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highly recommended |
Excellent book 
This was an excellent book, full of unsparing detail and sharp images. The two stories coincide and cross in a surprisingly possible way, with haunting twists and turns. After just reading Enrique's Journey, the crossing to El Otro Lado in this book reiterated the inhumanity of the border situation for me. A riveting book. Highly recommended.
A good read! 
This book was selected for One Region, One Book in Southeastern Connecticut, where I used to live. That is how I became interested.
The novel has a cross-generational appeal and speaks to issues of our day. It effectively combines family history with the controversial subject of immigration reform. It is full of poignant drama, class and racial tensions and a heartwarming story of hope amidst despair. I would recommend it without reservation, both as a good read and an appeal to practice the golden rule!!
How I love to find a "sleeper"
I don't remember how this made it into my shopping cart, but am I glad it did. This was one of the best debut novels I have read in a while. It kept my interest from the very first page. It was beautifully written - with some well developed characters and realistic dialogue. You could tell that the author used her personal experiences to shape the story.
Poignant and enlightening!
I first had the pleasure of hearing Reyna read a snippet of this book at a local fair. Her prose was elegant and enchanting. It immediately caught my attention as did the subject matter of her book -- those left behind during the quest to reach the United States. When my parents fled Cuba my sister and I were left behind and it took nearly two years for us to be reunited so I could most definitely identify with this story. After reading the entire book, I was not disappointed by Reyna's larger than life storytelling. This is a great book by an author who has already made her mark on Latina literature with this debut. Not to be missed.
Beautifully Written
"Reyna Grande's debut novel about immigration's human side is not only timely and necessary, it's beautiful." -- CATALINA magazine
reviews: page 1, 2
"Across a Hundred Mountains is a stunning and poignant story of migration, loss, and discovery as two women -- one born in Mexico, one in the United States -- find their lives joined in the most unlikely way. After a tragedy separates her from her mother, Juana Garcia leaves her small town in Mexico to find her father, who left his home and family two years before to find work in America, el otro lado, and rise above the oppressive poverty so many of his countrymen endure. Out of money and in need of someone to help her across the border, Juana meets Adelina Vasquez, a young woman who left her family in California to follow her lover to Mexico. Finding each other -- in a Tijuana jail -- in desperate circumstances, they offer each other much needed material and spiritual support and ultimately become linked forever in the most unexpected way. The phenomenon of Mexican immigration to the United States is one of the most controversial issues of our time. While it is often discussed in terms of the political and economic implications, Grande, with this brilliant debut novel and her own profound insider's perspective, puts a human face on the subject. Who are the men, women, and children whose lives are affected by the forces that propel so many to risk life and limb, crossing the border in pursuit of a better life? Take the journey Across a Hundred Mountains and see."
across, hundred, mountains
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