Evocative language paints a realistic scene

The language Ribay uses makes it impossible not to feel like you are part of the scene. I'm assuming that the devastating sadness of the opening scene - a 10 year old cradling a dead puppy amidst a setting of casual cruelty and indifference - is a foreshadowing of the more significant deaths and destruction that are to come in the story. I'm really looking forward to seeing where this story goes and the reflections on being an immigrant kid in the U.S.