Indivisible

Synopsis:

“This timely, moving debut novel follows a teen’s efforts to keep his family together as his parents face deportation.

Mateo Garcia and his younger sister, Sophie, have been taught to fear one word for as long as they can remember: deportation. Over the past few years, however, the fear that their undocumented immigrant parents could be sent back to Mexico has started to fade. Ma and Pa have been in the United States for so long, they have American-born children, and they’re hard workers and good neighbors. When Mateo returns from school one day to find that his parents have been taken by ICE, he realizes that his family’s worst nightmare has become a reality. With his parents’ fate and his own future hanging in the balance, Mateo must figure out who he is and what he is capable of, even as he’s forced to question what it means to be an American.

Daniel Aleman’s Indivisible is a remarkable story—both powerful in its explorations of immigration in America and deeply intimate in its portrait of a teen boy driven by his fierce, protective love for his parents and his sister.”

Review:

This is a YA novel written for and about teens. As an adult reader, there are some kids’ books that I do not connect with, this was not one of those titles. I read this in two sittings because it was so well-written and engaging. Granted, I definitely connected more with the parents, I think than the main character. The decisions that Mateo’s parents had to make were heart-breaking and I truly felt for them. When your back is against the wall, every decision you make is for what is best for your kids. Even when the world feels like it’s falling down around you. Yeah, this is one of those books that is going to make you ugly-cry, so get ready.

Not only is this the story of an ICE raid on Mateo’s family, but it shows just how broken the current immigration system is. To separate a family is truly awful. Mateo’s mother and father are housed in two separate locations. And Mateo chooses for some time to try and make it on his own taking care of his sister. But no teenager should have to take care of a younger sibling, go to school, go to work, get homework, by themselves. Sadly, I know this is a reality for so many kids in this world for all different types of reasons.

This is the third book I’ve read this year about characters with undocumented immigrant parents. The other two middle grade titles are Efrén Divided by Ernesto Cisneros & Three Keys by Kelly Yang. Like many processes in the U.S., it’s one that needs to be evaluated and reworked at every level. Books like these are important for kids to better understand what is going on in our county. But also to show kids who may be living in a similar situation that they aren’t alone. Even though they may feel like it every day.

Verdict:

A story that will rip your heart out, but one that is so important at the same time. This debut novel is a must-read.

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Need to Know:

Title: Indivisible
Author: Daniel Aleman
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: May 4, 2021
Page Number: 400 pgs.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.