The Border Between Us

by Rudy Ruiz

The Border Between Us is a poignant coming-of-age novel from one of the most exciting voices in fiction.

Ramón Lopez was born along the US–Mexico border but is determined to get out and embrace the American dream—and he’s not sure whether his complicated family is a help or a hindrance. The son of immigrants, as Ramón grows his admiration for his entrepreneurial father sours as he watches his dad’s dreams of success wither on the vine. Ramón’s mother is constantly preoccupied with his younger brother, who struggles with intellectual disabilities. And the outside world is rife with danger and temptations threatening to distract Ramón from his dreams of making it to New York and succeeding as an artist.

As dreams clash with reality and values conflict with desires, Ramón finds the American dream within his reach—but will it demand too big a sacrifice?

Award-winning author Rudy Ruiz brilliantly captures the beauty and the danger of border life as Ramón struggles to understand his home and his place in the world. The Border Between Us is a stunning, compassionate story about a son’s fraught relationship with his father, the challenges of pursuing a creative life when you come from humble beginnings, and the power of embracing the whole of who you are.

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Coming Of Age, Literary Fiction, Audiobook, Family Drama, Book Club

256 pages, Hardcover

Published August 27, 2024

About the author

Rudy Ruiz is an award-winning author of literary fiction. A native of the US-Mexico border, Ruiz writes from the heart about Latino culture, the bilingual/bicultural experience, immigration and acculturation issues. His fiction debut, Seven for the Revolution, won four International Latino Book Awards, including First Place for Best Popular Fiction and The Mariposa Award for Best First Book. He also received the Gulf Coast Prize in Fiction in 2017. His novel, The Resurrection of Fulgencio Ramirez, was released in 2020 and won two Gold Medals at the International Latino Book Awards, including the Rudolfo Anaya Best Latino-Focused Fiction Book and Best Audio Book. Valley of Shadows was released in 2022. It was named one of the Top Horror Novels of 2022 by LitHub's CrimeReads and was selected by the Texas Institute of Letters as winner of the Jesse H. Jones Award for Best Work of Fiction. His most recent novel, The Border Between Us, is a coming-of-age story that further explores the immigrant experience in America. After its release, Ruiz was longlisted for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize. Rudy Ruiz earned his Bachelor's and Master's degrees at Harvard. In 2024 he was inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters.

Reviews

[Angela M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brownsville, Texas and Matamoros, Mexico are less than three miles apart, but the distance feels like so much more to a young boy whose family straddles the border, moving back and forth. There are many borders here , some well defined, others not so much . This novel is about more than borders defined by geography separating countries and culture. Things move back and forth across the border - limes and tires and drugs, a baby for life saving treatment, hidden among the tires . It’s a coming of age story, a story of a father and son, with hopes and dreams seemingly different, but yet so much the same. A beautiful and heartfelt rendering of borders that cross the heart and soul, borders of family and love that can’t be crossed . A very relevant story with a focus on the humanity of the immigrant that seems to be ignored by so many today .

I received a copy from Blackstone Publishing through Edelweiss.

[Kate O'Shea · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you read the print version I'd advise reading the author's acknowledgements first. It explains so much about the origins of this novel ie it being the culmination of manypreviously published short stories written by the author about his upbringing on the border between the US and Mexico. It might, as it did me, make me feel less irritated by the protagonist who has a tendency to mope and feel sorry for himself far longer than is actually necessary.

I listened to the audio version, which was excellently narrated by Eddie Lopez. No histrionics, no melodrama (despite the sometimes harrowing stories), just a good clear voice with enough inflection to easily distinguish between characters.

The novel itself describes the story of Ramón López, a boy whose family live a precarious existence just over the US border in Brownsville, mainly due to Ramon's father's schemes, which invariably end with him losing rather than making money. Ramon wants to be an entrepreneur like his father but seems to be as successful. However he is also a talented artist and his travels take him to New York to further his career.

This book did not go as I expected and, as I said previously, there are times when Ramon drove me crazy with his self-doubt and self-pity. It does have strong Mexican characters and the women are the most memorable.

This book feels like a love letter to those people who made us, who guide us and who support us throughout our lives. Apart from the odd page or two I found it extremely interesting and engaging and I'd definitely recommend it. The audio version is a delight to listen to.

Thankyou to Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing- Audiobooks for the audio advance review copy.

[Charlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

As of the time I've finished this, less than 150 people have rated this book, which I think it is a real shame, because I think more people should read it.

I'm notoriously great at being a hater and notoriously bad at convincing people to read books I like, but the thing about this is that it's so genuine. And part of that comes from portions of the story being semi-autobiographical in nature as the author shares in the acknowledgments. I think that the most powerful thing about this book is that the story doesn't necessarily have a happy ending, it just highlights the unfairness and the beauty of life in a genuine way that isn't the way I wanted it to go, but somehow it's better that it didn't.

[Zana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a soft spot for coming-of-age novels, especially stories like these that explore important themes like identity and belonging, and social stratification.

The Border Between Us is a well-written novel that hit all the right spots for me. It reminded me of my college friends who came from impoverished towns in Texas that straddle the Mexican border.

The MMC, Ramón, is a relatable character (I also grew up working class and went to fancy university with rich kids), and the easygoing writing style made this a relatively straightforward read. It felt like listening to a friend telling you about their youth and how they got to where they are. Kudos to the audiobook narrator, Eddie Lopez, for making this story feel so real.

I wish that there was more emphasis on Ramón's life in NYC, like Ramón meeting other Mexican Americans going to college and living in the city. His dating life with a rich girl wasn't really my vibe, and the sole emphasis on that made his art school studies feel like it played second fiddle. It helped to highlight the wealth inequity between them, but then again, romance isn't really my favorite thing to read about. Especially since Ramón was partially used as a charity case (which, I suppose, was the main point).

But other than that, I had a great time and I'd love to read more of Rudy Ruiz's novels.

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing - Audiobooks and NetGalley for this arc.

[Hiedi Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky to receive an ARC of this book from Blackstone Publishing a couple months ago, and I only wish I had read it sooner!

This vibrant, coming-of-age story centered on Ramón, the son of Mexican immigrants, details just how difficult it is to balance dreams, family, desires, and the ability to do the right thing even when it’s hard.

Ramon’s relationship with his father feels all too relatable, and it crushed me more than once throughout the book. Joe, who started as Ramón’s hero and seems like he can do no wrong, struggles to get ahead. This paired with his unfaltering and sometimes toxic masculinity shatters this image of him which is hard for Ramón to get over, and drives him to try and make his own path in life instead of following in his fathers footsteps. Naturally, non of it works out the way he’d planned.

A heartbreaking yet beautiful and uplifting story all around. You won’t stop rooting for Ramón, and in turn you’ll want to start rooting for yourself, to overcome whatever borders you feel separate you from the ones you love and from finding happiness.

[Star Gater · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Blackstone Publishing for allowing me to read and review The Border Between Us by Rudy Ruiz on NetGalley.

Published: 08/27/24

Stars: 4.5

Amazing. Ruiz is one of my favorite authors. He is 3 for 3 with me.

I found The Border Between Us different than his first two novels. This is solid. There are no hints of a higher power or Spanish/Mexican folklore.

He does write a magnificent story of a father and son. The father from Mexico and the son raised in the United States, their age differences, and education opportunities are explored. Gangs, cartels, and illegally crossing the borders are touched on. Life through each of their eyes is masterfully shown. Ruiz does stay true to the familial teachings by the parents.

I recommend this to all readers.

[Adena · Rating 3 out of 5]

The pacing was too slow for my taste. Also, this book read like a YA novel. Perhaps I've taught for too long, but all I could think of was that it is a modern bildungsroman.

[Suzanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a sweet coming of age story, about a boy growing up on the border between Mexico and the US. you follow him as his immigrant family moves back and forth between the two countries as he's growing up. it's deep and heartfelt. I loved the dad! quite a character.. I admired him.
Also, I loved the ending of the book. it came together so beautifully!
According to the author's acknowledgments, this book is a mixture of truth & fiction, drawn from his own life experiences.

