3.5 stars

Thanks to Knopf for the copy of this book!

Las Madres is a story of three mothers and their daughters who are brought together by blood and friendship. It explores family dynamics, race, sexuality, colonization, and disaster through a Puerto Rican perspective, and is told in dual timeline from 1975 to 2017.

I appreciated this Own Voices read, especially as Esmeralda Santiago narrates this audiobook herself and had a very touching author's note at the end. Las Madres shows us how skin tones, language, place of residency, and tragedy come into play for Puerto Ricans. Revisiting Hurricane Maria from 2017 through these characters' eyes was so heartbreaking. Since it was a disaster minimalized by the time's President, I think a lot of Americans don't realize just how devastating the hurricane was. This book made me think a lot about Puerto Rico's status as a territory and what that really means for its people.

Read if you:
- remember Hurricane Maria in 2017
- love Own Voics reads
- want a Puerto Rican perspective
- enjoy dual timeline reads