An emotional memoir that deep dives into the human cost of immigration

“One day, you’ll take a trip to be with us. Like an adventure.”

Javier Zamora’s powerful and moving memoir, Solito is a heart-wrenching, personal account about his perilous journey to the United States from El Salvador at the tender age of nine, all alone.

With a child’s innocent voice and unflinching honesty, Zamora masterfully captures the fear, wonder and resilience of a young boy on a harrowing odyssey. While exposing the unfathomable realities of the migrant experience, it also celebrates the kindness of strangers and the unwavering hope of a better life.

Highly recommended as a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the complexities of immigration and the profound resilience of the human spirit.

My book club chose Solito for our March read, and I was thrilled to dive into it. As an avid reader of memoirs, I anticipated enjoying this one immensely. Without the book club's selection, I doubt I would have stumbled upon this gem.

Javier's story begins in El Salvador, where he was born. His upbringing was marked by the absence of his father, who left when he was just a year old, followed by his mother's departure when he turned five. Their plan was to bring him to the United States, but as undocumented immigrants, they faced significant challenges. They attempted to use another child's passport to smuggle him into the country, but when that failed, they arranged for a Coyote to guide him through Mexico into the United States.

Solito vividly recounts Javier's harrowing journey to the U.S. At just nine years old, his family had hoped for a swift and seamless passage, but instead, they encountered numerous obstacles, including failed attempts at crossing the border. Despite the hardships, Javier found kindness and protection from fellow travelers along the way.

Reading Solito was an emotional rollercoaster, filled with heartbreak and raw honesty. Throughout the book, I had to remind myself that Javier ultimately survived and demonstrated remarkable resilience, or else there would be no story to tell.

This memoir serves as a poignant reminder of the privileges we often take for granted. Javier's narrative prompts reflection on our own lives and the fortunate circumstances we may overlook. I wholeheartedly recommend reading Solito; its gripping narrative will captivate you from the start, leaving you eager to devour every page.

One of the most impressive aspects of Solito is the author's ability to channel his nine-year-old self with such authenticity. His vivid recollection of even the smallest details reveals a remarkable talent for storytelling. It's truly awe-inspiring to witness how he captures the innocence and curiosity of a child amidst such challenging circumstances.

The story is being told from the point of view of 9 year-old Javier who grows up with his grandparents because his parents emigrated to the US early in his life. The author describes the harrowing story of how he immigrated illegally to the US to be united with his parents.

I felt for the characters and loved to see that Javier found people he could rely on while being at the mercy of coyotes. At the same time I would have preferred to hear this story from adult Javier and his point of view. The coming of age awkwardness and bathroom stories were a little much for me.

If a reader doesn't understand basic Spanish they might not get every situation or nuance as there is quite a bit of untranslated Spanish in this book.

I think it's an important story for anyone to hear to understand how terrible the cirumstances in their home countries must be to decide to get on this journey to the US not knowing if they will survive it.

Thanks to Netgalley and Hogarth for a copy of this book!

Beautiful novel.. I knew I would enjoy this one and it didn’t disappoint. Zamora’s story is incredible, heartbreaking and hopeful ,

This is a slow paced read and I feel this is a tool used to the scence of waiting that runs through the book. Because of this is can come across as a bit repetitive and has lots of similar parts. However this was Javier's experience of the journey.
This book was as explained by the author to help try and find the family he formed on the migration, and after therapy about his early life experiences. For me this makes it hard to rate a book that is so personal.
For me I engaged the most with the last chapter written in the format of Javier as an adult reflecting back on way he wrote the book, and perhaps I would have engaged better if I had more of this reflection throughout instead of the tale unfolding as told by his 9 year old self.

It was a fantastic memoir! It has a little bit of everything hardships, humor, innocence, courage, and hope! It's an emotional story that will have you glued to the pages!

This book was a gripping read. I was astonished by the perseverance in this harrowing tale. It really kept me on the edge of my seat.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick. Our library purchased and our patrons have been checking out and and enjoying the book. I see it is a popular book club choice as well we hope to have more oppurtinies to support authors like them

Traveling more than three thousand miles from a tiny town in El Salvador to the United States, Javier Zamora is just nine years old when his journey to be reunited with his parents begins. It is supposed to take two weeks, but takes much longer. A perilous journey for any child, especially one without his parents by his side, though he forms strong bonds with his fellow travelers.

