but given a very different kind of pathway to citizenship. This story brought to my mind the real American history of coercion, ‘medical‘ experiments, forced sterilization of BIPOC.

I love going into books not knowing anything about the story. This story is about two girls who enter the United States illegally trying to seek asylum. They get caught and are held while it‘s decided if they will get asylum or not. The girls escape and that is where the story really begins. I listened to the audiobook which I really enjoyed. 4*

To gain asylum for her and her sister, Marisol agrees to an experimental trial where the grief and trauma of someone else is passed to her. I thought this book was purely a commentary on the trails & treatment of immigrants in the US, but then it turned into a statement on persecution of queer people as well. I liked this book and the story, but I felt like it switched between the 2 without really tying together. Definitely still a very good book

CW: grief, trauma, homophobia, sexual trauma, violence
Wow this book is so spectacular, I can‘t believe I haven‘t heard more people talk about it. Easily one of my favorite reads of 2021. Queer science fiction love story.

In order to get US refugee status for her and her sister, Marisol agrees to be part of an experiment with a device that transfers grief and trauma from one person to a surogate. I enjoyed this read quite a bit. I thought the concept of transferring grief & trauma from one person to another was an interesting, troubling, concept and was well executed. It was stressful seeing Marisol trapped by unethical practices targeting vulnerable populations!

Based on the summary I thought this was going to be more supernatural — unfortunately it wasn‘t. The story was okay, but because I was expecting something else I ended up a little disappointed. So I don‘t get AS many points, but it still helps me for bingo and my team!

5 + 50 (five hours reading for #BookSpinBingo )
+ 15 for three episodes of Halloween themed viewing cartoons

71 points #TeamHarkness #Scarathlon2020

I am Puerto Rican. For those of you who don‘t know, for decades the United States‘s Eugenics Board performed forced sterilizations (without the women‘s knowledge or consent) on about a third of our female population that was of childbearing age.

I can‘t right now with the plot of this one which so far involves a 17-year-old asylum seeker tricked into being part of a shady government experiment in exchange for asylum.

today on the blog we offering some recommendations of books we've read and that Latinx reader friends babe confirmed for us are true to their experience and culture.

https://stuckinthestacks.com/2020/01/23/themed-thursdays-awesome-books-by-latinx...

Please consider these books instead of American Dirt and remember that just because you don't understand another's experience, doesn't mean you stop listening. - Haley and Emily ❤

Alex Villasante has written a beautiful book. I‘ll remember this one for a long time ♥️♥️

17 yr old Marisol Morales and her 12 yr old sister Gabi have been caught crossing the border looking for Asylum in the U.S. and the only way to get asylum is if Marisol participated in a study helping people deal with their PTSD.

There is SO much I want to say about this book but don‘t have enough space. Such an impactful story, written with great characters and the author did an amazing job shooting the contrast between Marisol‘s life and Rey‘s.

Yay! The Grief Keeper arrived with awesome swag! Thank you to the ladies over @latinxathon for the giveaway! So looking forward to next week! #latinxathon #latinxLitTakeOver

The new books I‘ve gotten in the last week.

I found the amazing graphic novel edition of Speak at Powell‘s last week. I love the artist since I saw her work in Through the Woods.

I preorder The Grief Keeper as soon as I saw @kamoorephoto review of it. Thanks for sharing!

And Emergency Contact was delivered today! I‘ve seen such great things about it on litsy.

#litsylove #bookhaul #newbooks #blameitonlitsy

Isn‘t it great when you forget you preorder a book and then come home to a package from amazon and it‘s a book!

#bookmail

4/5?
This was beautiful written. So vivid and realistic. The characters were well developed. I enjoyed the sisters relationship. Having a sister myself I related to them. And the LGTBQIA romance was well done too. The concept of a "greif keeper" and ridding people of their sadness was so interesting! Really the whole story was very engrossing.
Available on Tuesday June 11th!
#bookreview #ya

This book is blowing me away.
17-year old Marisol and her younger sister Gabi have crossed the U.S. border illegally, fleeing a life in El Salvador where they were frightened for their lives and their brother had just been murdered. Marisol‘s asylum request is denied but she soon is asked to become a ‘grief keeper,‘ and this is where a story about the complexities of immigration, grief, and sexual orientation really comes alive.
#LGBTQ #yalit