Solito by Javier Zamora

Synopsis: Testimony of a young child traveling across a desert, from El Salvador to la USA, alone.  

Writing Style: Scenic. Moving. Poetic.     

Pacing: Moderate.

Personal Highlights: The scenic writing is clear and well done, even if I started and stopped a number of times before the weight of the words overcame me. Meeting the family (Grandpa, Mali, Abuelita, and mom and dad), along with the nuns and dons/coyotes and eventually his ‘traveling family… Patricia/Chino/Marcelo’ brought this story off the page. I liked the way he described the sights and sounds, tambien. The air-conditioned buses…the giant blue kidney bean (phone) …taste of the food (those Mexican Tacos!!!) …woman on bus …footsteps sounding like eating cereal …the thorns of those cacti … the motels…shelters…barking dogs…and a two month treacherous trek described from the eyes of a nine-year child was simply powerful. Seeing through his imaginings and memories even helped interpret much of the dialogue captioned in Spanish. Certainly moving. Highly recommended. Read copyright 2023 soft-copy.