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Highwire Moon
A young Mexican mother struggles to reconnect with her child in America--a "heartrending, take-no-prisoners" novel (Publishers Weekly) and National Book Award finalist.
As an undocumented migrant worker, Serafina has scratched together a life for herself and her three-year-old daughter, Elvia, in the unglamorous shadows of Hollywood--until the morning she is apprehended by immigration officials and deported, separated from her terrified daughter who is crouched under the dashboard of their car.
By the time Elvia is fifteen, she has survived numerous foster homes and a father ill-suited to raising a tough-talking, pregnant young woman. Fighting for herself and her unborn child, she decides to search for her long-lost mother. Meanwhile, Serafina is making her way back across the Mexican border to find her little girl after all these years.
Hailed by the New York Times Book Review as "an eye-opener of a novel, a road map to the real California," Susan Straight "turns headlines into poetry." As with all her work, Straight's fourth novel presents a vital and unsparing vision of America.
As an undocumented migrant worker, Serafina has scratched together a life for herself and her three-year-old daughter, Elvia, in the unglamorous shadows of Hollywood--until the morning she is apprehended by immigration officials and deported, separated from her terrified daughter who is crouched under the dashboard of their car.
By the time Elvia is fifteen, she has survived numerous foster homes and a father ill-suited to raising a tough-talking, pregnant young woman. Fighting for herself and her unborn child, she decides to search for her long-lost mother. Meanwhile, Serafina is making her way back across the Mexican border to find her little girl after all these years.
Hailed by the New York Times Book Review as "an eye-opener of a novel, a road map to the real California," Susan Straight "turns headlines into poetry." As with all her work, Straight's fourth novel presents a vital and unsparing vision of America.
370 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
54 people are currently reading
843 people want to read
About the author
Susan Straight
45 books422 followersSusan Straight's newest novel is "Between Heaven and Here." It is the last in the Rio Seco Trilogy, which began with "A Million Nightingales" and "Take One Candle Light a Room." She has published eight novels, a novel for young readers and a children's book. She has also written essays and articles for numerous national publications, including The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Nation and Harper's Magazine, and is a frequent contributor to NPR and Salon.com.
Her story "Mines," first published in Zoetrope All Story, was included in Best American Short Stories 2003. She won a Lannan Literary Award in 2007. She won a 2008 Edgar Allan Poe Award for her short story "The Golden Gopher."
She is a Professor at the University of California, Riverside and lives in Riverside, California.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 79 reviews
February 11, 2009
[sigh:] I really wanted to like this book. I admire Susan Straight for writing about people and situations that nobody else will even touch, but you still have to have character development and a plot that doesn't depend on well-soaped coincidence. These are not real people, they are political stand-ins and they ultimately fall over like cardboard cutouts they are.
August 19, 2008
An inspired, imaginative and compassionate view of immigrant Mixtec ("a member of an American Indian people living in the Mexican states of Oaxaca, Guerrero, and Puebla")family's travails. This is a very subjective read. You're dropped into the heart-driven minds of many people, particularly a Mixtec mother and her daughter who were separated from one another by U.S. Immigration authorities when the girl was only 3. I was addicted to this book, turning pages late into the night. Amazed by the completeness and complexity of this world.
February 6, 2022
As a daughter of a strong hardworking woman who sacrificed so much throughout her life, whether it was for her siblings or her children, this book was the first that I've read to come close to describing the lengths that a mother (like mine) or a daughter would go to for their beloved.
As a reader of a diverse background, albeit not the same background as the characters, it was definitely interesting to get a glimpse into a society so much like mine in its bilingualism and divide between holding on to the traditions of the past and going forward with advancements of the future.
As a reader of a diverse background, albeit not the same background as the characters, it was definitely interesting to get a glimpse into a society so much like mine in its bilingualism and divide between holding on to the traditions of the past and going forward with advancements of the future.
December 23, 2014
This book was a pleasant surprise. The author gave us a solid feel of what it must be like to illegally cross the US/Mex border, walk in the shoes of the immigrants, live near the border, but more importantly seek one's roots. This author captures the "feel" of looking into eyes that see you. This book was pretty amazing and I'm sorry to see it end. We all want to know we're loved, not merely tolerated.
