I have been waiting for this book for years. Waiting even before Michel decided to write a follow up!
Border Child is the follow up to The Iguana Tree, which came out in 2012. I highly recommend that you read that book first. I personally would not consider Border Child a stand alone book as there is much back story which explains current attitudes that you would miss by jumping right into this book.
Years have gone by since Hector and Lilia were in America. The fact that they are still together after what transpired surprised me, but it shows that the heart can overcome much. Hector lost the most when he crossed the border, but he does not descend into bitterness. He maintains his compassion and calmly lives his life, whatever way it comes to him. Lilia remains grateful that Hector remains by her side after the failed journey.
They now have a boy and another child on the way, but continue to long for the girl they lost at the border. When Hector finds a possible lead on the child, he leaves everything to follow the trail, including a very pregnant Lilia.
This is the story of the search for that baby girl and how much Hector places on the line in the hopes of bringing her back home, where she belongs. But does she actually belong there anymore?
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Publisher: Nan A. Talese (April 4, 2017)
Publication Date: April 4, 2017
Sold by: Random House LLC
For Héctor and Lilia, pursuit of the American Dream became every parent's worst fear when their infant daughter vanished as they crossed from Mexico to the United States—now they must try to get her back. With great empathy and a keen awareness of current events, Michel Stone delivers a novel of surpassing sensitivity and heart.
Young lovers Héctor and Lilia dreamed of a brighter future for their family in the United States. Héctor left Mexico first, to secure work and housing, but when Lilia, desperate to be with Héctor, impetuously crossed the border with their infant daughter, Alejandra, mother and child were separated. Alejandra disappeared. Now, four years later, the family has a chance to reunite, but the trauma of the past may well be permanent.
Back in their sleepy hometown of Oaxaca, the couple enjoys a semblance of normal life, with a toddler son and another baby on the way. Then they receive an unexpected tip that might lead them to Alejandra, and both agree they must seize this chance, whatever the cost. Working increasingly illegal jobs to earn money for his journey north, Héctor seeks more information about his long-absent daughter. Meanwhile, a bedridden Lilia awaits the birth of their third child, but cannot keep herself from reliving the worst mistakes of her past. In luminous, compassionate prose, Michel Stone drops readers into the whirlwind of the contemporary immigrant experience, where a marriage is strained to the breaking point by the consequences of wanting more for the next generation.
Review Link for The Iguana Tree - Click HERE
