When I saw the cover design, I was not sure that this book would appeal to me. I was surprised at how wrong I was. The heartbreaking scene with the mother and baby girl which comes very early in the book was almost unbearable to read since one can not help but know that this is realistic. Television news reports of refugees have made us all aware of the deaths and drownings. The writing is gritty without being unnecessarily vulgar, so judging from the sample chapters, the reader audience for this could cover a wide age group.
I felt as if I were in this rickety, homemade boat crossing the sea from Cuba. The details of Galan's hunger capture the the pain perfectly. Any reader will be able to imagine him slowly chewing on one salty cracker, hoping to ease some of the emptiness in his stomach. Sadly, one small cracker is not enough to help, but the salt on that cracker is enough to exacerbate the thirst. Then later, when a shark's fin slices through the water, the fear is so real.
I'm not sure where this escape attempt is headed, but I would like to read the rest of the book and find out.
I felt as if I were in this rickety, homemade boat crossing the sea from Cuba. The details of Galan's hunger capture the the pain perfectly. Any reader will be able to imagine him slowly chewing on one salty cracker, hoping to ease some of the emptiness in his stomach. Sadly, one small cracker is not enough to help, but the salt on that cracker is enough to exacerbate the thirst. Then later, when a shark's fin slices through the water, the fear is so real.
I'm not sure where this escape attempt is headed, but I would like to read the rest of the book and find out.