December 3, 2014
Timely read, with the conversation going on about immigration reform. The story is a heartbreaker, and even more so when you're living south of the border. I'm living in Oaxaca right now, and I've seen the sad quiet in the small villages, where all the men of working age have gone north to make some money. They'd come home, if they could.
August 6, 2011
Changed the way I see the world. An important book.
March 2, 2015
Serafina Mendez is a 15 year old illegal immigrant from Mexico. She is a Mixteco, a Mexican Indian. When she crosses the border, she lives with her brother in a garage. She works at a place called Angeles Linen, while her brother went to work. One day, the immigration come in to take away any Mexicans. Larry Foley, finds her in a box and takes her home. Serafina ends up getting pregnant. She names her daughter Elvia. Serafina and her daughter live with Larry for three years. Larry ends up being abusive with all the drugs and it drives Serafina to flee with her daughter. She stops at a church to pray, leaving Elvia in the car to sleep. The police see her and arrest her. Serafina in deported back to Mexico.
Meanwhile Elvia, being only 3, is sent to a foster home. Her father, Larry finds her and reclaims her as his daughter. Although Larry continues to say he loves her and and protects her, he disappears with his girlfriend at night to do some drug business. Elvia ends up getting pregnant at 15. She now has the desire to look for her mother, whom she thinks abandoned her all those years ago.
Now Serafina, after 12 years, is ready to cross the border again to reunite with her daughter. At the same time, Elvia wants to find her mother in Mexico. This is a novel that is meant for a fast read. I think it is supposed to be kept for a rainy day.
The author’s style can be described as very formal and descriptive. The book was very well written. although it was a very well written book, I did not feel connected to the characters. I felt there was more to learn about them, that we did not know. I liked the plot, but i feel like the characters were uninteresting and awkward.
If you liked the Grapes of Wrath, then this book is meant to be in your library.
Meanwhile Elvia, being only 3, is sent to a foster home. Her father, Larry finds her and reclaims her as his daughter. Although Larry continues to say he loves her and and protects her, he disappears with his girlfriend at night to do some drug business. Elvia ends up getting pregnant at 15. She now has the desire to look for her mother, whom she thinks abandoned her all those years ago.
Now Serafina, after 12 years, is ready to cross the border again to reunite with her daughter. At the same time, Elvia wants to find her mother in Mexico. This is a novel that is meant for a fast read. I think it is supposed to be kept for a rainy day.
The author’s style can be described as very formal and descriptive. The book was very well written. although it was a very well written book, I did not feel connected to the characters. I felt there was more to learn about them, that we did not know. I liked the plot, but i feel like the characters were uninteresting and awkward.
If you liked the Grapes of Wrath, then this book is meant to be in your library.
September 27, 2013
This book is visceral in its desire for maternal connection. So many children missing their mothers and some of those mothers missing their children. And then there are the mothers who disregard their children and those who are not privileged with the title of “mother” but who provide the love and security the children are seeking.
At the core of this book is the sudden separation of Serfina, a Mexican Indian woman is in the US illegally, from her 3 year old daughter Elvia. Serafina spend years and faces great difficulties to journey back to Elvia after her deportation back to a distant village in Mexico. During that time, Elvia believes that she was abandoned purposely and it informs her sense of self along with a deep well of longing to know her mother.
The many story lines revolve around this question of maternity and the search to be known and loved in such an elemental way. I found this to be such a juxtaposition from the harshness of the laws that separated Serafina from her daughter. The emotional and physical journey each of them takes is fraught with pain, wrapped in symbolism and driven by hope. Susan Straight writes beautifully about such difficult things. This novel deserves deep consideration and appreciation.
At the core of this book is the sudden separation of Serfina, a Mexican Indian woman is in the US illegally, from her 3 year old daughter Elvia. Serafina spend years and faces great difficulties to journey back to Elvia after her deportation back to a distant village in Mexico. During that time, Elvia believes that she was abandoned purposely and it informs her sense of self along with a deep well of longing to know her mother.
