Across a Hundred Mountains

A Novel

De: Reyna Grande

Narrado por: Marisa Blake, Cynthia Farrell

Winner of the American Book Award, Across a Hundred Mountains is a “timely and riveting” (People) novel about a young girl who leaves her small town in Mexico to find her father, who left his family to work in America—a story of migration, loss, and discovery.

After a tragedy separates her from her mother, Juana García leaves in search of her father, who left them two years earlier. Out of money and in need of someone to help her across the border, Juana meets Adelina Vasquez, a young woman who left her family in California to follow her lover to Mexico. Finding themselves—in a Tijuana jail—in desperate circumstances, they offer each other much needed material and spiritual support and ultimately become linked forever in the most unexpected of ways.

In Across a Hundred Mountains, Reyna Grande puts a human face on the controversial issue of immigration, helping readers to better understand “the desperation of illegal immigrants and the families they leave behind” (Entertainment Weekly) in pursuit of a better life.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"A Mexican teenager leaves her destitute family and tiny village to cross the U.S. border in search of her father, who left two years earlier to find work and a new start. Sounding like a cross between a folktale and news ripped from today’s headlines, bilingual narrators Cynthia Farrell and Marisa Blake find a good balance between the journalistic prose and the emotional subject matter involving loss of family and culture. The details, especially those of the girl being caught between her “coyote” handlers and U.S. Customs officials, are realistic, visceral, and heartrending. In the end, Farrell’s and Blake’s voices emphasize the glimmers of hope that make stories of immigration universal."

A good listen

As others mentioned, it can be a bit confusing with the jumping between characters and time settings, but it does come together. It was also a good length. Glad I gave it a try.

Loved it!!

This store Brough back memories of Mexico and family and life in the ranch. Love it from beginning to end.

Definitely recommend

heart-wrenching

This is one of the saddest stories I've read; it hurts.
I was confused most of the way through with the story jumping back and forth between characters and with the accent and words in Spanish I just wasn't sure what was happening or who it was happening to, at times. It made more sense toward the end and I appreciated the ending.

I loved it

This book was great I couldn’t stop listening and look forward to listening to all books by Reyna Grande

Didn’t finish it

I only listed to about 1/3 of the book. There wasn’t any time spent introducing character. It just jumped right in and with out context was hard to follow. It was just things happening to ram some girls. The depth of character was missing. It may have been a good story but it wasn’t great storytelling.

enjoyed the story

but sometimes the narrator would mispronounced Juana's name. Will read author's other books. Thanks

Moving, and realistic

I found myself deeply concerned for the characters in this novel. Their experiences, which are nothing like mine, are similar to that of many people whose lives are upended by poverty and immigration. It should be mandatory reading for all citizens of the US, in order to counter their steady diet of dehumanizing rhetoric about immigrants and immigration. It is a well crafted novel, with a very satisfying ending.

Interesting story with a couple unexpected twists and turns, some of which were exciting.

Very much disliked the men’s voices. They all sounded the same—like old men with pretty severe indigestion. Very obnoxious.

captivating

This is a great story. I felt like I was in the story living it with the characters.

Clever but confusing

Good story. Very clever how the characters of Juana and Abelina cross paths and came together. But honestly, it was very confusing in the couple chapters right before we find out how and why they cross paths. I think those couple chapters could’ve been written in a less confusing and annoying way.