Indivisible by Daniel Aleman
I received a free copy of Indivisible thanks to The Novl in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.
In this book, we follow Mateo Garcia, a junior in high school whose parents have been taken by Immigration officers. Left to take care of his seven-year-old sister, Sophie, and the family bodega, Mateo has to face the impending reality of his parents possible deportation, and is facing tough decisions. More importantly, he’s left questioning everything he thought he ever knew. How can he make sense of this shame he suddenly feels? Why does he feel like an outsider? What does it truly mean to be an American?
This is such an impactful and unputdownable read. I devoured this in one day—I just had to know what happened. I know that Mateo and his family’s journey will stay with me for a while.
Indivisible is such an important and timely read. So much of it is thought-provoking and should be used for discussions on what it means to be an American or “legal” citizen. As a History Major, this book particularly resounded with me because I’ve always felt passionately about the debate between legal vs illegal immigrants and the reasons why people come to our nation seeking refuge.
Indivisible: My Thoughts
Aleman did an excellent job describing the feelings that Mateo had when he first found out about his parents detainment. He described the shame he felt, anger, disbelief, and isolation. Aleman continued to describe these feelings throughout the book, and those of the other characters, particularly Sophie’s, as they moved through the process of possible deportation and beyond. He shows the ignorance of those around the Garcias, the prejudiced sentiments, and the fear that the whole Garcia family lives with as they wait to find out what will happen with Ma and Pa Garcia.
There were a couple of things in the book that gave me pause. I was a little surprised when Mateo and Sophie were able to stay by themselves for so long after their parents were detained. I was surprised that the adults in their life just let that happen. Another part was when Mateo’s friends were so dense and kept making everything about themselves.
This book is so important to read because it gives deportation a face. As Mateo says during Pa’s hearing: (quote is from the ARC, may change upon publication) “When you talk about illegal immigrants, you see faceless people in your mind… You see people with no hearts, with no voices. You see them as an evil force, which is just here to take something from you.” This was such an important part of the story for me because I feel like people forget that “illegal” immigrants are people too. They forget that they came to our country for a reason, for opportunity, for refuge, for any number of reasons.
Overall, this book was such a good read. It was my first 5 star read of the year. I encourage y’all to pick it up. Publication is set for May 2021.
