School Library Journal Review
Gr 7 Up--Sixteen-year-old Soledad lives with her family in Tijuana, Mexico. Though she was named for the feast the day she was born, her name literally means solitude, which suits the loneliness she feels since her mother's passing. The only one in her family born in the United States and therefore a citizen, Sol crosses the border early each Monday to attend high school and works long hours at a department store. Her family needs the money to keep her mother's restaurant business afloat in her honor as they grieve, and she can earn more in the U.S. Weekday housing, food, and friendship are provided in California courtesy of old friend Ari and her mom. Sol's determination to fulfill her obligations propels her through long weeks until she comes home on weekends to her family. Things begin changing when she realizes the comforts of Ari's home; a full belly and a love interest at work are a respite from the constant stressors at home. Sol's character is complex, as her identity is torn between worlds. Her burdens are extraordinary, and guilt consumes her when she wants some typical teen social time. Her entire family is adrift in their grief, which is an overarching theme as they do what they think is best, but sometimes is the opposite. Sol's personal, engaging narrative takes readers on this journey with her as she makes discoveries about herself and grows. Racism, immigration, and finding new opportunities are addressed throughout, with imperfect resolutions, just like real life. VERDICT The stream-of-consciousness narrative grabs the hearts of readers and is perfect for building empathy as a mirror, window, or sliding glass door. A strong purchase for YA collections.--Lisa Krok
Kirkus Review
Pulled between her feelings of obligation to her family and the lure of her own dreams, Sol must find a way to straddle both political and personal borderlands. Sol means sun in Spanish, and it embodies the effervescent young woman Sol strives to be. But her name is short for Soledad, which means solitude and represents not only the feast day on which she was born, but the isolation she has felt since her mother died. By virtue of her birth, she is the only U.S. citizen in her family, so she can attend a high school across the border from Tijuana--and even one day a U.S. university, something she has long dreamed of. For now, though, it also means she's the only one eligible to work in the States. As her family struggles with grief, Sol shoulders the burden of supporting them financially. On the one hand, living with friends on the California side of the border opens up opportunities to cultivate new relationships and renew old ones. On the other hand, she misses seeing her family every day. The push and pull between her desires and obligations in both Mexico and the U.S. turns the border into a liminal space that represents the dichotomy and tension it requires to balance between being Sol and Soledad. Though outside tensions build to a climactic moment, the story's heart lies within Sol's first-person stream-of-consciousness narration. A coming-of-age narrative with no easy answers but in which hope blooms. (Fiction. 13-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Aleman follows his acclaimed debut (Indivisible, 2021) with the heartfelt story of a girl torn between supporting her family in Mexico and fulfilling her own dreams. Soledad lives with her father, Abuela, and brothers in Tijuana, where they struggle to keep her mother's restaurant open after her death. The only U.S. citizen among them, Sol journeys across the border every weekday to attend high school in San Diego. At 16, she moves in with her best friend, Ari, and Ari's mother and takes on a part-time job in a U.S. warehouse to keep her family afloat. As she bears the weight of so much responsibility, how can Sol continue to pursue her goal of being the first in her family to attend college? Exhaustion, fear, and loneliness threaten to overwhelm her. Fortunately, Sol is supported by caring, generous friends and parent figures and buoyed by a first romance with Nick, an irresistible, kind coworker. Aleman effortlessly draws in the reader with a character-driven novel of survival laced with optimistic themes of growth, perseverance, and accepting change.
