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The Book of Unknown Americans
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Various
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
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Publisher's summary
A boy and a girl who fall in love. Two families whose hopes collide with destiny. An extraordinary novel that offers a resonant new definition of what it means to be American.
Arturo and Alma Rivera have lived their whole lives in Mexico. One day, their beautiful fifteen-year-old daughter, Maribel, sustains a terrible injury, one that casts doubt on whether she’ll ever be the same. And so, leaving all they have behind, the Riveras come to America with a single dream: that in this country of great opportunity and resources, Maribel can get better.
When Mayor Toro, whose family is from Panama, sees Maribel in a Dollar Tree store, it is love at first sight. It’s also the beginning of a friendship between the Rivera and Toro families, whose web of guilt and love and responsibility is at this novel’s core.
Woven into their stories are the testimonials of men and women who have come to the United States from all over Latin America. Their journeys and their voices will inspire you, surprise you, and break your heart.
Suspenseful, wry and immediate, rich in spirit and humanity, The Book of Unknown Americans is a work of rare force and originality.
Critic reviews
Featured Article: The Best Audiobooks That Capture American Latino History
Latinos and Latinas in the United States might find themselves questioning where they belong, whether they migrated from Latin American countries with their parents as children, arrived as adults, or were born in the USA. American history often overlooks those who don't have British or European ancestry. Dive right into this list and prepare to have an "ear-opening" experience as you learn more about what makes Latino heritage of all kinds so special.
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From a distance, the towns along the US-Mexican border have dangerous reputations - on one side, drug cartels; on the other, zealous border patrol agents - and Brownsville is no different. But to 12-year-old Orly, it's simply where his godmother Nina lives - and where he is being forced to stay the summer after his mother's sudden death. For Nina, Brownsville is where she grew up, where she lost her first and only love, and where she stayed as her relatives moved away and her neighborhood deteriorated.
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Fantastic Read
- By NSJ on 07-31-19
By: Oscar Cásares
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Of Women and Salt
- A Novel
- By: Gabriela Garcia
- Narrated by: Frankie Corzo, Gabriela Garcia
- Length: 7 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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In present-day Miami, Jeanette is battling addiction. Daughter of Carmen, a Cuban immigrant, she is determined to learn more about her family history from her reticent mother and makes the snap decision to take in the daughter of a neighbor detained by ICE. Carmen, still wrestling with the trauma of displacement, must process her difficult relationship with her own mother while trying to raise a wayward Jeanette. Steadfast in her quest for understanding, Jeanette travels to Cuba to see her grandmother and reckon with secrets from the past destined to erupt.
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Bored
- By Kindle Customer on 04-05-21
By: Gabriela Garcia
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I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
- By: Erika L. Sánchez
- Narrated by: Kyla Garcia
- Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Perfect Mexican daughters do not go away to college. And they do not move out of their parents' house after high school graduation. Perfect Mexican daughters never abandon their family. But Julia is not your perfect Mexican daughter. That was Olga's role. Then a tragic accident on the busiest street in Chicago leaves Olga dead and Julia left behind to reassemble the shattered pieces of her family. And no one seems to acknowledge that Julia is broken, too. Instead, her mother seems to channel her grief into pointing out every possible way Julia has failed.
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FOR LATINAS WHO ARE OFTEN TOLD THEY "SOUND WHITE"
- By Alex on 12-14-18
By: Erika L. Sánchez
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Girl in Translation
- By: Jean Kwok
- Narrated by: Grayce Wey
- Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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When Kimberly Chang and her mother emigrate from Hong Kong to Brooklyn squalor, she quickly begins a secret double life: exceptional schoolgirl during the day, Chinatown sweatshop worker in the evenings. Disguising the more difficult truths of her life-like the staggering degree of her poverty, the weight of her family's future resting on her shoulders, or her secret love for a factory boy who shares none of her talent or ambition-Kimberly learns to constantly translate not just her language but herself back and forth between the worlds she straddles.
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This is a keeper
- By Suzette on 06-25-10
By: Jean Kwok
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I'm Not Dying with You Tonight
- By: Kimberly Jones, Gilly Segal
- Narrated by: Brittany Pressley, Channie Waites
- Length: 5 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Lena has her killer style, her awesome boyfriend, and a plan. She knows she's going to make it big. Campbell, on the other hand, is just trying to keep her head down and get through the year at her new school. When both girls attend the Friday-night football game, what neither expects is for everything to descend into sudden mass chaos. Chaos born from violence and hate. Chaos that unexpectedly throws them together. They aren't friends. They hardly understand the other's point of view. But none of that matters when the city is up in flames.
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My heart is in my throat ..
- By john meyerhofer on 06-22-20
By: Kimberly Jones, and others
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Into the Beautiful North
- A Novel
- By: Luis Alberto Urrea
- Narrated by: Susan Ericksen
- Length: 11 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Nineteen-year-old Nayeli works at a taco shop in her Mexican village and dreams about her father, who journeyed to the US to find work. Recently it has dawned on her that he isn't the only man who has left town. In fact there are almost no men in the village - they've all gone north. While watching The Magnificent Seven, Nayeli decides to go north herself and recruit seven men - her own "Siete Magníficos" - to repopulate her hometown and protect it from the bandidos who plan on taking it over.
