This is one of the best books I've read in a while. Solito is the true story of how the author left El Salvador and traveled to the US via bus, boat and foot when he was just 9 years old. The book does a good job explaining the perils and the hardships of the 3,000 mile journey that took several weeks. It's incredible he made it, and I had to keep reminding myself that while I was reading because he hit so many obstacles on the journey. Thank goodness for the kindness of so many strangers along the way. While the book has a happy ending, it's sobering to know that there are still so many people, including families and young children, still making the hazardous journey north for a safer, better life.

The only issue I had was that there was a fair amount of Spanish, more than I could easily understand with the little I remember from school. It may be best to read this as an ebook so you can easily translate as you go.

At first glance, this book shouldn't really appeal to me. Narcissistic, abusive, fame-hungry mom, child actor struggling with multiple eating disorders and addiction issues, star of Nickelodeon tween shows I never watched--nope shouldn't really grab my interest. Except it does. The writing is so good. I read this in about 24 hours. I'm so happy the author got the help she needed via therapy and a support system after her mom died so she could grow into her own self and heal from all the anxiety and stress of growing up a child actor with such an intense and ill mom. I won't hesitate to read her next book.

This is a fun start to a series new to me. It's a good mix of humor, mystery and romance with quite the cast of characters, and it likely will appeal to fans of the Stephanie Plum series and fans of Darynda Jones.