I loved the image of the banyan tree in this book - a metaphor for the way the branches become the roots in families.

The story follows three generations of women with Puerto Rican roots as they find their way through life and love. A terrible accident involving the youngest woman ties the book together, but it’s not about the accident. It’s about who and where is home to you, and the process of figuring that out. I felt like this book was a bit long, but really enjoyed the atmosphere created in the audiobook.

3.5 stars
I enjoyed the narration of this multi-generational Puerto Rican/Irish American family. Each of the POVs appealed to me on their own, but it was distracting to have the book scramble back and forth across the timeline. Just when you’d get into one part of the story, it would jump forward or back to another place and time. I know lots of people enjoy the piecemeal nature of contemporary storytelling but I feel like it’s overdone.

This is a multi-generational story about Puerto Rican mothers and daughters, culture and heritage, and how we define "home." The book follows Rafaela, her daughter Ruth and granddaughter Daisy and through their childhoods and adult years, from Puerto Rico to Missouri to New York and finally back to Puerto Rico. I enjoyed the narration and while I usually enjoy multiple timelines and POVs, this time I had a really hard time following all of the timelines. Each MC had multiple timelines so we were hopping back and forth within the same POV and it got super confusing. I think I'd have enjoyed it more if the book was written in chronological order or if, at minimum, the POVs had stuck to a chronological timeline. Still recommend the book.

The novel spans three generations of women between 1960 - 2023. It moves back and forth in time, giving a more personal look at each of their lives, their sacrifices and how they've come to acceptance and healing.
A big part of the story explores themes like understanding your roots, dealing with racism and the experience of migrating to the U.S. It touches on what it feels like to lose parts of your native culture and the struggle to balance the expectations of fitting in while holding onto who you really are.

The timelines are clearly labeled in the novel so even though it is nonlinear you are not lost, which was very important because there was a lot of back and forth.

CW:
Racism
Mention of memory loss

Narration Review:
This book was beautifully narrated, the narrator really brought all the characters to life.

Thank you Macmillan for the ALC.

I will never get over this romantic novel about family and identity. I loved learning more about Puerto Rico and following the loves our three protagonists.
Each character is perfectly fleshed out. They're life like.
Wonderful work.
The narration was wonderful as well!.

🇵🇷🌺🎧AUDIOBOOK REVIEW🎧🌺🇵🇷

⭐⭐⭐⭐✨

🥰Huge thank you to @macmillan.audio and @henryholtbooks for the gifted audiobook and book! #macaudio2025

📖Title: Speak To Me of Home
✍️Author: Jeanine Cummins
📅Pub date: May 13, 2025
🗣️Narrator: Almarie Guerra
⏳Audiobook length: 15hrs, 27mins

🌺This book had me Googling flight prices to Puerto Rico!

🇵🇷At its heart, this is a multi-generational family drama full of secrets and questions regarding identity and how it shapes us. I am ALWAYS looking for a good family drama and love when there's even a deeper underlying theme, so this was totally for me!

🌺From the very first chapter, I was deeply invested in these characters. I don't know how Jeanine Cummins managed to captivate me so quickly and keep my attention locked in for the full 15.5 hours, but I never wanted to put this down.

🇵🇷The more I read, the more I cared about every single one of these characters. By the end, I was nothing but a puddle of emotions 🥹

🌺If you're looking for a moving, emotional book, please add this to your TBR today!

🎧This audiobook was perfectly cast with Almarie Guerra as the narrator! She was so easy to listen to and really made the characters come alive for me! Highly recommend this format, especially since this book is a chonker!!

Thanks to NetGalley for an ALC. I loved the storytelling in this and the back-and-forth between timelines. I loved the struggles with identity and family relationships. It was really really good. No notes.

Thank you to Henry Holt, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for early copies in exchange for my honest opinion. I highly recommend checking this book out - I could not put this book down once I started it, listening to the audiobook while I went for a walk by this river near where I used to live and then switching to reading on the bus on my way back to my current neighborhood. I listened some more the next morning, and it nearly killed me to wait until the end of the school day to be able to finish. If you like multi-generational family sagas (like I do), this book is for you!
Set partially in Puerto Rico and in the US, this book transported me back to my travels in PR. I was recently there, but only on the tarmac/airport to fuel up en route back to Boston from the USVI, so I am very aware of how close St Thomas and San Juan are, which plays a part in one plot point of the story.
What does “home” mean to you? This book investigates how a sense of home can be defined and passed between generations, much more than a single physical location. I know some people define home by the people they want to be surrounded by or the places they want to be surrounded by or even the feelings they want to be surrounded by. I really enjoyed reading about the different “home” feelings for the characters in this book and think it will make other readers stop and think about what home means to them, too.

*4.5 Stars On My Instagram Account*

"...If they hold into one another very tightly... eventually the storm will lift...and that's where hope lives."

Listening to the heartfelt Speak To Me Of Home, by stellar storyteller, author Jeanine Cummins, was a whirlwind of emotions.

It's 1968, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Rafaela marries American Peter, and within a few years, and a couple of kids, Peter relocates them to St. Louis, Missouri. Rafaela, a proud woman, finds herself off kelter, dealing with the passive aggressive prejudices she encounters in her all white neighborhood.

In 1980, her daughter, Ruth wanted nothing more than to belong, so she lost her Spanish accent, and language. She forfeits her cultural traditions and raises her children with little regard for their birth rite.

But in current times, Ruth's daughter, Daisy, longs to be in San Juan. To learn of her ancestry and walk the sands of her ancestors. Despite her mother's arguments and the growing divide between them, Daisy begins a new life in San Juan; but without her family.