[Jennifer Givhan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rudy Ruiz, a masterful storyteller, gripped me with his gorgeously wrought prose and an unforgettable narrator, Ramón, sweet, funny, kind, and the smartest boy who’s ever been swooped off the floor of his overcrowded border school to give the nuns a run for their money with his chile-packet enterprise. This border-crossing boy-turned-misguided-young-man stole my heart from the get-go. I couldn’t put his story down and in one sitting devoured this whole powerful and piquante bildungsroman, chock-full of Dungeons & Dragons, Evel Knievel, avocados stuffed with serranos, and La Virgen appearing on a Brownsville tree. At times wickedly funny, other times acerbic as a rotting pile of limes stuck in the back of a broken-down bakery truck, this portrait of a Mexican-American artist as a young man examines not only the borders between us but those deeply embedded within us. You will root for Ramón the underdog and the family he can’t always appreciate but who shape him into the champion of his community he will become. A necessary and heartwarming tale.

[Ali Thomson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great imagery with the writing. Ruiz balanced Ramón’s internal emotional tightrope well and the character growth was excellent.

Some highlights-

pg 40- "Never give up. Just remember, it's hard to tell the difference between taking a risk and taking a shortcut. You have to take risks to reach your dream, but you shouldn't take the shortcuts. It's about hard work and determination. There's a natural order and process and, when you try to speed things up too much, or take dangerous shortcuts, you're going to get hurt. Just look at Mr. Aranda."
"The kind of success that lasts," my dad continued, scraping beans from his plate, "usually takes a long time to accomplish. But you can't give up. You have to stick with it..."
He was right of course. This was bigger than the glittering prize in the store window. It was bigger than the nuns shutting me down. It was about what kind of person I wanted to be in life...........I struggled to reconcile those questions with the very understanding of what defined success and failure. Just days earlier I had seen my dad as a disappointment and Mr. Aranda as a role model. Now Mr. Aranda was dead, his fleeting achievements an illusion created by border-world sleight of hand. And the sheer will and integrity of my dad's efforts was crystallizing solidly, like the lime and salt mixed into my powdered chile.


"M'ijo, on the border things are rarely as they seem. Move a step and your whole perspective changes. Sometimes you don't even have to move, the world moves around you , or the grounds shifts beneath you, or the river takes an unexpected twist and turn."


pg 140/141- "It means," he said, "that it is quite likely you will need to search for a balance in your life that enable you to harness the energies of both sides in order to succeed and feel fulfilled."
"Fulfilled? He was touching on a subject I'd never even considered much less heard about from my parents. Success, on the other hand, had always seemed like a clear concept to me, a very American idea. Money, cars, clothes, Rolex watches, fancy houses, and foreign travel had all stood as symbols to me of what success looked like. "What's the difference between success and fulfillment?"........
Señora Martinex, however, couldn't hold herself back. "In America, people tend to think of success as financial, something sort of outside of yourself, embodied by the things you own or the attention and respect you receive publicly. Whereas, fulfillment is something more personal and internal. If you spend your time and your life doing things that make you feel good inside, make you feel happy or better about yourself and your life when you do them, then you feel fulfilled. One feeds your wallet and your ego while the other nourishes your soul.


pg 201- "Son, you have taken a path I would have never imagined or picked for you. It may not have been the path I would have wanted for you. It seems like a hard way to make a living, painting pictures. But this is your life. Those are your choices. You make them. And you should never cower in the face of adversity. Fight. And never give up. Remember how the dicho goes: Candy la rama cruje, el aguila no teme, porque a sus alas se atiene." When the branch sways, the eagle does not fear, for to its wings it clings.
I quietly admired his fortitude and perseverance. My instinct was always to cut and run. I had often thought he would have been better off if he did give up, if he hadn't kept trusting in his brothers to run his businesses into the ground or hadn't kept trying to import his perishable produce from Mexico on rickety trucks without the proper permits. But what did I know? Had I ever raised a family? Had I ever paid a light bill? Had I ever taken a disabled child to countless doctors in search of a miracle? "Thanks, Dad," I said.
"Just be yourself, Son. Be who you are. And don't give up on your dream,s to settle for something less, something that serves another master..."\

[Ruthie Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Didn't you have to break the rules sometimes simply to do what was right?"

The Border Between Us by Rudy Ruiz is a passionate bildungsroman that will push and pull you through every emotion imaginable. At the start, Ramón Lopez is a young boy growing up in the 1970s in Brownsville on the US/Mexico border. The Lopez family is continuously hit with financial struggles and despair amidst hard work, big dreams, and the fierce familial ties that bind.

This remarkable story is a complex dichotomy of contradictions and similarities existing as one yet undulating toward and away from each other, bound by an invisible thread of hope and fear. Ruiz expertly delivers this exquisitely written novel about generations colliding and collapsing in a heap of resentment and tender forgiveness, with laughter and tears, dreams and death cohabitating across the pages.

