#daniel aleman

Indivisible by Daniel Aleman  Ander and Santi Were Here by Jonny Garza Villa  We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia Kween by Vichet Chum The Grief Keeper by Alexandra Villasante Bonus: These are all YA, but for a New Adult Romance, check out The Broposal by Sonora Reyes 

My piece for @rainbowcrate’s May’s book box.

Robin’s Worlds by Rainie Oet (text) and Mathias Ball (illustration) (3rd) A nonbinary child is whisked off on a spellbinding adventure for their birthday in this dazzling tale of friendship, community, and self-love. It’s Robin’s eighth birthday and it seems like everyone has forgotten. But things take a sudden turn when the Cat-Headed Wanderer shows up and sweeps Robin away to a magical party in…

New Releases: May 4, 2021

Adult Firebreak by Nicole Kornher-Stace Like everyone else she knows, Mallory is an orphan of the corporate war. As a child, she lost her parents, her home, and her entire building in an airstrike. As an adult, she lives in a cramped hotel room with eight other people, all of them working multiple jobs to try to afford water and make ends meet. And the job she’s best at is streaming a popular VR…

I Might Be in Trouble

Welcome to Book-Keeping and my stop on the TBR and Beyond Tours blog tour for Brighter Than the Sun, the sophomore novel from Daniel Aleman! This YA contemporary released yesterday, 21 March. I’ve got all the details about this new release for you below, plus my review!

About the Book

title: Brighter Than the Sun author: Daniel Aleman publisher: Little, Brown BFYR release date: 21 March 2023

From the author of the award-winning debut novel INDIVISIBLE comes an affecting, timely, and thought-provoking story about going after your dreams, making tough choices, and learning that change gives as much as it takes.

Every morning, sixteen-year-old Sol wakes up at the break of dawn in her hometown of Tijuana, Mexico, and makes the trip across the border to go to school in the United States. Though the commute is exhausting, this is the best way to achieve her dream of becoming the first person in her family to go to college.

When her family’s restaurant starts struggling, Sol must find a part-time job in San Diego to help her dad put food on the table and pay the bills. But her complicated school and work schedules on the US side of the border mean moving in with her best friend and leaving her family behind.

With her life divided by an international border, Sol must come to terms with the loneliness she hides, the pressure she feels to succeed for her family, and the fact that the future she once dreamt of is starting to seem unattainable. Mostly, she’ll have to grapple with a secret she’s kept even from herself: that maybe she’s relieved to have escaped her difficult home life, and a part of her may never want to return.

Content Warning: Immigration, class differences, discrimination, separation from family by international border

Add to Goodreads: Brighter Than the Sun Purchase the Book: Amazon | B&N | TBD | IndieBound

About the Author

Daniel Aleman is the award-winning author of Indivisible. He was born and raised in Mexico City. A graduate of McGill University, he is passionate about books, coffee, and dogs.

After spending time in Montreal and the New York City area, he now lives in Toronto, where he is on a never-ending search for the best tacos in the city.

His second novel, Brighter Than the Sun, was published on March 21, 2023 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

Connect with Daniel: Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

My 5-Star Review

I have not yet read Indivisible by Daniel Aleman, but I have heard such great things about the debut novel and definitely intend to grab it. So when I saw this tour opportunity pop up for his sophomore YA book, Brighter Than the Sun, I jumped at the chance to participate. Now I see why there’s all the accolades for Aleman’s work! This novel was a beautiful examination of what life is like for a teenager who lives in two worlds: Sol and her family live in Mexico, but Sol was actually born in California, making her a citizen of the US as well. Sol began attending school in California for high school, which means she has to be at the border and stand in line for an hour and a half before she can cross and head to school. After Sol’s mom passes, her family is struggling to keep her restaurant afloat and put food on their table, so the decision is made that Sol also needs to find work in California. She goes to live temporarily with her childhood friend and her mom, who moved from Mexico to the US a few years back. She finds a job in the warehouse of a department store and has shifts beginning at 5:00 a.m. before school or from 7:00-10:00 p.m. on school nights. Most weekends, she travels back to Mexico to stay with her family. In other words, she’s exhausted and burnt out and has little time to spend with friends, date, and just be a teenager. Her grades begin to slip and she feels herself being pulled underwater, just as she is discovering a budding relationship with a sweet guy who works with her in the warehouse.

I was struck by the incredible struggles Sol went through, both physically and emotionally, as she works at just 16 years old to help her family just be able to have food and pay bills. I cannot imagine going through these things as an adult, let alone as a young woman trying to make it through high school and to become the first person in her family to go to college. Sol desperately wants to go to college, but she also feels responsible for bringing home paychecks that no one else in her family could possibly make, all because of the accident of her being unexpectedly born in the US. I went through so many emotions reading this, and I also learned a lot about what it’s like to have such dual citizenship when the rest of your family does not. My heart went out to Sol, and I just wanted her to be able to be a teenager, spend time with her friends hanging out on the beach, and explore the budding connection that may turn into first love. The story is heart-wrenching yet ultimately hopeful, as Sol tries to figure out just where “home” truly is for her.

I would encourage everyone to pick up this book; you will learn so much and feel so connected to Sol, no matter how different your own experiences are. In fact, you should read it *especially* if you have completely different experiences, as this is one of those books that will expand your horizons and help you to see the struggles others go through that we know nothing about. Brighter Than the Sun is exactly the kind of book we talk about when we say that reading increases empathy, and I hope you will pick it up and make sure the young adults in your life do so, too.

Rating: 5 stars!

**Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for purposes of this blog tour. This review is voluntary on my part and reflects my honest rating and review of the book.