An American Immigrant

A Novel

By: Johanna Rojas Vann

Narrated by: Allison Strong

Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

A Colombian American journalist tries to save her career by taking an assignment somewhere she never thought she’d go—Colombia—in this heartwarming debut novel about rediscovering our family stories.

“A beautiful homage to a mother’s bravery and to the grace and grit that is our inheritance.”—Alicia Menendez, MSNBC anchor and creator and host of the Latina to Latina podcast

Twenty-five-year-old Melanie Carvajal, a hardworking but struggling journalist for a Miami newspaper, loves her Colombian mother but regularly ignores her phone calls, frustrated that she never quite takes the time to understand Melanie’s life. When the opportunity arises for a big assignment that might save her flagging career, Melanie follows the story to the land of her mother’s birth. She soon realizes Colombia has the potential to connect her, after all these years, to something she’s long ignored: her heritage, the love of her mother, her family, and the richest parts of herself. 

Colombia offers more than a chance to make a name for herself as a writer. It is a place of untold stories.

Inspired by real-life events, An American Immigrant is a story of culture and community, of abiding commitment to family, and of embracing our culture and the generations that have come before.

©2023 Johanna Rojas Vann (P)2023 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“A beautiful homage to a mother’s bravery and the grace and grit that is our inheritance. An American Immigrant is a clarion call to water our roots and refuse to allow those we love to be lost in translation.” —Alicia Menendez, MSNBC anchor and creator and host of Latina to Latina podcast

“In a yearning and humbling journey to the place of her mother’s birth, a fictional Miami journalist discovers her innermost worth by yielding to family truth, creative courage, and cultural clarity—which she needs to give both her heart and the hard world her authentic best. An enchanting, brave, and uplifting story of discovery, family love, and determined hope.” —Patricia Raybon, Christy Award–winning author of the Annalee Spain Mystery series and My First White Friend: Confessions on Race, Love, and Forgiveness

“In a yearning and humbling journey to the place of her mother’s birth, a fictional Miami journalist discovers her innermost worth by yielding to family truth, creative courage, and cultural clarity—which she needs to give both her heart and the hard world her authentic best. An enchanting, brave, and uplifting story of discovery, family love, and determined hope.” —Patricia Raybon, Christy Award–winning author of the Annalee Spain Mystery series and My First White Friend: Confessions on Race, Love, and Forgiveness

A must listen or read!

This book was so easy to relate. Very engaged and so many emotions. I couldn’t stop listening. Thank you!

Culture

I very much enjoyed this book. The story is like real life. It made me miss my long gone family. I wish I could’ve asked so many questions. Thank you for your story

More than a story.

So many books only tell a story. This one does that but also teaches a lesson. It reminds us, maybe for the first time, that our parents have lived lives, too, and if we do not ask about their stories, we lose our chance at something incredibly special. It highlights the importance of knowing your family and having curiosity about where and who you come from. Also, great narration. Highly recommend!

Soo glad this book found me!

This book found me! How? I don't know, but I feel like I was supposed to read it. I really loved this book. As a child of immigrant parents from Colombia there are so many things that I can relate to Melanie about. There are things in Melanie that I feel my own 3rd generation children would relate to her to as well. I appreciated how the author developed the mother/daughter relationship and that the journals were such a big part of that discovery. Listening to this book really made a difference for me as the narrator made these characters come alive and so relatable through accents and recognizable sayings. This book appeals to the writer in everyone. It really does inspire me to want to write my own parents story one day. I have shared this book with my own Colombian girlfriends as a book club read this month so that discussion will be fantastic to say the least. And I have suggested to my boys to read it before our own trip to Colombia and Mexico this summer. We've never been there together and I am hoping that by reading it they will also be able to see their parents cultures with open arms and open hearts. Thank you for sharing such a lovely story!

So relatable

I loved this book. As a Colombian American with similar family experience I really enjoyed listening to Melanie's story and her new found connection to Colombia and her family

Love this!!!

I loved everything about this book except that it ended 🤗
I loved all the Spanish in it.

Loved it!

My first time ever reading a Colombian immigration story plus the second generation perspective as the kids of immigrants. As a Colombian myself I loved the story and all the commentary about Colombia, but also the struggle to understand our identity and having to be between two cultures, the hardship many immigrants go through when moving to the US and many don’t even want to leave their home countries. There is also the theme around trusting your gut, and being authentic to what drives you, that can lead to career success that otherwise wouldn’t have happened.

Anxiety

I had to stop reading this book. The main character had so much anxiety I couldn’t take it. The characters seem flat And predictable. Sorry —maybe younger people would like the book?