Everyone’s idea of success is different, with the path flowing toward the American Dream littered with good intentions, rosy outlooks, failures, betrayals, bootstraps, broken hearts, and self-truths. Both diverging from and staying true to self can come at a high price. Ramón must decide what success actually means to him and how much is too much to pay for it. The common adage is that when you hit rock bottom, there is nowhere else to go but up. Ramón, however, discovers a difficult yet valuable reality: beauty and success await him there in the dregs, nestled among the grief and mangled dreams and ready to lead him where he needs to go.  

When the dust settles at the end of this brilliant novel, the so-called American Dream cannot be painted with a single brush stroke. Every person’s dream is unique and not tied to a location, a country, a family, or an idea. Each dream is connected to the individual heart and must be nurtured and cherished until the final beat, where the dream can finally be complete and savored.

Ramón discovers that a border is more than a river or a fence dividing countries, properties, and families. Sometimes that border between us marches in lockstep with the border within us and within families, often remaining blurred and distorted yet forever entwined.

Ruiz’s writing style is pure poetry, with The Border Between Us filled with gorgeous prose, diverse characters, and a fluid plot. All this and more provide the reader with a sense of wonder and hopefulness that the borders between and within all of us can be lowered and replaced with an abundance of luscious lime trees, progress, family, friends, resiliency, and acceptance. A lovely sentiment toward the end of this novel is that true success is when the American Dream bleeds away from the individual and into the world to fulfill the dreams of others.

You will not want to miss out on this timely and absolutely stunning novel by Rudy Ruiz.

I received a free copy of this book from Lone Star Book Blog Tours in exchange for my honest review.

[Karen Siddall · Rating 5 out of 5]

While a compelling and satisfying coming-of-age story, THE BORDER BETWEEN US also explores the experiences unique to the south Texas-Mexico border regions.

The Border Between Us by Rudy Ruiz is the ultimately heartwarming and satisfying story of Ramón López, a Mexican-American child growing up in Brownsville, Texas, as well as Matamoros, Mexico. A smart, talented, and enterprising child, Ramón struggles with his relationship with his father, a hard-working but seemingly hapless man with dreams he’s always just short of realizing. Discovering he has a natural artistic talent, Ramón has dreams of his own – to get out of Brownsville and become a successful painter. Still, his father has different plans for his son that may make Ramón’s dream impossible to follow.

What a great story! I loved reading about the precocious and enterprising young Ramón, his life, and the entire López clan. There was so much love in this family, no matter where each member was in their life journey or how that journey was treating them. The López men are vibrant and vivid characters, and while the women seemed quiet and subdued, they were so unimaginably strong, as evidenced by the setbacks and heartbreaks they weathered and overcame.

Each chapter offers a vignette of life in rural, small-town south Texas on the border with Mexico, and as each unfolded, the area felt more and more familiar. The fluidity of living and working in a border town was so obvious and necessary, with the border bridge checkpoint always a consideration or an afterthought for those going about their daily lives.

The author’s writing style is compelling, and I was quickly immersed in Ramón’s life and did not want to have to set the book aside for anything until his story was told. Besides the ‘physical’ border between the two countries, there are a variety of other borders Ramón must eventually traverse in his journey: childhood to adulthood, false dreams to dreams of the heart, and the border he perceives between himself and his father. While the story is a wonderful coming-of-age tale, it is told nestled within the complexity of growing up with one foot in the U.S. and the other in Mexico, pursuing the American dream as a young Latino, and the contrasts in attitudes of the privileged and those without, and Anglos.

I recommend THE BORDER BETWEEN US to readers of literary fiction, especially those who enjoy coming-of-age stories.

[cad · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4.5/5 stars) | A border story that transcends boundaries

Ramón López was born along the US–Mexico border but dreams of escaping to New York as an artist 🎨. As he grows up, his admiration for his entrepreneurial father sours as he watches his dad's dreams wither 💔. His mother stays preoccupied with his younger brother who has intellectual disabilities, while the outside world threatens to derail Ramón's ambitions. When the American dream comes within reach, will it demand too big a sacrifice? 🌟

Sometimes you read a book that makes you feel seen in ways you didn't expect 💗. Watching Ramón's father transform from hero to heartbreakingly human hit harder than I was prepared for 😭. The way Ruiz captures that suffocating feeling of being pulled between family expectations and personal dreams—it all felt so urgent and real ✨.

