New Stuff

This week brings us news of a trio of new books scheduled for October publication.  Two of La Bloga's favorite writers -- Reyna Grande and Martin Limón -- present their latest offerings to eager readers, while the third is from a rising political leader -- Julián Castro -- with an inspiring story of a tough childhood and an amazing mother.  As always, something for everyone.

A Dream Called Home: A Memoir

Reyna Grande
Atria Books - October 2

[book summary from the publisher]

From bestselling author Reyna Grande --- whose remarkable memoir The Distance Between Us has become required reading in schools across the country --- comes an inspiring account of one woman’s quest to find her place in America as a first-generation Latina university student and aspiring writer determined to build a new life for her family one fearless word at a time.

When Reyna Grande was nine-years-old, she walked across the US–Mexico border in search of a home, desperate to be reunited with the parents who had left her behind years before for a better life in the City of Angels. What she found instead was an indifferent mother, an abusive, alcoholic father and a school system that belittled her heritage.

With so few resources at her disposal, Reyna finds refuge in words, and it is her love of reading and writing that propels her to rise above until she achieves the impossible and is accepted to the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Although her acceptance is a triumph, the actual experience of American college life is intimidating and unfamiliar for someone like Reyna, who is now once again estranged from her family and support system. Again, she finds solace in words, holding fast to her vision of becoming a writer, only to discover she knows nothing about what it takes to make a career out of a dream.

Through it all, Reyna is determined to make the impossible possible, going from undocumented immigrant of little means to “a fierce, smart, shimmering light of a writer” (Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild); a National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist “speak[ing] for millions of immigrants whose voices have gone unheard” (Sandra Cisneros, author of The House on Mango Street); and a proud mother of two beautiful children who will never have to know the pain of poverty and neglect. 

Told in Reyna’s exquisite, heartfelt prose, A Dream Called Home demonstrates how, by daring to pursue her dreams, Reyna was able to build the one thing she had always longed for: a home that would endure.

An Unlikely Journey:  Waking Up from My American Dream

Julián Castro

Little, Brown and Company - October 9

[book summary from the publisher]

The keynote speaker at the 2012 DNC, former San Antonio mayor and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Julián Castro, tells his remarkable and inspiring life story.

In the spirit of a young Barack Obama's Dreams From My Father, comes a candid and compelling memoir about race and poverty in America. In many ways, there was no reason Julián Castro would have been expected to be a success. Born to unmarried parents in a poverty-stricken neighborhood of a struggling city, his prospects of escaping his circumstance seemed bleak.

But he and his twin brother Joaquín had something going for them: their mother. A former political activist, she provided the launch pad for what would become an astonishing ascent. Julián and Joaquín would go on to attend Stanford and Harvard before entering politics at the ripe age of 26.

Soon after, Joaquin become a state representative and Julián was elected mayor of San Antonio, a city he helped revitalize and transform into one of the country's leading economies. His success in Texas propelled him onto the national stage, where he was the keynote speaker at the 2012 DNC --- the same spot President Obama held three conventions prior --- and then to Washington D.C. where he served as the Obama Administration's Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. After being shortlisted as a potential running mate for Hillary Clinton, he is now seen by many as a future presidential candidate. 

Julián Castro's story not only affirms the American dream, but also resonates with millions, who in an age of political cynicism and hardening hearts are searching for a new hero. No matter one's politics, this book is the transcendent story of a resilient family and the unlikely journey of an emerging 

national icon.

The Line

Martin Limón

Soho Pres - October 23

[book summary from the publisher]

George Sueño and Ernie Bascom return for their thirteenth outing, which takes them from Seoul to the DMZ in their most politically charged murder case yet.

The Korean Demilitarized Zone, 1970s: A battered corpse is found a few feet north of the line dividing North and South Korea. When 8th Army CID Agents George Sueño and Ernie Bascom pull the body to the South Korean side on orders from their superiors, they have no idea of the international conflict their small action will spark. Before war breaks out, they must discover who killed Corporal Noh Jong-bei, a young Korean soldier working with the US Army.
 
The murderer could be from either side of the DMZ. But without cooperation between the governments involved, how can two US military agents interrogate North Korean witnesses? What George and Ernie discover gets them pulled off the case, but fearing they’ve put the wrong man behind bars, they disobey orders in an attempt to discover the truth.

Later.

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Manuel Ramos has three noir short stories in the literary pipeline: Night in Tunisia (Blood Business, Mario Acevedo and Joshua Viola, eds., Hex Publishing, 2017), Snake Farm (Culprits: The Heist Was Only the Beginning, Richard Brewer and Gary Phillips, eds., Polis Books, 2018), and Sitting Ducks (Blood and Gasoline, Mario Acevedo, ed., Hex Publishing, 2018). His next novel, The Golden Havana Night, is scheduled for publication in September, 2018.