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Needs a better reader
- By The Honest Reviewer on 01-16-19
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The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina
- A Novel
- By: Zoraida Córdova
- Narrated by: Frankie Corzo
- Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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The Montoyas are used to a life without explanations. They know better than to ask why the pantry never seems to run low, or why their matriarch won’t ever leave their home in Four Rivers - not for graduations, weddings, or baptisms. But when Orquídea Divina invites them to her funeral and to collect their inheritance, they hope to learn the secrets that she has held onto so tightly their whole lives. Instead, Orquídea is transformed into a ceiba tree, leaving them with more questions than answers.
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Magical Realism Weirdness
- By @abagoflit on 09-08-21
By: Zoraida Córdova
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Big Chicas Don't Cry
- By: Annette Chavez Macias
- Narrated by: Vanessa Vasquez, Alessandra Manon, Aida Reluzco, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Cousins Mari, Erica, Selena, and Gracie are inseparable. They aren’t just family but best friends—sharing secrets, traditions, and a fierce love for their abuelita. But their idyllic childhood ends when Mari’s parents divorce, forcing her to move away. With Mari gone, the girls’ tight-knit bond unravels.
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Painfully boring..
- By Monica Serrano on 09-24-22
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Signs Preceding the End of the World
- By: Yuri Herrera
- Narrated by: Patricia Rodriguez
- Length: 2 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Yuri Herrera does not simply write about the border between Mexico and the United States and those who cross it. He explores the crossings and translations people make in their minds and language as they move from one country to another, especially when there's no going back. Traversing this lonely territory is Makina, a young woman who knows only too well how to survive in a violent, macho world. Leaving behind her life in Mexico to search for her brother, she is smuggled into the USA carrying a pair of secret messages - one from her mother and one from the Mexican underworld.
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worst narrator possible
- By Two Fathoms on 04-26-22
By: Yuri Herrera
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The House of the Spirits
- A Novel
- By: Isabel Allende
- Narrated by: Thom Rivera, Marisol Ramirez
- Length: 18 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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The House of the Spirits brings to life the triumphs and tragedies of three generations of the Trueba family. The patriarch Esteban is a volatile, proud man whose voracious pursuit of political power is tempered only by his love for his delicate wife, Clara, a woman with a mystical connection to the spirit world. When their daughter, Blanca, embarks on a forbidden love affair in defiance of her implacable father, the result is an unexpected gift to Esteban.
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Narrators spoil it
- By Cookie on 09-27-16
By: Isabel Allende
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The Leavers
- A Novel
- By: Lisa Ko
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 14 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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One morning, Deming Guo's mother, an undocumented Chinese immigrant named Polly, goes to her job at the nail salon and never comes home. No one can find any trace of her. With his mother gone, 11-year-old Deming is left with no one to care for him. He is eventually adopted by two white college professors who move him from the Bronx to a small town upstate. They rename him Daniel Wilkinson in their efforts to make him over into their version of an "all-American boy".
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Overly dramatic narration.
- By susan sompayrac on 06-27-17
By: Lisa Ko
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Familia
- By: Lauren E. Rico
- Narrated by: Frankie Corzo, Robb Moreira, Victoria Villarreal
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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As the fact checker for a popular magazine, Gabby DiMarco believes in absolute, verifiable Truths—until they throw the facts of her own life into question. The genealogy test she took as research for an article has yielded a baffling result: Gabby has a sister—one who’s been desperately trying to find her. Except, as Gabby’s beloved parents would confirm if they were still alive, that’s impossible.
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Feel good thought provoking novel
- By Db on 01-26-24
By: Lauren E. Rico
What listeners say about The Book of Unknown Americans
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Amazon Customer
- 07-18-18
Amazing. heart wrenching but so worth the listen.
loved it. heart wrenching towards the end and but so worth the listen. just wow.
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- Lucky Ducky
- 03-21-17
My Favorite Audible Book
Where does The Book of Unknown Americans rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
This is my favorite audible book.
Have you listened to any of Various’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
I enjoy listening to the other voices and their various stories.
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- Karen
- 01-30-18
disappointing towards the end but overall good
What made the experience of listening to The Book of Unknown Americans the most enjoyable?
that i could listen anywhere i wanted
Would you recommend The Book of Unknown Americans to your friends? Why or why not?
yes definitely it is super efficient, you can do anything while listening to this audio version of the book
Which character – as performed by Various – was your favorite?
Mayor
Any additional comments?
the ending was not what i expected, it sucked!
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- Jennifer
- 10-28-15
Young Adult or Adult fiction
As a 45 year old mom of three, I enjoyed the overall story and the embedded short stories of "unknown" Americans that illuminates experienced of some migrants. The love story and much of the writing feels like it is written for young adults and teenagers. Enjoyable overall
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- Logan
- 01-20-15
A painful and beautiful story.
Narration was great. The story was told well and I loved each of the characters.
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- Veronica
- 08-27-21
Wow beautiful
I could not stop this is a breath taking and such a beautiful story. I totally recommended to any one to share with family
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- Jus Me
- 12-01-20
Interesting perspective on the immigrant struggle
Enjoyed the Mayor Chapters the most. It is a good book. Interesting, but not extremely exciting. Be aware that it does have adult language.
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- Eli
- 05-21-19
bruh
bruh bruh bruh bruh bruh bruh bruh bruh bruh bruh bruh bruh bruh bruh bruh bruh. good book narrator is that the one you sent me
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- Janet G. Zinn
- 02-22-20
Beautiful
I loved the writing with clear narrative voices. It’s a beautiful story of an immigrant community from a number of distinct backgrounds
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- Eva Munoz
- 08-10-21
loved it
The performance for the different characters in this book were amazing. the book made me laugh and cry. great story!
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