2017
The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez
Named a New York Times and Washington Post Notable Book, an NPR Great Read, The Daily Beast‘s Novel of the Year, and aMother Jones,Oprah.com, School Library Journal, andBookPage Best Book of the Year
When fifteen-year-old Maribel Rivera sustains a terrible injury, the Riveras leave behind a comfortable life in Mexico and risk everything to come to the United States so that Maribel can have the care she needs. Once they arrive, it’s not long before Maribel attracts the attention of Mayor Toro, the son of one of their new neighbors, who sees a kindred spirit in this beautiful, damaged outsider. Their love story sets in motion events that will have profound repercussions for everyone involved. Here Henríquez seamlessly interweaves the story of these star-crossed lovers, and of the Rivera and Toro families, with the testimonials of men and women who have come to the United States from all over Latin America. The Book of Unknown Americans is a stunning novel of hopes and dreams, guilt and love—a book that offers a resonant new definition of what it means to be American.
This will be the ninth year of the One Book, One Community project. Its success on campus and in the community prompted Chancellor G. David Gearhart to provide the project with a permanent budget, drawing on money from private donations to the Chancellor’s Fund.
“The committee is very grateful to the chancellor for his support,” said Fitzpatrick. “We believe this support will go a long way toward helping the One Book, One Community project become an essential and sustainable program at the University of Arkansas. We are working to build a program that enriches our students’ education and becomes a memorable experience for the entire community.”
Students in their University Perspectives course and several other classes will read, discuss and write about The Book of Unknown Americans as part of their course assignments.
CRISTINA HENRIQUEZ is the author of The Book of Unknown Americans, which was a New York Times Notable Book of 2014 and one of Amazon’s Top 10 Books of the Year. It was the Daily Beast Novel of the Year, a Washington PostNotable Book, an NPR Great Read, a Target Book of the Month selection, and was chosen one of the best books of the year by BookPage, Oprah.com, and School Library Journal. It was also longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and was a finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize.