Thank you @henryholtbooks for the approved request on @netgalley.

I read American Dirt in April of this year. It was a very solid 5 star read for me. I absolutely loved the story, it informed me, it was thought-provoking, and I still think about it.

So, I was extremely excited to read this newly published title by the same author. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. The writing style seemed different. To me it read as stilted and disjointed in places.

The story follows 3 generations of women in the same family. Meaning in some timelines a given character was the mom and in others she was the daughter. I found myself in multiple instances having to remind myself which generation was the "mom" within a given timeline. The women's actual names and being referred to as mama were used interchangeably. This was very confusing.

The storyline of following 3 women and how they related to their daughters was enjoyable (once I could remember which mother-daughter duo I was reading about), as was the joint Puerto Rico and stateside settings. It was fun learning information about San Juan and traditional Puerto Rican food. While I couldn't relate to any characters specifically, I could relate to the concept of feeling unsettled for a long time in a particular place. (I've moved quite a bit.) Spanning from the 1960s to 2023, the different experiences of each women about where home really is did provide interesting elements, alongside their contact with socioeconomic and racist encounters from family and strangers alike.

3.75 stars

4.25⭐
Reflective multi-generational saga of the women in a Puerto Rican family. From the life of the elite to having to rebuild, coming to the cold Midwest and racism shown to a mixed family and to the third generation who chooses to move back to San Juan. At times slow, and I did have some difficulty keeping the names, actions and generations straight. However, the trip is worth it. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review

This is a wonderful novel of 3 generations of a family that started in Puerto Rico, travels thru US Midwest and East Coast with a final return to their home in Puerto Rico. The characters are engaging and the author is able to describe life in all those locales in different time periods. It’s a good family saga!

What does it mean to belong—and can you truly love two people at once? These are just a few of the questions this novel stirred in me. Jeanine Cummins beautifully captures the spirit of Puerto Rico and the complexities of identity for those who are multiracial or bicultural.

Spanning three generations of women, the story explores their search for home—both as a place and a feeling. The narrative unfolds across shifting timelines, beginning with a life-altering accident involving the youngest, Daisy. Each chapter pulls us deeper into the family’s history, tracing their departure from Puerto Rico and the paths that eventually lead them back.

A layered, emotional read that lingers long after the final page.

I was really surprised by this one as I came to request it after having read her true crime book, I did not realize that she was more known for her other regular fiction/contemporary books so I was a bit disappointed when I realized it was another family so I’ll get type book because I had not picked it up for that reason and was expecting something else.

That being said Janine Cummins is a skilled and talented writer and her pros makes the book readable even if it is the last thing that you actually wanted to read about. I do think it could’ve been edited a bit more as there were definitely parts that felt like they were quite tedious and slow, but for the most part I enjoyed myself and I’m giving this a solid middle of the road three stars.

This story is told from the perspective of three generations of Puerto Rican woman over multiple timelines as you follow the story of Rafaela and her life, her family and the impact of her choices and those that follow her. It did not have the excitement of American Dirt but it was a thoughtful look at racism and family. I liked the generational viewpoints and different timelines. It would make a great bookclub pic for a female bookclub because it think it would result in good conversations especially since it spans three generations--there would be something for everything. A good solid read!

First off, there is no reason this book needed to be this long. I think a third of it could have been edited out and it would have been better. That said, it was a fine book. Nothing spectacular but worth reading.

2.5 stars rounded up.

I read American Dirt when it debuted, and even though it was not PC, since the author is a white woman who wrote about a Mexican immigrant and her son, I loved it. The searing love the mother felt for her son and her desperation to save him kept me on the edge of my seat and compelled me to keep reading until I knew their outcome. Unfortunately, Speak to Me of Home did not resonate with me the same way.

This is a long and rather ambitious family saga that spans three generations of women across multiple timelines: Rafaela, her daughter Ruth, and her granddaughter Daisy. The family is from Puerto Rico, but immigrate to St. Louis and then New Year. I felt the plot was too meandering at times and became bogged down in details. I also found it odd that after the critique of American Dirt, the author chose to write another novel from the perspective of Latina immigrants. Had it not been for the audiobook, I'm not sure I would have finished this novel. I seem to be the outlier here, though, as this book has many good reviews.

Thank you to NetGalley, Henry Holt & Company, and Macmillan Audio for audiobook and ebook ARCs in exchange for my honest feedback.

Speak to Me of Home by Jeanine Cummins is a beautifully written story that explores three generations of Puerto Rican women.
The characters are richly written. They show tenderness, anger, love and insecurity.
It was very emotional with great characters.
An absorbing generational family drama.