The many story lines revolve around this question of maternity and the search to be known and loved in such an elemental way. I found this to be such a juxtaposition from the harshness of the laws that separated Serafina from her daughter. The emotional and physical journey each of them takes is fraught with pain, wrapped in symbolism and driven by hope. Susan Straight writes beautifully about such difficult things. This novel deserves deep consideration and appreciation.
April 23, 2008
A more weighty than usual vacation read...get in the truck and go with a fierce pregnant teen, her painfully human dad, homemade speed, terrifying border crossings, flipped-out wanna-be shamans, and deep and endless mother love. Bonus benefit to reading this: I am 110% more likely to buy organic produce.
July 15, 2025
A lot, not all but a lot of the current slate of literary fiction novels I've read regarding the harsh reality of life that are nominated for this and that award, never felt authentic. Most of it, if I have hypothesized, has to do with the writer's background, wealthy or middleclass kids that went for a MFA writing programs, disconnected from these harsh realities. Or because of the type of fiction they read, lacking proper genre fiction readings and by that I mean the gnarly pulpy ones, and the results are stiff and overproduced word salads that took the bite out of these misery porn. Susan Straight is none of those. She grew up in a multiracial/cultural neighbourhood in Riverside, California. She is close to these harsh realities herself and being the director of a creative writing program, has talk about a wide range books that aren't strictly "must reads". Thus, her outputs doesn't come across as phoney.
Set in a fictionalized version of Riverside, named Rio Seco, during the 90s, "Highwire Moon is the story of a Serafina Mendez, an undocumented fifteen year old Mixtec working in the US and her daughter, fifteen year old Elvia, 12 years later. The I.N.S (Immigration and Naturalization Service) raid Serafina's workplace but she was saved by a grungy truck driver named Larry Foley. This event would kick off the entirety of the novel's actual plot as Larry is the link between Serafina's story and her daughter's story, 12 years later, pregnant as a fifteen year old like her mom was. It's a road trip story and a harsh one at that.
The characters in this are complex but in a human kind of way. Larry and Serafina are working class people. They're frustrating but Straight captures their essence perfectly. Larry is a volatile mix of gallantry and rage. There a sense of wanting to do good from him but he's prone to bad temper when he's on drugs. Serafina doesn't make it easy for Larry through no fault of her own. She doesn't speak either English or Spanish, only Mixtec. Her language and way of being does drive Larry up the wall he mocked her for it from time to time. Elvia, as a teen, is restless, wary, too smart for her own good, and shaped by a system designed to erase kids like her. Her voice rings with confusion and anger but is always believable thanks to Straight's writing.
Straight tells the story in waves, not strict chapters. The story shifts between Serafina and Elvia but the different POV never felt gimmicky to me. It works because Straight had given them both voices that are distinct. The pacing moves much like our memory, sometimes linear, often time, cyclical. The flashbacks hit like emotional landmines and her structures aren't neat at all. But that's the point. Susan Straight’s prose isn’t ornamental. They're lean but never cold, poetic without being overtly constructed. The sentences aren't product to be beautiful but instead very conversational, very readable. If there's one flaw, I would point to Straight using simile way too often.
I never expected, when picking up this novel to read a road trip novel but it's a heart pounding one, in the realest way possible.
Set in a fictionalized version of Riverside, named Rio Seco, during the 90s, "Highwire Moon is the story of a Serafina Mendez, an undocumented fifteen year old Mixtec working in the US and her daughter, fifteen year old Elvia, 12 years later. The I.N.S (Immigration and Naturalization Service) raid Serafina's workplace but she was saved by a grungy truck driver named Larry Foley. This event would kick off the entirety of the novel's actual plot as Larry is the link between Serafina's story and her daughter's story, 12 years later, pregnant as a fifteen year old like her mom was. It's a road trip story and a harsh one at that.
The characters in this are complex but in a human kind of way. Larry and Serafina are working class people. They're frustrating but Straight captures their essence perfectly. Larry is a volatile mix of gallantry and rage. There a sense of wanting to do good from him but he's prone to bad temper when he's on drugs. Serafina doesn't make it easy for Larry through no fault of her own. She doesn't speak either English or Spanish, only Mixtec. Her language and way of being does drive Larry up the wall he mocked her for it from time to time. Elvia, as a teen, is restless, wary, too smart for her own good, and shaped by a system designed to erase kids like her. Her voice rings with confusion and anger but is always believable thanks to Straight's writing.
