Every day, 1000’s of younger American residents who reside in Mexico cross the border into the U.S. to obtain their training, from elementary college all the strategy to faculty. Their households endure early mornings, arduous commutes, lengthy strains and aggravating interactions with border brokers, merely to make it to class on time. In his second novel, Brighter Than the Sun, creator Daniel Aleman unpacks the penalties of splitting a life in two—and the joys of placing it again collectively.
For years, Sol Martinez would wake earlier than daybreak to journey from Tijuana, Mexico, to attend college in San Diego. Sol desperately needs to embody the shortened kind of her identify, which suggests solar, and never her full identify, Soledad, which suggests solitude, however these days it’s been tough for her to really feel something however remoted. She simply moved in with a buddy in the U.S. in order that she may get a part-time job to assist her household, whose enterprise is failing.
Despite the cash Sol earns at her warehouse job, and even with glimmers of hope like new mates and a reference to a form, cute boy, the transfer appears to trigger extra issues than it solves. Sol feels cleaved from her household and pushed past exhaustion. She should endure racist conduct and her grades slip, threatening her dream of going to varsity. Increasingly, Sol wonders whether or not all her arduous work and sacrifice will quantity to nothing. “Deep down,” she thinks, “I wish I could return to a time when I could just let someone else carry all this weight for me. I wish I could be a child again, and not have to worry about anything.”
Aleman navigates Sol’s tough experiences with nuance and a delicate contact. He imbues Sol with a gentle resilience, even when she begins to really feel guilt for having fun with her new life in the U.S. In his expert palms, Sol bends however by no means breaks. After his acclaimed debut, Indivisible, Brighter Than the Sun affirms Aleman’s present for telling the tales of Mexican and Mexican American teenagers with care and love.
Many younger individuals in conditions like Sol’s grapple with false binaries: Are you one of us or one of them? Will you keep or will you permit? Will you pursue your desires or sacrifice them to assist these you like? These not possible questions haven’t any proper solutions, however Aleman’s refined writing and tender storytelling remind us that there are not any unsuitable solutions both. Brighter Than the Sun is a therapeutic and joyous learn.
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