This is an enlightening story about what it can be like to grow up in a civil war and then to escape to another country that was mostly dissociated with it. Or be forced out, depending on how you look at that part of it but I don't want to spoil anything either.
While parts of the story can be a bit explicit, I wouldn't call it any more graphic or triggering than the Hunger Games. That said, I can't say for sure what would trigger someone who has lived through such events, so I'll gladly change this if someone disagrees.
As stated in the synopsis, the story follows Ana Juric. It's a bit of a coming of age story and I personally liked the time jumps. For me, the most striking thing about the story was the way social protocol in the US silenced Ana about her experience. I've seen this pan out similarly with my mother, who lived in Cuba for a while in her childhood. She doesn't talk about it much but will sometimes with the right opening. She's always felt that people don't really want to hear about any of it, like anyone would only were ask to be polite but really preferred she not mention it, which couldn't be further from the truth for some of the family.
To me, it was fascinating to hear about it. Then again, that puts one in the other bind that we get to see Ana go through as well. She fights off being disaster or tragedy porn and one of the easiest ways to do that is to simply not tell people that you were a part of whatever the disaster is. But the story is really about her realization that she can't ignore what she was a part of just because she doesn't live in that world anymore. It's about reconciling her past and her present and maybe figuring out where that leaves her to go in the future.
Many parts of her story are those that we hear of here when we do talk to refugees and immigrants who come from war-torn places, but I didn't feel like it was wholely stereotyped. The writing is what makes the difference. Much of it reads a little like a young adult book, but I think that's mostly because it's told in the first person perspective of a new adult who is remembering her past. I like that perspective choice because it relates a deeper understanding of the thought process of a person in those situations as they carry out whatever actions they do. The movement in time help in the endeavor to give both her perspective as she's doing things and the way she feels about it later.
Honestly, the only thing I didn't really like about the story was that I felt like the end of the book snuck up on me. I didn't feel like there was a specific climax and it felt unresolved. Though I didn't like that as an ending for a book, I understand it's beauty as an ending. That happens sometimes where the perfect ending isn't a particularly satisfying one.
That didn't ruin the book and I'd still recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical fiction or books with female protagonists or diverse reading.
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