Straight tells the story in waves, not strict chapters. The story shifts between Serafina and Elvia but the different POV never felt gimmicky to me. It works because Straight had given them both voices that are distinct. The pacing moves much like our memory, sometimes linear, often time, cyclical. The flashbacks hit like emotional landmines and her structures aren't neat at all. But that's the point. Susan Straight’s prose isn’t ornamental. They're lean but never cold, poetic without being overtly constructed. The sentences aren't product to be beautiful but instead very conversational, very readable. If there's one flaw, I would point to Straight using simile way too often.
I never expected, when picking up this novel to read a road trip novel but it's a heart pounding one, in the realest way possible.
June 9, 2009
It was fascinating reading about the California desert that I grew up in from the perspective of some of the other cultures/subjects who cohabit it - farmworkers, day laborers, and speed freaks, to name a few. the character study of contemporary pregnant teens and illegal immigrants is especially worth getting into. Poignant and humbling.
March 28, 2017
What a heart-wrenching story--with a view into a brutal world that most of us think we are aware of. NO, we are not.
August 20, 2013
A realistic glimpse into the lives of Mixtec immigrants: who they are, and what the dangers and hardships are when they come into the United States to work. Unfortunately, I expect the situations depicted here are more common than we want to admit, such as employers who defy immigration law, do not pay the workers fully, and then call the migra to avoid the immigrants' demands for their pay. I enjoyed this glimpse into the difficult lives of people who pick our produce, and believe more firmly in immigration reform that will prevent abuses of labor.
While I enjoy the narrative, the coming of age story of Elvia, who experiences abandonment by both parents, foster care, reclamation by her father, out-of-wedlock pregnancy at fifteen, the society of people who "sketch," and a search for her mother, I find the shifting perspectives and multiplicity of characters difficult to follow at times. Running parallel to Elvia's story, is her mother's story back in Mexico for twelve years before returning back across the border to find her daughter. Straight is to be commended for her courage to take on tough topics and the tough device of dual protagonists. She does carry it off through her incredible grasp of the topics and the culture of the people she depicts.
At times the story seems to slow to a drag in the dailiness of action such as preparing tortillas or picking oranges, but Straight carries enough tension from misunderstandings, fragmented memories, and missed opportunities that I can appreciate this degree of detail. Once I understood her style that is part action and part stream of consciousness, it helped me follow the protagonists' thoughts that were one sentence in the present and the next in the past. Nevertheless, the transitions were sometimes abrupt.
Not a difficult read but definitely a challenging one where the author insists you read her work on her terms. And the story is compelling.
January 19, 2011
What a great book! It is the story of a mother and daughter who are separated when the daughter is only three. Serafina was an illegal Mexican immigrant who came to California from Oaxaca to work the oranges. Being Mexican Indian, she is considered the lowest even by other Mexicans. She was only 16 and got stranded in Rio Seco, which is Straight's fictional town based on Riverside, CA.
Serafina ends up with Larry, a white man who works various construction jobs, uses speed and was raised in foster homes. They have a daughter, Elvia, but they hardly connect because Serfina does not learn English or even venture out much. She pines for home. When Elvia is three, immigration gets Serafina and sends her back to Mexico. Elvia winds up in foster care for many years until her father finds her, takes her back into his crazy life and becomes fiercely protective of her in his own way.
When the story opens, Elvia (now called Ellie) is 16 and living with Larry and his speed freak girlfriend. For all these years she has thought that her mother abandoned her but now she is pregnant (though Larry does not know this) and decides to find Serafina. Meanwhile, Serafina is stuck in Tijuana caring for her own sick mother and pining for Elvira.
It could be an Oprah-like sentimental story but it's actually more like a prayer or an aria as these two women overcome dangers and pitfalls in their search for each other. The writing is perfect: images, just enough story, the viewpoints of the main characters clearly evolving in each one's distinctive voice. The life is hard, violent, unpredictable; there is barely enough love and hope to keep life going. Possibly this book is too dark for some, too lightweight for others. For me it was a jewel of a book.