I’m grateful this book was chosen as a @readwithjenna selection because this is a book that needs to be on the radar of all Americans. Javier shares that this is not just his story; it’s a universal story for many immigrants. At nearly 400 pages, Solito is difficult to put down. You simply have to keep reading to find out what happens next for Javier and his fellow travelers. Trauma, peril, arrests juxtaposed with tremendous love and strength of the human spirit.

An absolute must-read, and I’m hoping through sharing his story that Javier has been reunited with some of the others with whom he made the trip.

At age 9, Javier Zamora left war-ripped El Salvador on a journey of more than 3000 miles to find his parents in California. This is his story of a 9-week solo odyssey that was fueled by family dreams and the kindness of strangers. A book to open hearts and minds. Poetic images and epic storytelling. This memoir is a gift to humanity. The author excavates his memories and his journey with courage. A riveting memoir that is highly recommended for book groups and community reads.

This is the memoir of Javier’s journey from El Salvador to the United States when he was only nine. He describes what he experienced so vividly, both the things he understood and those he didn’t. This was an emotional read as the trip wasn’t easy. And the prose was beautiful.

I urge you to read this incredibly well written account of a 9 year old boy crossing three countries to finally be reunited with his parents. Javier describes his experiences in such a heartfelt way that it is impossible to not fear and hope alongside his journey. I was fully immersed into the story from the beginning. It also brings closer how much people will sacrifice for the hope of a better life. I am in awe with the writing and even though I had an idea of what it means to "cross the border", I never fully understood the real danger that is behind it.
This is a work of art, in the most heartbreaking way.

4 brave stars

Nine-year-old Javier Zamora journeys from El Salvador to the United States without family in 1999. The voice of this smart, brave boy is fantastic. He tells his story honestly, sharing his feelings and fears with the world. Like many kids that age, he is concerned about the bodily functions of farting and peeing and pooping. He gives the reader a tiny taste of what it was like to be crossing such distances, being hot, thirsty, tired, cold, sore, scared, alone.

This book was headed toward a rare 5-star rating for a long time, but I felt like it bogged down and got too long towards the end. (Maybe that was intentional, trying to give the reader the feeling of suffering going on forever.) My other complaint is that at the end, a lot of Spanish was used without translation. Again, maybe this was an intentional device, giving the reader the feeling of what it’s like not to know what was going on. It became frustrating for me though. I would have appreciated either a Spanish glossary of commonly used words or a translation.

In the 2021 conclusion, Zamora writes how his parents lost complete contact of his whereabouts for 7 long weeks. As excellent as Zamora’s voice was, I think even a bit of another perspective would have added to the story. Highly recommended! Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Some stories stick with you because they resonate, they make you laugh, they're incredibly relatable, or they're just a beautiful fantasy to lose yourself in. Whereas others will take you along on a highly emotional journey and leave you feeling as if you've just accompanied the author throughout his most vulnerable and difficult moments. This is one of those books!

Javier's story is as haunting as it is powerful. It's a testament to the strength and perseverance that he possessed as such a young child, as well as to those who accompanied him throughout his harrowing journey.

Solito is a heartwrenching account of Javier's perilous journey from El Salvador to the United States. At nine years old, Javier was entrusted to the care and guidance of a coyote to get him from El Salvador to his parents in the US. His family tried the legal routes and were unsuccessful. So, they did what they thought was best and paid a coyote to bring their son to them.

Unfortunately, even the best laid plans have a way of quickly coming unravelled. That is exactly what happened along the way. Despite every set back, every obstacle, Javier did not give up. He did not break down or turn around and go back home. He pursued what he believed was the dream, la USA. He pushed himself to unimaginable limits to make his dreams come true, to be reunited with his parents, to make his family proud of him. As a mother, as a human being, it is heartbreaking to me to imagine any child having to experience even a fraction of what he went through. Yet in reality I'm all too aware of just how many children and adults go through similar ordeals every day in an effort to pursue a brighter, safer future for themselves and/or their families.

If there's one thing that you take away from reading this book, it should be this: We need to do better as a whole. Asylum seekers, migrants, immigrants, undocumented, however you wish to refer to the human beings who are not from the same country as you are, they are not the enemy and deserve a chance to seek a better life for themselves.

Those lines on the map do not determine anyone's worth nor should they be viewed as a means of doing so. They're man made boundaries which exist as barriers yet our governments have zero issue skipping over them in order to interfere and "spread democracy" however they see fit. There is little to no thought for the conditions left behind after their interference and then they would prefer to punish those who seek asylum rather than aid them. We need to do better and ensure that those in power do as well.

