Review of LUZ by Kathleen M. Rodgers
There is nothing like the thrill of having a writer you respect read your work, call you to talk about the characters and significant moments in the novel (what a delightful conversation!), and then post about it so beautifully—and with a stunning photo! Thank you, Kathleen M. Rodgers! 💖🙏🏼
Here is Kathleen’s review. For her full blog, see link below.
Sarton Winning Novel, LUZ, Proves Empathy Doesn’t Have Borders.
Immigrant advocate Debra Thomas makes us care instead of turning away!
We are drawn immediately into this well written story that opens in 2015 in Los Angeles when Alma Cruz and her teenage daughter, Luz, get into a heated discussion about the plight of migrants at the southern border. As the story unfolds, we are whisked back to 1997 when Alma’s dad has gone missing after he failed to return to their home in Oaxaca, Mexico after working the fields in El Norte, the U.S.
Alma, who prides herself on being her father’s favorite, has been growing more impatient and worried as each day passes without his return. Alma is also the keeper of a secret she thinks might be one reason her dad hasn’t returned home. Three years after he’s disappeared, Alma sets out with her sister Rosa, two years older and “the pretty one,” on a perilous journey north to look for their dad. Along the way they meet Manuel, a teenager from Guatemala with his own hardships and reasons for wanting to cross the border and get to California.
The trio encounter acts of kindness and cruelty that leave them hopeful one moment and in complete despair the next. Just when they think they’ve seen the best and worst of humanity, along come complete strangers who either go out of their way to help them or to inflict harm.
Author Debra Thomas writes with emotional impact. She doesn’t spare the reader, even when life and death hang in the balance. The story is told from Alma’s first-person perspective. As a reader, I have no doubt that Alma chose Debra Thomas to tell her first-person account of what happened and the consequences she endured. All Alma wanted was to find out the truth about her dad and to seek hope for a better life.
LUZ, perfect for book clubs everywhere!