December 23, 2016
I found this book extremely difficult to read. There were a lot of hard moments for both Serafina and Elvia. Due to the hard content I don't think I'll be reading it again. I read books for pleasure and I don't feel comfortable with reading something that is very excruciating. One of the reasons it was uncomfortable was because it reminded of a time when my mother had left me. One of the moments I found hard was when Elvia was dealing with her dad and his girlfriend. Oh my gosh. I was just waiting for all of that to end. I just wished I could get her out of that situation. I guess that just shows how good Susan Straight is because I was invested into the characters.
I liked the switching of point of view. I also enjoyed the chapters from Larry's point of view. It would have been nice to see more of his point of view. It really keeps one interested to stay with one character and then switch to another. I liked that input in this story.
I really didn't care for very, very short chapters. I found it very lazy. I know she is regarded as a respected, talented writer, but I'm just used to longer chapters. I can get the whole not needing to deal with the content in those chapters for that long, but I still didn't like it.
While reading the first chapters of the book I didn't feel like a whole lot was happening. It wasn't till much later that I became invested.
I thought the ending kind of ending in a cliff-hanger was something I enjoyed. As a reader I really wanted Serafina and Elvia to find each other but as the writer in me I prefer to be surprised. For most of the time I prefer the least anticipated to the desired.
I liked the switching of point of view. I also enjoyed the chapters from Larry's point of view. It would have been nice to see more of his point of view. It really keeps one interested to stay with one character and then switch to another. I liked that input in this story.
I really didn't care for very, very short chapters. I found it very lazy. I know she is regarded as a respected, talented writer, but I'm just used to longer chapters. I can get the whole not needing to deal with the content in those chapters for that long, but I still didn't like it.
While reading the first chapters of the book I didn't feel like a whole lot was happening. It wasn't till much later that I became invested.
I thought the ending kind of ending in a cliff-hanger was something I enjoyed. As a reader I really wanted Serafina and Elvia to find each other but as the writer in me I prefer to be surprised. For most of the time I prefer the least anticipated to the desired.
April 4, 2014
sad, sweet, stirring. this book will wake you up to the realization that Cesar Chaves shivers in his grave. It brings the true and frightening world of undocumented workers into your own. you will not be able to eat lettuce again without thinking of Florencio or strawberries without noting that little green lacy crown on their heads. you will buy grapes remembering Hector and eat tortillas thinking of Serafina making so many thousand golden suns and given them all away to be eaten within minutes after leaving her hard working hands. This is about mothers and daughters and poverty and injustice in America today which comes in millions of layers and just when you think maybe you've reached the bottom you learn no, it's deeper even than that. somehow it is also about great, abiding hope and never ending love or the grief when poverty tears those tapestries of love into irreparable shreds. Serafina and Sandy remind me of that famous quote of Mother Teresa's, "not all of us can do great things. but we can do small things with great love." susan straight has done one such seemingly small thing here by writing this novel. may it send out ripples that cause us all to see, understand and love in new deeper and wider ways.
May 21, 2017
I was drawn to this book because the description spoke of people who desperately snuck through the night from Mexico to California looking for work, for a chance to change their lives and that of their families.
I was born in Texas on the Rio Grande and have memories of the farmworkers who would show up in the early morning hours looking for work on my family's farm. My father gave them work and they taught him how to cook lucious Mexican food. To this day I have not had salsa as good as my fathers.
The farm was raided by immigration and we also left Texas for California to change our lives. Which it did. But the memories are still there.
Immigration is at the forefront of the current 'agenda' in America. It sickens and saddens me.
This novel is achingly beautiful. It is a look from the other side - from the voice of the immigrant trying to work and live; to create a home and care for those they love. It speaks of loss and struggling against the abuse of not being respected and being separated from family with deportation.
Susan Straight, the author, does justice to those whose voices are not heard.
Bravo. Lovely book. It will stay with me for a long time.
I was born in Texas on the Rio Grande and have memories of the farmworkers who would show up in the early morning hours looking for work on my family's farm. My father gave them work and they taught him how to cook lucious Mexican food. To this day I have not had salsa as good as my fathers.