What a powerful read.
Regardless of one's thoughts and opinions about people crossing international borders illegally this is a must read book. Not from a right or wrong standpoint, but from a viewpoint of realising the value of the luck of the draw as to where one ends up being born and realising that some people are not so lucky to experience life as you know it. As I read this book it got me thinking about the sheer desperation that migrants experience - that they will risk life and limb to escape their original countries to find a better life elsewhere. I know this book is about the South American/USA situation, but a lot can be applied to other countries' situations.
The honesty that this book is written with is amazing. The author captures the emotions and experiences of his 9 year old self so perfectly. I can't imagine what his parents were going through those 9 weeks where they had no idea where he was or even if he was alive. And of this little 9 year old boy, just having to trust a bunch of total strangers that they were going to help him with no idea of what lay ahead.
I often had to just put the book down to process it a bit better as it was a rather emotional read.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me the chance to experience this book.

An emotional memoir of Javier Zamora a 9 year old boy from El Salvador coming ALONE to America to reunite with his parents.
The long journey is told from the perspective and memories of a child.
Well written and an eye opener for all those who think immigration is an easy journey. This is an excellent book club selection and should be in all high school libraries.
I am glad it was chosen by Jenna Bush as one of the monthly @readwithjenna selections, as this has gotten the book into the hands of many people who may not have selected it otherwise.
This book will stick with the reader and hopefully give more understanding of why so many desire to come to the land of the free.

This is a story of hope which I found both inspiring and heartbreaking.

Thank You NetGalley and the publisher for the e-book edition in exchange for my honest opinions in review. All views are my own

This book broke me along the same vein as Educated did, a heartbreaking tale of perseverance. A priority purchase

Author Javier Zamora is nine years old when the book starts. His parents already have made the dangerous border crossing journey to the USA, and until it is his turn to go too, Javier lives with his aunt and grandparents in a small town in El Salvador.
And then the day comes that his parents saved enough money for a coyote to help him cross the border and that he has to start the dangerous journey to ''La USA''. Alone. Alone with a group of strangers and coyotes, criss- cross over land and borders through Guatemala and Mexico. Luckily he makes friends with a mother and young daughter, Patricia and Carla, who treat him like family. In very detailed and vivid writing, Javier tells the reader what he experienced during the journey and how hard and difficult it was, especially as a young child when it is hard to understand everything that happens to you and it is much more scarier to travel alone, but you just have to survive. As a reader, you just hope that his journey will be quick and without any obstacles, so that he can hug his parents in California and live the American Dream, but ofcourse, this is not what happens. The group of border crossers is discovered by the border patrol police and placed back into Mexico again. But that doesn't withold Javier's group to give it another try..The trip to the US was supposed to take only two weeks but 9 weeks later and three attempted border crossings, it seems like they are on the brink of freedom, and seeing his parents again..

The story of Javier's journey is beautiful and realistic, and it reads like a fiction novel while it isn't one. At some points if found the story repetitive and it kept hanging on parts that felt like the chapters before, it somewhat slowed down the story. But that aside, I found it a very impressive and moving book!!

Trip. My parents started using that word about a year ago--"one day, you'll take a trip to be with us. Like an adventure."

Javier's adventure is a three-thousand-mile journey from his small town in El Salvador, through Guatemala and Mexico, and across the U.S. border. He will leave behind his beloved aunt and grandparents to reunite with a mother who left four years ago and a father he barely remembers. Traveling alone except for a group of strangers and a coyote hired to lead them to safety, Javier's trip is supposed to last two short weeks.

This is a memoir of courage and faith. At nine years old Javier is sent alone with a coyote and strangers to get him to the United States. It was supposed to be two weeks but turned into months. This is like a fast paced novel with obstacle after obstacle along the way. Through the kindness of strangers, he is able to make the journey, but it's a rough one.

I really enjoyed learning about what it takes to make the journey from other countries to live the American Dream.

I was given a copy of this book to review from the Publisher and NetGalley and my opinions are my own.

I could not put this book down. You will experience a range of emotions as the writer / poet takes you on the journey. A horrific yet amazing memoir!!! It’s unimaginable to picture Little Javier going on the arduous journey into LA USA!!! The writing style was so addicting while having you on the edge of your seat wanting to know what would happen next. There is a lot of untranslated Spanish in the book. I speak Spanish so it was not a distraction for me, but not sure if that would be an issue for a person who doesn’t understand Spanish.