Vibes We Are Tracking 📖
🎨 Artistic kid in working-class family
💔 Father falls from hero to disappointment
🌎 Living between two cultures
⚖️ Family loyalty versus personal ambition
💰 American Dream deferred/denied

This book understands that love and resentment can coexist, and that sometimes the people closest to us are the hardest to truly see 🫶.

[Julie H. Ernstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Border Between Us is a beautifully written story of Mexican-American Ramon Lopez, whose family splits its time between Brownsville, Texas, where it maintains its extremely modest home, extended family ties, and where its children attend school, and Metamoros, Mexcio, where the family retains ownership of a failing ranch managed by a family who may possibly be providing support to families and their young children fallen on hard times and, possibly, planning to make an illegal border crossing into the U.S.

We meet the main character, Ramon Lopez, at the age of 9 or so years of age and travel with him as he navigates life's challenges through grade school, high school, college, and a year or two immediately post-graduation. Ramon is observant, is torn between loyalty to his struggling family and an opportunity at a life beyond the familiar hardscrabble existence in Brownsville. His assorted family members are interesting--none more so than his stubbornly optimistic father, Grandma Fina who communes with her departed mother while cooking and keeping the extended family fed, and Ramon's quietly perseverant mother. It's a story about borders--literal ones such as the treacherous Rio Grande with its water hazards, bridges and Customs and Border Patrol; the invisible borders that keep impoverished families in certain neighborhoods and limit their geographical movement, access to education, medical care, and other opportunities; class and cultural borders; ethical and legal borders; and inter-generational borders that prove differentially permeable over the course of a lifetime.

The story's setting is well developed--visually and linguistically--and the writing includes enough Spanish to lend verisimilitude to this extended family and its circumstances without leaving non-Spanish speakers out. The chapters flow well and are not overly long. Given the amount of time covered in the novel, its pacing is very well done, and it engages all of the reader's senses--and may, at times, even make you hungry.

Long story short, this could have been a really depressing book, and was not. As with life, there are happy parts, funny parts, sad, and profoundly unfair parts. The Border Between Us is a story about making opportunities, the cost of decisions, and perseverance. Thankfully, there was nothing trite or cliche'd here, either. Book groups will have a lot to discuss. The Border Between Us won't be out until September 2024, and the Strachan Literary Agency provided me an Advance Reading Copy in return for a candid review. This is one of the most well-crafted stories I have read recently. My best advice is to be sure to grab a copy as soon as it is available--you won't be disappointed. Five stars!

[The Page Ladies Book Club · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Border Between Us by Rudy Ruiz is a heartfelt, unflinching portrait of ambition, family, and the complicated meaning of home. Ramón Lopez grows up straddling two worlds on the US–Mexico border, his eyes set firmly on the glittering promise of the American dream. But as he pushes toward his goal of becoming an artist in New York, he’s forced to navigate the tangled loyalties of family, cultural identity, and self-preservation.

Ruiz captures the push and pull of border life with nuance how love for one’s roots can both inspire and weigh heavy. Ramón’s relationships with his hardworking but embittered father, his overburdened mother, and his vulnerable younger brother are deeply human, layered with tenderness and frustration. The novel doesn’t shy away from showing how poverty, prejudice, and personal ambition collide, sometimes forcing impossible choices.

Moving and thought-provoking, this is both a coming-of-age story and a meditation on what we lose and what we gain when we chase our dreams beyond the horizon.

⚡️Thank you Books Forward PR and Rudy Ruiz for sharing this book with me!

[Maida · Rating 5 out of 5]

Painfully emotive

Painfully emotive, The Border Between Us has earned itself a place on my Top 25 Reads in 2025 list. Ramón López’s coming-of-age story affected me like no other literary work I’ve consumed this year. It was so involving; I finished it in one sitting. Even when the heart-rending scenes and difficult conversations were making me cry, I could not stop reading.

