b_readsalot's Reviews (700)

So it took me about the first quarter of the book to really feel like I was invested in the story, but after that, it really took off. I spent an entire afternoon devouring the rest of the book and feeling all kinds of emotions. From anger and frustration, to sadness, and lots of warm and fuzzy feelings too. It was a very human book, if that's a good enough descriptor.

I loved the mirrored storylines, where you get to follow Stella and Desiree's lives while also getting glimpses, and later, delving deep into Jude and Kennedy's lives. This book is very much about dynamics - racial dynamics, family dynamics, and generational dynamics. It's very thought-provoking and well worth the hype.

I don't know how to start putting my thoughts about this book into words. There's so much literature and fiction out there about immigration and the immigrant experience here in the US. This book immediately stands out as one of the best ones out there. Cornejo Villavicencio accomplishes so much in this short book - they succeed in painting a painful, truthful, emotional, and personal picture of the undocumented experience in this country.

I think what I love most about this book is that the author doesn't pretend to be embarking on some purely journalistic or scholarly research journey to uncover the truths about the undocumented experience. It's an opinionated, sharp, and witty telling of what the author themself has experienced throughout their own life - a recognition and portrayal of a shared traumatic experience that unfolds in different ways across the country, across different families, and across different points in time. But it demonstrates that at its roots, it is truly a shared experience that is built upon a foundation of racism, xenophobia, violence, and generational trauma that undocumented communities face.

The book beautifully written, it makes you laugh and want to cry, and it has so many moments that spark introspection. I would recommend anyone and everyone read this book and I'm sure I'll be raving about it for years to come.

I would definitely classify this as one of the more stressful books in the Kingdom Keepers realm. I loved getting more of a background on the Fairlies and how we got each of their POVs. Though I missed the full ensemble of characters that you get in the main series books, I did find myself pleased to be spending more time with Amanda, Jess, and Mattie. And even the parents and Joe. Wouldn't call it my favorite book, but it's a great addition to the universe and it made me extremely excited to start The Return series to see what ends up happing with the Kingdom Keepers.