Solito

A young poet tells the story of his harrowing migration from El Salvador to the United States at the age of nine in this memoir.

Trip. My parents started using that word about a year ago--"one day, you'll take a trip to be with us. Like an adventure."

Javier's adventure is a three-thousand-mile journey from his small town in El Salvador, through Guatemala and Mexico, and across the U.S. border. He will leave behind his beloved aunt and grandparents to reunite with a mother who left four years ago and a father he barely remembers. Traveling alone except for a group of strangers and a coyote hired to lead them to safety, Javier's trip is supposed to last two short weeks.

At nine years old, all Javier can imagine is rushing into his parents' arms, snuggling in bed between them, living under the same roof again. He does not see the perilous boat trips, relentless desert treks, pointed guns, arrests and deceptions that await him; nor can he know that those two weeks will expand into two life-altering months alongside a group of strangers who will come to encircle him like an unexpected family.

My Verdict

It is a beautifully written work and unlike other books that have taken on the topic of migration to the United States, Solito is written by a migrant, someone who walked across the desert—at the age of 9.

Solito is about family: family left behind, family waiting at the other end of the line, and the family that sustained Zamora along the long journey. That family is led by Patricia, who looks after Javier as she does Carla. Javier reacts with warmth towards Carla but finds himself feeling guilty, wondering if he has somehow betrayed his real mother in California, also named Patricia. Zamora dedicates the book to that "family.". “I wouldn’t be here without you,” he writes. He probably wouldn’t, for the book contains account after account of how his adopted family helps shepherd him along when his quest seems utterly hopeless.

The book was engaging and difficult to put down. I give this book 4 stars.