Lucky Boy

It is no surprise that Shanthi Sekaron's novel is about a boy. Ignacio El Viento Castro Valdez is indeed a lucky boy, because he is deeply loved. His birth mother is Solimar, a young woman who discovered her pregnancy after she traveled--illegally--across the border into the U.S. from Mexico. Her trip was not without its horrors, those dangers and traumas that unaccompanied young women are often forced to face. But she makes a life for herself and her son, living with her cousin Silvia and serving as a housekeeper and nanny to a well-to-do family in Berkeley, CA. She fiercely loves her baby, whom she calls Nacho, and he accompanies her everywhere.

Several blocks away from the street where Soli works, Rishi and Kavya, a young couple whose both sets of parents emigrated from India, struggle to have a child of their own. Having tried everything they can emotionally and financially afford, to no avail, they decide to turn to adoption. They enroll in foster parent training, and then are given the opportunity to foster a child, which could perhaps lead to adoption.

Even though readers can easily anticipate the juncture at which Soli's and Kavya's paths will cross, it is still painful and heart-breaking to see it happen. A simple traffic stop turns Soli's life upside down, as she is sentenced to a detention center and prepared for deportation. Nacho, whom Kavya and Rishi come to call Iggy, meets a second Mama who loves him nearly as deeply as Soli does.

This is a wonderful story that explores complicated issues of love and belonging in the framework of the current state of immigration policies in the U.S. Highly recommended!

--review by Kelly Currie

Little Fires Everywhere

I don't give too many five-star reviews, but this one from Celeste Ng earned a very definite five stars from me on Goodreads. Little Fires Everywhere is something special. And the title fits perfectly, both literally and figuratively. Life in Shaker Heights for the families at the heart of this story is a series of little fires that start small and then join and grow to consume their lives. Like a fire's "multiple points of origin," each character contributes to the conflagration in his or her own way. The Richardson family is one of the wealthy scions--and longtime residents--of the Shaker Heights community. Mia Warren and her daughter Pearl live a very different lifestyle, a nomadic life, a path that leads them to Shaker Heights and a rental property owned by the Richardsons. Ng has a way of simply and clearly describing each of these characters in such a way that you feel connected intimately to the story. There are no villains or heroes, just ordinary people. And having an overall view of the goings-on enables you to see the disaster as it builds and entangles them. And there is not just one heart of the story. Ng deftly weaves in the complex topics of art and photography, cross-cultural adoption, teenage pregnancy, poverty, wealth, parenting...and big life choices. A stellar book with fascinating characters and a potent storyline. Highly recommended.

Kelly Currie