The Book of Rosy

Starred review from March 1, 2020
The true story of a Guatemalan woman's journey to the U.S. and what happened to her and two of her children when she crossed the border. As is the case for most immigrants, Pablo Cruz's decision to leave Guatemala and travel more than 2,000 miles to the U.S. was difficult. Yet her husband had been murdered, she'd been shot, and there were threats being made on her oldest son's life. Consequently, what choice did she have but to flee even though it meant leaving her two daughters and her clothing store behind? Suffering significant deprivations during their treacherous journey, they arrived exhausted and dehydrated at the U.S. border. Because of the American government's new zero-tolerance policy, the author was immediately separated from her children and locked up in Eloy Detention Center, where she endured "inadequate and often spoiled food...thin mattresses and tightly rationed toiletries...water that seem[ed] to be laden with chemicals," as well as "the unfathomable cruelty of some of the guards." For more than 80 days, Pablo Cruz lived in fear, with her strong faith helping her through some of the darker moments. Help arrived via the Immigrant Families Together program, a highly effective group of angry mothers coordinated by Collazo, which helped secure Pablo Cruz's release and aided her reunion with her sons. In this gripping narrative, the authors tell their respective sides of this intertwined story. Pablo Cruz details the emotional and physical distress she suffered before leaving her native country and throughout the ensuing months, when she constantly questioned her decision to flee to America. Collazo clearly describes the incredible outpouring of support she discovered for these asylum seekers. The tale is haunting and eloquent, giving voice to a sector of society that requires serious aid rather than the discrimination and racial prejudice they too often face. An emotionally intense narrative of a Guatemalan woman's desperate search for a better life.

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Starred review from March 23, 2020
This disturbing and unforgettable memoir follows the path of Guatemalan mother Pablo Cruz, who fled to the U.S. in 2018 with her two sons after her husband is murdered, she herself is shot, and her oldest son is threatened by criminals. Writing with Schwietert Collazo, who initiated the Immigrant Families Together grassroots organization to aid mothers detained at the U.S. border, Pablo Cruz narrates her agonizing eight-day journey to the border crammed in a truck with other refugees and her 81 days in a cell after being separated by ICE agents from her boys (ages five and 15). In the months without her boys, who are placed in foster care in the Bronx while she remains in Arizona, Pablo Cruz paints a heartbreaking picture of the many incarcerated mothers who spend hours weeping and praying together. A devout evangelical Christian, Pablo Cruz draws upon her faith to see her through the desolation and despair, and eventually her prayers are answered by a group of angry, “bad-ass ladies” from Immigrant Families Together who raise a $12,000 bond for her release. This wrenching story brings to vivid life the plight of the many families separated at the U.S.-Mexico border.

June 1, 2020

Cruz and Collazo (founder, Immigrant Families Together) chronicle Cruz's journey as a migrant from Guatemala to the United States. Beginning by describing her life in Guatemala, Cruz shares how a foiled murder attempt, along with the death of her husband and threats on her oldest son's life, prompted Cruz and her two sons to seek asylum in the United States. Cruz narrates her journey, including being separated from her sons due to the Trump administration's policies and spending months in a detention center. In the second part of the book, the narration awkwardly shifts to Collazo, who recounts her motivations for starting Immigrant Families Together, which raises bond money for detained migrant mothers and helps reunite them with their children. After Collazo reunites Cruz with her sons, she helps the family adjust to life in the United States. In the final section, Cruz reflects on the long-term effects of detention and separation on her family, as well as her new life in the United States. The book also includes a recommended reading list and suggestions for activism. VERDICT A heartfelt memoir of survival and the power of activism that is recommended for readers interested in personal narratives of migration.--Rebekah Kati, Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2020
This straightforward and heartfelt story of one family's journey from terror to a tenuous security is told in two voices. In part one, small-business owner Cruz recounts her family's terrifying odyssey fleeing violence in Guatemala after her husband's murder and her own close call. Once in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention, Cruz is shocked to be sent to a facility in Arizona, while her children are delivered to a foster family in New York City. In part two, Collazo recounts her founding of the organization Immigrant Families Together in order to channel the rage and frustration she felt after learning about the forced family separation policy, and the challenges she overcame to help asylum seekers like Cruz. Both narrators embody the power of determined women in this unfiltered story about human suffering, the inhumane asylum process, and the joy of organizing generous and well-intentioned people across faith traditions for the common good. A recommended reading list and a section titled "How to Get Involved" will guide readers who share Cruz and Collazo's urge to help.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)