I found the harsh beauty in Rudy Ruiz’s hyper realistic storytelling immensely compelling. It was hard to tell which part was fiction and which actually happened. At times, it read like a biography. Doubtless, Mr. Ruiz vivified the real-life experiences of countless Mexican Americans from the border in his creation of the characters in the story. From Ramón to his father and entire family to Dante to Clara, the author succeeded in making them three-dimensional people–powerfully drawn, unquestionably authentic. He did this without using divisive narrative and I applaud him for the discipline.

Another laudable achievement was the incredibly vivid descriptions, especially those of the locations and the paintings. This book took me along for the rides across the US-Mexico border, to the schools, to Coffee Port Road, and to New York. As for the art, I want to believe they’re displayed and celebrated in some gallery in South Texas.

In a story about a boy’s growth into a young man as he searched for his identity amidst forces he couldn’t control there is bound to be angst. Yes, there was danger and tragedy, betrayal and adversity. Lots of them. But there was also success, joy, support, resilience, and in the end, hope. The romantic in me finds balance in that.

[Alysia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Format: Physical with the Audiobook sprinkled throughout!
Rating: 4.5 ⭐️, rounded up to 5 ⭐️

I finished The Border Between Us while in the pedicure chair on my self-care Sunday and truly had to hold back tears as I turned the last page. As a child of immigrants, so much of Ramón's story resonated with me.

The Border Between Us follows Ramón as he navigates complicated family dynamics while growing up along the U.S.-Mexico border. I appreciated how the novel gives us a full picture of his journey-from childhood on the border to adulthood in New York. It felt deeply relatable to see how our main character struggled with the push and pull of chasing his dreams while also wanting to do right by his family. Rudy Ruiz also took the time to highlight important socioeconomic issues, including wealth inequity, the experience of being othered in white spaces as a person of color, and access to healthcare.

I switched between the physical book and the audiobook, and the narrator, Eddie Lopez, did a wonderful job of keeping me engaged throughout. Huge thanks to Blackstone Publishing, Books Forward PR, and Rudy Ruiz for the gifted copy of The Border Between Us in exchange for my honest review!

[Kristine Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW. In THE BORDER BETWEEN US, Texas author Rudy Ruiz takes readers on an unforgettable literary journey full of life lessons, limes, and most of all -- love.

From the beginning, I was fully engaged in THE BORDER BETWEEN US, with the tense and intense situation within which author Ruiz places readers. Given the current real-life climate at our Texas border, plus the myriad of questions to be answered about this situation, I was hooked on the López family’s stories and secrets.

“In my mind and heart, the border ran through all things, including me … It was an invisible line I straddled, rather than an imaginary boundary at which I felt compelled to stop. I saw it not as a constraint, but as an invitation. Not as an end, but a beginning.”

Readers sit alongside main character Ramón López as he grows from a boy in Brownsville, Texas, into a man of the world, ever in pursuit of the elusive American dream. Ramón finds that part of the reason he has trouble finding the dream is because he keeps redefining it. Yet ultimately, he discovers that the dream was always right in front of him. I love the small dashes of magical realism that often help light his path.

The characters in THE BORDER BETWEEN US pop to life with the artistry of Ruiz’s writing. Ruiz suffuses the people and plotlines with authenticity and repeatedly illustrates the complexity of the human condition, particularly within the López family dynamic. Whether it’s Ramón’s guarded father or his saint-like mother, his rogue uncle or his sage grandma, readers will be enthralled, amused, frustrated, and yes – sometimes heartbroken as Ramón navigates the intricacies of relationships. But we’re cheering for him all the way, and we’re left thinking about these oh-so-real people long after closing the book’s cover.

Eddie Lopez’s near-flawless audiobook narration pairs perfectly with Ruiz’s writing for a beautiful listening experience. There are a few blips, but my only real quibble is the narrator’s mispronunciation of Harlingen, which tells me he’s not a Texan. I listened at regular speed, which is a rarity for me and shows the delivery and pacing are excellent. I wouldn't hesitate to listen to this narrator again.

Though I did listen to the audiobook initially, I snagged the eBook to re-read many of the chapters because the passages are simply beautiful. I noted early on that Ramón’s vocabulary, even as a boy, is exceptional and he has thoughts that are showstoppers. For example, as he contemplates a major life change as a young teenager, he thinks: “I wonder if the river felt liberated when it met the sea.” As a tragedy unfolds for some high school classmates, he reflects these are, “Futures buried in freshly turned soil.” Later, following another tragedy, he states: “Reality is oblivious to grief.” Stunning.

