Solito
Ratings25
Average rating4.4
15
Ratings25
Average rating4.4
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY • A young poet tells the inspiring story of his migration from El Salvador to the United States at the age of nine in this “gripping memoir” (NPR) of bravery, hope, and finding family. “I read Solito with my heart in my throat and did not burst into tears until the last sentence. What a person, what a writer, what a book.”—Emma Straub “A riveting tale of perseverance and the lengths humans will go to help each other in times of struggle.”—Dave Eggers 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 Zamora’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 amid a group of strangers and a “coyote” hired to lead them to safety, Javier expects his trip to last two short weeks. At nine years old, all Javier can imagine is rushing into his parents’ arms, snuggling in bed between them, and living under the same roof again. He cannot foresee 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 fellow migrants who will come to encircle him like an unexpected family. A memoir as gripping as it is moving, Solito provides an immediate and intimate account not only of a treacherous and near-impossible journey, but also of the miraculous kindness and love delivered at the most unexpected moments. Solito is Javier Zamora’s story, but it’s also the story of millions of others who had no choice but to leave home.
Reviews with the most likes.
SOLITO was such an emotional read for me. Javier Zamora was nine when he made the long journey to join his parents in America, unaccompanied by anyone he knew. Everything he went through so much. The prose of the book is immaculate as you are able to understand the innocence of a kid in the most difficult circumstances. The accuracy and translation of the Salvadorean slang used in this book brought me to the roots of my own heritage, and also recognize the way Spanglish can be utilized in modern works.
Rich in descriptions, moving and so much heartbreak and hope for the author. Love a good memoir but it was a bit long for me.
Javier Zamora tells the grueling story of his seven-week journey as a nine-year-old boy from El Salvador to the United States. It's a story of frightening boat trips, sudden police appearances, debilitating desert crossings, and arrests. The boy and his fellow immigrants suffer from a lack of water, a lack of food, the cold of the night, and the heat of the day. And it's all told in harrowing detail, in the beautiful language of a brilliant poet.
I'd love to see the people who make and enforce our laws read this book.
My full review is on Literary Quicksand: https://literaryquicksand.com/2022/08/book-review-solito-by-javier-zamora/
This book is incredible. Before I even get into any of my review: this is an important memoir, it's impeccably well written, and I so highly suggest putting it on your radar if reading about a child migrant's perilous journey all the way from El Salvador to La USA intrigues you.
In the beginning of Solito, we get to know Javier as he is in the time between when both his parents have migrated to the USA, and he's still in El Salvador. He lived a normal kid life in El Salvador, besides his parents being gone. He went to school, he helped his grandmother and grandfather, and he spent a lot of time with his aunt, Mali. I loved his relationship with her and I'm so glad it was included in the book, so the reader can really get to know him before his “trip”. They snuggle to sleep and are just so loving.
When it's finally time for Javier to make the journey to his parents, he has to just leave school without even saying goodbye to his friends. Nobody can know what he plans to do. How hard would that have to be for a 9-year-old? I'm sure it was just so difficult.
The first bit of Javier's journey, he gets to take a bus up through Guatemala with his grandpa. His relationship with his grandpa was not very deep before the trip, but they end up growing so close as they spend hours taking multiple busses through Guatemala. Their goodbye was rather heartbreaking, and the way Javier describes the love that grew between them was just beautiful. His grandfather can only go to the Mexican border, then has to leave Javier in the care of others (and a coyote who will lead them all the way through Mexico) and return to El Salvador.
Just imagine that. You're on a journey that's perilous, but you don't really know what might happen, or even what could happen. At 9 years old, you're just going along and hoping for the best, and that's really what Javier ends up doing. He relies a lot on the group he ends up travelling with, and they end up growing very close, like a family, as they try to make it across the border.
When Javier has to cross the desert on foot...these scenes are difficult to read, and I'm sure were incredibly difficult for Javier to write and recount. He does mention in his author note having help from his therapist to access and revisit all those feelings, and I can see why. He walked for HOURS and so many miles across the desert, only to be captured by border patrol. And then? He does it all over again.
You can tell Javier is a poet, as he writes so much about the scenes, smells, and textures associated with his time in the desert. The way he names the different types of cacti to give himself something to do, something concrete to take note of, is amazing. He was NINE. And through the whole ordeal, the love that grows between him and his fake family is just...oh my heart. So good.