So glad to see that Jeanine Cummins has recovered from the American Dirt debacle. She's written a wonderfully moving story about three generations of Puerto Rican women. The characters and stories ring true; you won't be able to put this one down!

Perhaps I expected the speedy runaway feeling of American Dirt the very popular much discussed yet much loved novel. So I wasn't prepared for the sweet, meandering, multi-generational historical fiction novel Speak to Me of Home.

This novel touched my heart as I came to know all the family members and their ties to Puerto Rico. With wonderful character development I became involved with this quite complicated family. There were times when I found myself quite disgusted with one of the key females Raefela.

This book also allows the reader to feel the sting of prejudice people often experience when they are half and half not claimed by one of their races or the other especially in their formative years. It certainly tugged hard on my heart.

There were strings that tethered each character to the island of Puerto Rico and the author consantly tugged on the strings. It reminded me often of the child's game played with string between fingers Cat's Cradle…often complicated. Often I longed for one sweeping story rather than the chapters jumping back and forth with family members grasping at their strings.

All in all I was glad to spend my time this family and to understand what pulled them always toward Puerto Rico.

Special thanks to Jeanine Cummins, Henry Holt & Company and NetGalley for this copy for review.

Have you ever wished for a window into the past—one that lets you quietly observe your family’s younger selves without altering a thing? That quiet longing to understand, to witness, and to connect across generations is at the heart of this beautifully written novel. Through a time-bending narrative, the reader journeys alongside three generations of women, witnessing their lives unfold from youth to present day with depth, nuance, and compassion.

As a Puerto Rican who grew up on the island and later moved to the mainland, I felt deeply seen by Rafaela and Ruth’s experiences. The emotional truth of this story—how some feelings defy direct translation, how culture shapes memory and identity, and how generational bonds carry both love and complexity—resonated powerfully. This book is a moving testament to the richness of lived experience and the quiet strength of intergenerational connection. A heartfelt, thought-provoking read, I highly recommend.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5 stars)

Speak to Me of Home is a beautifully written, intergenerational story that explores race, ethnicity, and identity in deeply moving ways. I was especially drawn to how the book wove together the experiences of different generations, highlighting how family history and cultural roots shape who we become. The themes of belonging and self-discovery are handled with care and nuance, making the story resonate long after the final page.

One of the most compelling aspects of the book is its honest and layered exploration of identity—how it’s formed, challenged, and reclaimed over time. I loved how the author gave voice to multiple perspectives, allowing the characters’ diverse backgrounds and emotional experiences to shine.

That said, I did find the number of characters a bit overwhelming at times. The frequent shifts between timelines and perspectives made it hard to keep track, especially in the beginning. I sometimes found myself flipping back to remind myself who was who, particularly with Ruth and Rafaela; I wasn't sure if it was the R thing or what, but I struggled with that.

Despite that, the book builds toward its central plot with a strong emotional undercurrent and a satisfying momentum. The second half delivers a powerful payoff, bringing together the threads of each character’s journey in a meaningful way.

Overall, Speak to Me of Home is a compelling read with rich themes and emotional depth. I’d definitely recommend it to readers who enjoy stories about family, identity, and the ties that bind us across generations. Four stars!

Three generations of women try to define themselves and their identity through different circumstances. First there is Rafaela, born in Puerto Rico into a wealthy family that falls upon hard times. Meeting a handsome American at a US base, she marries and finds herself in St. Louis in the 1950s. The culture and social aspects are not welcoming, and Rafaela does not wish to change to fit in. Her daughter Ruth struggles with being a child of two cultures and her mother’s abrasiveness. Daisy, Ruth’s daughter, decides to seek a future by going to Puerto Rico and reclaiming her heritage. The three women grapple with their own choices as well as the ones made by each other. The strength of the book is how the past sometimes thwarts or rallies one’s ambitions and determines one’s choices. By having three points of view, readers will likely form attachments to one of these leading ladies, but Cummins skillfully keeps the story moving so readers may change allegiances and gain greater understanding. Recommended. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this title.

Speak to Me of Home is a sweeping multigenerational story about identity, belonging, and the emotional toll of displacement. Spanning from the sun-drenched elegance of San Juan to the unfamiliar chill of the American Midwest, Jeanine Cummins once again gives voice to the complexities of the immigrant experience.

Raefala Acuña y Daubón grows up in privilege as part of San Juan’s social elite. She and her sister Lola want for nothing—until a sudden scandal topples their world. At seventeen, Raefala is forced to leave Puerto Rico. Eventually she must learn to rebuild her life in a small, unwelcoming Midwestern town. It’s a jarring shift, one that strips her of certainty and confidence, and marks the beginning of a lifelong struggle with identity and belonging.