THE BORDER BETWEEN US demonstrates literary fiction at its finest. Ruiz’s prose is poignant and powerful, yet completely readable and relatable: a perfect balance for this reader. I highly recommend this timely novel and will be indulging in Ruiz’s other novels soon. Rudy Ruiz has just secured himself on my must-read author list.

This full book review plus more special features are on Hall Ways Blog.

[Valerie Contreras · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this audiobook! This story really touched my heart ❤️ the narrator was perfect and it made the story feel put together beautifully. I was left absolutely devastated in some parts of this story and tears were shed. I knew I was gonna resonate with this story which exactly why I requested without a doubt. Idk if I would consider this as a HEA but I wasn’t disappointed either.

I definitely recommend this book to everyone especially for my Latinos and Latinas.

Thank you to Rudy Ruiz, Blackstone Publishing, and NetGalley for this audiobook.

[Betsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. Each chapter is a standalone story, ordered chronologically in the narrator’s life from childhood to early adulthood, but themes of his relationship with his father hold it together. The narrator has a consistent voice and all the characters are compelling, well rounded people.

I won this in a Goodreads giveaway and am glad to have had the opportunity to read it.

[Michelle Kimber · Rating 4 out of 5]

This coming-of-age novel was so well-written I experienced every emotion with Ramon. The strong relationship dynamics between father and son were raw and real. The depiction of the life on the border was an eye opening read.

[Ashley González · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes we want more than what our immigrant families are able to provide us with, only to realize we were right where we were supposed to be the whole time. I adored this book. ❤️

[Judy Gray` · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little slice of life of a Mexican family going back and forth between Mexico and the US, both for work, family, health, and schooling. The dreams of a teenager, wanting to make a better life, and the reality of the father, wondering what is wrong with the life they lead.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

maybe not quite a 4 but certainly more than a 3. interesting story about a family straddling the border and trying to catch the american dream. a dream which isn't always what you think it will be.

[Ashleigh Cutler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book a few months ago and decided it was finally time to read it. This book is not one that I would typically pick up on my own but I did find it to be a good coming of age story. While I did read about half way through in one sitting, I found myself struggling to pick it back up to finish it but I'm glad that I did.

[JPS · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I could give this book ten stars, I would.
It was such a roller coaster ride. So emotional and relatable at different points. I could understand Ramon’s feelings about his father and his life, needing to escape for more, but I could also discern the perspective of the father, with a different outlook on life than his son’s. As a son and as a father myself, it was easy to feel some of those same emotions as the characters in the book.

I thought Ramon, who had a different upbringing than his father, was more selfish in his own way in terms of what he wanted in and out of life. His dad was not perfect, he was flawed and rough around the edges, his mom was a typical Hispanic mother than was the caretaker and caregiver, and his brother needed constant help. So to Ramon, his outlook was jaded by selfish desires and not having the same responsibilities as his parents, and that’s like most kids. But in the end, unfortunately after his father passed, he then realized what kind of man his father was, and that they lived two separate lives wanting different things. I also think that despite his father’s shortcomings, he was supportive of Ramon and loved him very much.

This book made me think of my dad. Of our life growing up. Of my life now, as a father myself. Of my mom and my family. Like I said, as a Hispanic son and father from south Texas, I can relate.

Absolutely great book.

[Stephanie Nuñez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a a beautiful reflection on the dichotomies (some true, many others false) that exist when straddling two worlds, physically and metaphorically.

Eddie Lopez’s narration complimented the book wonderfully. Be aware that occasionally brief Spanish phrases are used but not translated, though within the context of the story you should capture the gist of it even if you don’t speak the language.

Thank you NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for access to the book!

[Cecilia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful story on love, religion, and family. Cried at work so you know its good

[Maryann · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a stunning novel!

This is one of those books that will stay with me for a long time. It’s so beautifully written with many underlying messages about family, faith, culture, hope, dreams, and more, and I cheered Ramon on every mile of his life’s journey toward adulthood

The way Ramon evolves from that young boy who idolized his father, to pulling away from him as a teen and young adult, to finally discovering what kind of a man his father was, and what kind of a man he, Ramon, is now is pitch perfect. There is incredible emotional depth to the characters, felt so strongly in times of conflict and in times of healing, and the changes are not predictable, making each new discovery a delight for the reader.