The farm was raided by immigration and we also left Texas for California to change our lives. Which it did. But the memories are still there.
Immigration is at the forefront of the current 'agenda' in America. It sickens and saddens me.
This novel is achingly beautiful. It is a look from the other side - from the voice of the immigrant trying to work and live; to create a home and care for those they love. It speaks of loss and struggling against the abuse of not being respected and being separated from family with deportation.
Susan Straight, the author, does justice to those whose voices are not heard.
Bravo. Lovely book. It will stay with me for a long time.
February 26, 2008
I liked this book a lot... but didn't love it. A Mexican immigrant comes to America at the age of 15. Lost and confused she moves in with a man and has his baby. Missing home she drives to a church to pray to the Virgin Mary and leaves her sleeping child in the car. Immigration catches her and sends her back to Mexico not understanding her cries of "My Dotter, My Dotter!". She tries to cross back immediately and is brutally raped, beaten and left for dead. Luckily a friend finds her and returns her to her own mother.
Fast forward 15 years... after being in foster care her whole childhood the girl's father finally finds her and takes her from her very happy foster family to live with him and his speed addicted girlfriend. Girl gets pregnant, decides she wants to find her mom at the same time as mom decides that she is going to try to make it back across the again... Will they find each other?
Fast forward 15 years... after being in foster care her whole childhood the girl's father finally finds her and takes her from her very happy foster family to live with him and his speed addicted girlfriend. Girl gets pregnant, decides she wants to find her mom at the same time as mom decides that she is going to try to make it back across the again... Will they find each other?
November 23, 2014
This is a story about illegal immigrants in the United States. Sarafina is illegally in the U.S. and she has a 3 year old little girl, Elvia. She leaves sleeping Elvia in the car when she goes into the church for a minute but instead she is picked up and deported immediately, she was trying so hard to tell them about her "dodder" and they thought she was saying she needed a doctor. Back across into Mexico she is sent and Elvia is later put into the foster care system. Sarafina is besides herself to find out what happened to her child, Elvia goes year after year wondering why her mother left her, she can only remember her mother's long braid.
Twelve years later Sarafina again crosses into the U.S. looking for Elvia while at the same time Elvia, 15 and pregnant herself crosses over into Mexico looking for her mother.
This is a good story, unfortunately it may be true hundreds of times over.
Twelve years later Sarafina again crosses into the U.S. looking for Elvia while at the same time Elvia, 15 and pregnant herself crosses over into Mexico looking for her mother.
This is a good story, unfortunately it may be true hundreds of times over.
January 26, 2009
A finalist for the Booker Prize but really hard to get into. An illegal immigrant from Mexico is deported without her daughter and then tries to return 15 years later to find her. The pregnant daughter is searching for her also. There is a “landscape populated by desperately poor migrants moving from harvest to harvest, truckers living hand to mouth in seedy hotels, and lost children in foster homes.” I imagine some of my patients know what this means. Most of our Mexicans have this huge family and friend support but occasionally there is one that seems to be a prostitute without support. Meant to be a tearjerker, but I didn't cry which is unusual for me, and they never actually meet, but it is implied that they will.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 5, 2009
I really wish I could give this book a higher review, but I had a very hard time getting through it. Interesting concept, about a girl and her mother trying to find each other 12 years after being separated by U.S. immigration authorities.
I could handle the desperate misery of the lives of itinerant workers from the U.S. and Mexico, but it became very repetitive about the evils of the way the U.S./Mexico border is managed. A lot of the details, sadly, felt like filler.
I want to like Susan Strait's work because I so loved "I've Been in Sorrow's Kitchen and Licked Out All the Pots." It was a struggle to finish this one. Sigh.
I could handle the desperate misery of the lives of itinerant workers from the U.S. and Mexico, but it became very repetitive about the evils of the way the U.S./Mexico border is managed. A lot of the details, sadly, felt like filler.
I want to like Susan Strait's work because I so loved "I've Been in Sorrow's Kitchen and Licked Out All the Pots." It was a struggle to finish this one. Sigh.
