Book Review: Disappeared
I received this book as an ARC with the white cover. I didn’t read what the story was about but looking at the cover, assumed it was a dystopian science fiction book. Boy, was I wrong – it’s not dystopian or science fiction, but it was really well written. I have enjoyed other books by Francisco X. Stork and I wasn’t disappointed.
This story is set over four days as Sara and her Brother Emiliano have to make the most difficult choices there are – between saving their own lives and serving justice to those who deserve it, between friends and family and holding onto the truth when it doesn’t seem possible. Sara and Emiliano live in Juarez, Mexico, striving to make ends meet and trying to be careful as young woman all around them are disappearing. Sara, a journalist for the local paper receives a threat against herself and her family after researching the missing woman, one of whom is her best friend. Meanwhile, Emiliano is offered a job transporting drugs through some of the handicrafts he sells near the border – the money is more than they ever thought possible and would do wonders in getting him into a position where he could be with his love, Perla Rubi who comes from a well-to-do family.
When the wrong people find out where they live, it’s a split second decision that could mean separating the family, crossing the border and possibly seeking asylum in the United States, but nothing is without consequences as the decisions this sibling pair make will change their lives forever.
This story opened a world to me that I don’t experience or often see. Growing up and living in the Northeastern part of our country separates me from much of the talk of Border Patrol, undocumented immigrants, although now more than ever this is an issue that you not only need to be aware of but also be educated about. Everyone has their own reality and by reading this book, a window was open for me to see someone else’s experience and isn’t that the point?
Twitter Booktalk (140 characters or less): “In the next four days, Sara and Emiliano will each face impossible choices, between life and justice, friends and family, truth and love.”
Title: Disappeared
Author: Francisco X. Stork
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
Publication Date: September 26, 2017
Page Number: 336 pgs.