The Border Between Us isn’t a story only about the physical border between Mexico and the United States, although that plays a significant role. There’s also the border between a father and a son when they grapple with the differences between them and the son realizes that the father is not quite the man he thought he was. It’s also the border between the very poor and the very wealthy – and even those in between. And the underlying message for Ramon, and perhaps for the reader, is how important it is to go beyond those borders when possible, and maybe to learn to live within the constraints when necessary.

Written in first person from the POV of Ramon, we get insights like this: “In my mind and heart, the border ran through all things, including me. It was a wavering high wire I always balanced upon, my center of gravity invariably and incessantly shifting from one side to the other in an instinctive search for equilibrium.”

Haven’t we all felt that way at times, even if we’ve never faced the great cultural divide that Ramon does?

In Ramon’s efforts to achieve the great American Dream, he is influenced by people who are much further along toward success, only to discover that there are those who take shortcuts and achieve much on the backs of others. Ramon, like many somewhat naïve creative people, is conflicted about this and struggles to sort out what direction he can, and should, take with his art career.

This story, like so many that focus on the human condition, highlights the importance of understanding how our life is shaped in so many small ways that we often overlook because of the larger things that happen. And things don’t always pan out according to our plan. Ramon gets this sage advice from a family friend, and it’s advice that we can all take to heart. “We must be thankful for what we have,” Primo Fernandez concluded. “Even if it’s not exactly what we want.”

Ramon’s response in the narrative: I nodded, wishing I’d been more grateful when I’d had the chance.

I hope I never have to say that about anything, or anyone, in my life.

When I finished the book I was moved to tears, triggered by the absolutely perfect way the story ended. Not wanting to let it go, I even read the acknowledgments, and I urge every reader to do the same and really focus on the very last sentence.

The Border Between Us is a powerful story, and while painted in tones that feel soft and poetic, the author hasn’t shied away from digging into challenging emotional themes. Grab a copy and enjoy the ride!

[Jill Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know I’m in for a stellar read when, early on, a sentence or a description stops me in my tracks with its perfection. In the opening to The Border Between Us, we meet a woman working behind a donut counter who “plundered the display case with long metal tongs, then poured coffee and chocolate without spilling a drop, a cross between a cursed sea monster with dexterous tentacles and a landlubber blessed with unfettered access to baked goods.” I read that two or three more times just to marvel, and then dove right back into this exquisite tale of love, pain, family, creativity, and so much more.

I lived in El Paso for a short while and will forever cherish my memories of teaching in a high school overlooking the border. Those marvelous young people taught me far more than I could ever have taught them, and they came flooding back to me as I read this love letter to the people who grow up with the border as their backdrop. My students could switch seamlessly from Spanish to English, or speak a hybrid mixture of both so smoothly that I could follow along. Ruiz manages the same. We get enough Spanish so that we hear the characters’ authentic speech and it sounds real and true. Simultaneously, someone with no knowledge of Spanish won’t be left out in the cold.
I was particularly enamored of Ruiz’s depiction of the border as “an invisible line I straddled, rather than an imaginary boundary at which I felt compelled to stop.” He brings this idea so fully to life as Ramón strives to find his purpose and his place in the world. Though we all struggle to find an identity all our own, growing up constantly moving between two countries, two languages, two households, two ways of looking at the world, and eventually two cities places Ramón on another plane of difficulty entirely. It is a journey well worth exploring.

I found so many things to love about this book. As mentioned earlier, the sentences are luscious. The descriptions are poetic and entrancing. Writing about artwork cannot be easy, yet I found myself ‘seeing’ the magic in the paintings Ramón creates. Additionally, I fell in love with this cast of characters. Each of them jumped straight off the page, vividly realized and alive. Ruiz lovingly crafts the main characters and ensures that the smaller roles are also well realized. When Ramón meets back up with Dante a year or so after high school, his concern for Ramón jumps right back into focus even though he had been out of the story for a considerable time.

If I had my way, this review would be a dissertation, but I don’t want to spoil even one tiny bit of this book for anyone, so I’m trying to leashing my words tightly. When I turned the last page and found only blankness, I was momentarily crushed. I was not ready to leave this world and return to my own. I am now an evangelist for this book. It is everything I love about reading. It is sublime. The Border Between Us pulls you into a vibrant, tumultuous, and magical tale you will not soon forget.