The Book of Unknown Americans

Cristina Henríquez

A literary novel told through multiple immigrant voices in a Delaware apartment complex, centered on the Rivera family's move from Mexico so their brain-injured teenage daughter Maribel can get specialized schooling, and the tender, forbidden romance that develops between Maribel and Mayor Toro, the Panamanian-American boy next door. Interwoven are first-person vignettes from other residents of the building, each recounting why they left their home countries. The story builds toward a devastating act of violence that reshapes both families' lives.