Years later, her daughter Ruth Brennan grapples with a different kind of dissonance. The daughter of a Puerto Rican mother and an Irish American father, Ruth has never quite known where she fits. In college, her internal tug-of-war is externalized in two romantic interests—one Irish, one at least partly Puerto Rican. Ruth makes her choice but is forever haunted by the unchosen path and the price she paid for assimilation.

Then there is Daisy Hayes, Ruth’s daughter, whose longing takes her in the opposite direction. A quiet old soul, Daisy is pulled toward the island her family left behind. Her desire to return to Puerto Rico confounds her mother, who fought hard to build a “better” life in the States. But Daisy is part of a generation more focused on roots than reinvention, and her journey sparks a reckoning the entire family must face.

Though slow to start, Speak to Me of Home eventually pulls readers in with its intimate portrayal of these three women—each navigating the fractures between culture, language, and expectation. While Raefala and Daisy’s narratives feel especially vivid and emotionally rich, Ruth’s story felt less compelling by comparison. Still, the novel as a whole offers a poignant consideration on what it means to straddle two worlds.

Thank you to NetGalley, Henry Holt & Co, and of course the author Jeanine Cummins for the advanced copy of the book. Speak to Me of Home is out now. All opinions are my own.

I highly recommend this well written saga of three generations of Puerto Rican women, searching for their identity and happiness. Rafaela is the grandmother, born of a wealthy family, and after losing their wealth, Rafaela is sent to Trinidad to find employment in a US base. Meeting her future husband, Rafaela never forgets Candido, a boy from her youth. Ruth, Rafaela’s daughter, has always felt uncomfortable with her place, not White, not fully Puerto Rican, but often left out from both. Daisy is Ruth’s daughter, moving to Puerto Rico after spending summers there with her Uncle and cousin, and feeling most at home. Ruth and Daisy do not see eye to eye. The family relationships, the search for inclusion, identity and family enhance the story. This is a must read. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I was a big fan of Cummins early book American Dirt and very much looking forward to this book. I enjoyed the story telling and the dilemma faced by many of the individuals in the story as they explored and were confronted with prejudice from others. Interesting family dynamics as different generations chose to either ignore or embrace their heritage. I did think there were too many stories integrated into this. Two story lines is pretty common in many novels. This had at least 3 and I found it a bit confusing at times to keep track of everyone.

Cummins switches between three different narrators, Rafaela, Ruth, and Daisy. It is a story about where one fits in. Rafaela, a Puerto Rican, marries an Irish American and after five years moves to St. Louis. She and her children struggle with a racist society, considering them anything but white. Ruth grows up, avoiding confronting Puerto Rican heritage. She marries an Irish man as well, so she finds herself very entrenched in an Anglo world. Her daughter Daisy tries to embrace it much to her mother’s dismay.

The story is a wonderful tale of love and acceptance through the various generations. Cummins does not avoid the uncomfortable moments and the disagreement between mother and daughter. She crafts a Heartland tale that makes you sympathetic to both mother and daughter, regardless of which generation the story is focused on.

First off, thanks for giving me an arc of this title. It was excellent... Five Stars, can't recommend it enough. When I first heard about this title, I wasn’t sure I would read it, but I really got an. arc and was encouraged to read it right away. This is muti-generational family story that follow three generations of women, Puerto Rican women Mother, daughter and grandmother. There is great character development, and the reader is instantly drawn into the story from the beginning. The author does an excellent job of switching between past and present throughout the story. This is something that I find is hard to do but can enhance a story when down right. The author also does a great job of weaving in the ethnic factor and showing how that affects each character differently. I don't want to give any spoilers, but I need to feel the ending was perfect for this story

I loved this multigenerational story of a Puerto Rican family told through the lens of three women: the matriarch, Rafaella, who marries Peter in 1968, despite misgivings. They move to St. Louis, Missouri in the 80s. Their daughter Ruth struggles to fit in at her new school and strives to find her footing, in the process giving up her connections to Puerto Rico. In 2023 Ruth’s daughter Daisy decides to return to Puerto Rico and is critically injured in a tragic accident.
I loved the humor expertly woven into the characters stories. I loved the tragedy that highlighted what really mattered. I loved the relationships, particularly between the mother Ruth and the daughter Daisy. And I loved learning about their challenges living in different cultures and the prejudice experienced in these 3 timelines that are so visceral you feel like you’re experiencing it with them. This was a beautifully written and thoroughly enjoyed book.