Solito

Solito, Javier Zamora

★★★½☆

Truly a harrowing story (with a good ending), but to be honest it got somewhat repetitive. And a significant chunk of the conversation was written in half-Spanish/half-English, so getting out Google Translate for every page got a little old…

Goodreads: Javier Zamora’s adventure is a 3,000 journey from his small town in El Salvador, through Guatemala and Mexico, and across the US border. He will leave behind his beloved aunt and grandparents to reunite with a mother who left four years ago and a father he barely remembers. Traveling alone amid a group of strangers and a “coyote” hired to lead them to safety, Javier expects his trip to last two short weeks.

At nine years old, all Javier can imagine is rushing into his parents’ arms, snuggling in bed between them, and living under the same roof again. He cannot foresee the perilous boat trips, relentless desert treks, pointed guns, arrests and deceptions that await him; nor can he know that those two weeks will expand into two life-altering months alongside fellow migrants who will come to encircle him like an unexpected family.

A memoir as gripping as it is moving, Solito provides an immediate and intimate account not only of a treacherous and near-impossible journey, but also of the miraculous kindness and love delivered at the most unexpected moments. Solito is Javier Zamora’s story, but it’s also the story of millions of others who had no choice but to leave home.