March 15, 2013
I got into this book straight away, it is interesting subject matter, and I really enjoyed it until the very last page which I didn't enjoy! I found that I had to concentrate quite hard while reading it as it goes from different people's perspectives and from various times in the past and to the present, without being explicit so sometimes I had to reread a bit to understand what was happening.
I used to speak moderate Spanish so I enjoyed all the Spanish words thrown in to the English sentences.
The author somehow makes the book hopelessly depressing and optimistically uplifting at the same time. Would recommend.
I used to speak moderate Spanish so I enjoyed all the Spanish words thrown in to the English sentences.
The author somehow makes the book hopelessly depressing and optimistically uplifting at the same time. Would recommend.
September 26, 2014
More accurate rating: 3.5
The writing and characterizations were great, for the most part. Straight does a really great job on voice; each character's thoughts and actions and feelings were their own. Although, it took me several chapters to care about the characters, especially Ellie and Larry.
That being said, the ending was a bit underwhelming as I expected a heartfelt reunion. Instead, it just felt like a cliffhanger. On the other hand, I was satisfied in Ellie's eventual growth, from doubting Serafina to realizing what she tried to do for her the past 12 years of her life. I just really wanted more than that closing image, though.
The writing and characterizations were great, for the most part. Straight does a really great job on voice; each character's thoughts and actions and feelings were their own. Although, it took me several chapters to care about the characters, especially Ellie and Larry.
That being said, the ending was a bit underwhelming as I expected a heartfelt reunion. Instead, it just felt like a cliffhanger. On the other hand, I was satisfied in Ellie's eventual growth, from doubting Serafina to realizing what she tried to do for her the past 12 years of her life. I just really wanted more than that closing image, though.
August 16, 2013
Here's a book looking at illegal immigrants through their eyes. It's a beautifully written story about a woman who hides in the trunk of a car of a priest to get over the border where she meets a kind man who takes her in and together they have a beautiful daughter. When their daughter is three, the mother is taken away while trying to get into a church to pray. The rest of the book is how they survived as mother and daughter looked for each other.
What a lovely story! What a beautifully written story!
Pick up a copy today!
What a lovely story! What a beautifully written story!
Pick up a copy today!
April 17, 2008
I never actually finished this book because I was reading it inside the bookstore... but I almost finished it... I really liked it because I think the author does a good job of going inside other peoples' lives - and some people really do deal with lives this difficult... it is really nitty gritty and seems to me really accurate. If you like books that get down and dirty and real then this is really good
December 10, 2008
I found this a very hard book to read. The author writes about a group of people who live very hard lives. But she seemed to dwell on tragedy. I know our immigration system is a disaster and that good people get hurt all the time. But, couldn't one neighbor, teacher or social worker help this girl. The only stability in her life came from her foster mother who seemed powerless to really help her. Maybe I am just too much of an optimist.
January 22, 2016
I really like this book, but I'm not able to say exactly why. It's hard for me to read because it involves the loss of a child and the pain that both the mother and the child feel. The language barriers make me sad. Sandy Narlette is the character who redeems the book for me. Her love & wisdom shine thru. Larry (Elvia's father) tries, but he just doesn't have the know-how parenting a teen takes. I think he finally comes to that realization.
January 2, 2008
This book was riveting! It puts you write in the center of so many marginalized cultures that are heart breaking and so inspirational in their tenacity. I read another book by this author years ago but can't remember what it was - Aquaboogie? I Been in Sorrows Kitchen? I remember loving her writing style and I still love it. A powerful read that makes it hard to put down until the book ends.
July 14, 2008
A sad story but it features one of the most invigorating yound female characters in a long time. She is a pregnant teen and she is alone, but manages to wring the best out of everyone she interacts with. This story has thrills and sadness and danger but also humour and rightness. Straight is an exceptional writer.
June 1, 2009
_Highwire Moon_ deals with mixed race characters, Mexican-American immigrants, Native American Mexicans, meth use, social class, and teenage pregnancy. It's GREAT!!!! I am so sorry I missed it when it was up for the national book award and so grateful to find it now. It also has a strong mother-daughter theme which is lovely, powerful, tragic. It left me with hope in the end.
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