There are marriages, births, affairs, divorces, fights, celebrations, and all the events that make a life through this family saga of three women, held together by blood, but separated by multigenerational differences. It all culminates in Puerto Rico with a catastrophic hurricane, a daughter fighting for her life, and a family coming together, as we tend to do, to salvage the love and heritage they too easily threw away.

I'm in awe of voice actress Almarie Guerra and her ability to not only vividly portray such distinct women, but to enhance the nuances in their personalities crafted by this gifted writer. Once you experience Speak To Me Of Home you will be talking about it.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from Macmillan Audio via #Netgalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

As a first-generation Nigerian American, Speak to Me of Home struck a deep chord with me. I didn’t grow up speaking my parents’ language or learning much about their culture. My parents, like many immigrants, wanted us to be “Americanized”, to fit in…to succeed. But as I got older, I started to feel the weight of that distance and the quiet longing to reconnect with the parts of myself I had never been given space to understand.

This book felt like both a mirror and a window. Through the nonlinear timeline and the voices of three generations of women: Rafaela, Ruth, and Daisy, I found myself especially drawn to Daisy’s journey. Her longing for identity, her questions about belonging and where “home” truly is, echoed my own. I appreciated how Jeanine Cummins captured the nuance of navigating inherited trauma, cultural memory, and generational silence with such tenderness and clarity.

And I loved the narrator! Her voice had such warmth and emotional depth. Her pacing, her tone shifts, even her silences felt intentional. She gave each character subtle but distinct vocal nuances that made it feel like I was sitting across from these women, listening to their stories unfold over time. It’s one of those audiobook performances that stays with you.

This wasn’t just a family story. It was also a reflection on love, identity, prejudice, and the invisible strings that tie us to places we’ve never lived but still call home. I was moved, I was seen, and I was changed by this book.

Rafaela, Ruth, and Daisy. The story of three generations of women spanning the 1950s to present day. This story of mothers and daughters and their journey of finding a sense of identity and belonging.

Overall, 4.5 stars and will round up. The reason that I deducted the half star for was the back and forth between timelines, it was a bit confusing until I figured out who everyone was. This book hit me so hard and hit so close to home, I related to Rafaela and Ruth so much. I think a lot of mixed kids or immigrants can relate to this book and this book will give everyone else a good sense of how multicultural people and immigrants feel in addition to all the other stuff life can throw at you. I absolutely loved American Dirt and Jeanine Cummins did not disappoint with this book. Cummins did an amazing job exploring the women's sense of identity, family, culture, racism, classism, community, and belonging.

Format: audiobook

Thank you so much NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced audiobook!

I enjoyed this multi-generational family drama about three Puerto Rican women trying to find their identity in a place they question where is home? I love mother-daughter stories which are so relatable to me as a daughter and mother of three girls. If you enjoy stories about family, roots, belonging and resiliency, don’t miss out on this one!

I was not previously familiar with narrator Almarie Guerra until this novel. She did a wonderful job of narrating the story. I listened at 1.75 speed.

Speak to Me of Home is a touching exploration of what it means to find one's place in the world told from three generations of women across Puerto Rico, Missouri and New York.
It’s achingly beautiful, deeply moving and even humorous at times.
It’s about identity and belonging, portraying the women’s struggles, dreams and fears throughout their personal journeys.
It was interesting to see how each of them navigated cultural differences, impacting their relationships while searching for a sense of belonging.
The characters are well-developed and the narration is authentic and fluid, which allowed me to get lost in this incredible story. I loved Rafaela’s humor and spunk, Ruth’s heart and strong moral compass and Daisy’s love for heritage and relics of the past.
Thank you to the publisher/author for the opportunity to listen to this complimentary advanced copy. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I enjoyed this, but not nearly as much as the author's other two that I've read. I liked some parts more than others - Ruth's childhood was the most interesting to me. But I still don't understand why she became so rude later in life?

Lack of research pet peeve: Ruth was using Facebook in 1999, but it wasn’t even created until 2003.

I didn’t want this book to end. This story follows three generations of women and the journey of Identity, belonging, racism, love, and assimilation as a Latina. Although this story takes place in three different timelines, it is absolutely devastating how relatable their experiences are existing as Puerto Rican women. Please read this book. I listened to the audiobook and it was truly incredible.

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this 🎧 ARC.

3.5 stars

This book sounded great to me on paper, 3 generations of Puerto Rican women, story told over all of their lifetimes, themes of identity etc. Ultimately though, I had to push myself to get through it because the story didn't grab me, instead feeling like a stack of cliches of this genre. Nothing really connected me to any of the characters except for the youngest daughter. I don't want to give a ton more detail because I think I could give away spoilers, and many people have loved this book, so it might just be me.

Thank you to MacMillan Audio for an advance listening copy for unbiased review.

Beautifully written story about generations in one family and their longing to find home. It’s the story of all immigrants, not quite fitting in your new country but also not fitting where you came from. The writing kept me enthralled and, while I may not have liked the choices they made, they laid the groundwork for future generations. There are a lot of names thrown at you throughout and it can get confusing but it call comes together in the end.

A multiple generation family saga, highlighting how everyone's experience and choices impact those around them.

While at the root of the story, I enjoyed it. But I felt it was far too long and meandering at times. I can handle multiple timelines- when they are chronological within themselves. So I could have handled a timeline for each Daisy, Ruth, and Rafaela. Or rather, two each- a present day and a historical one in chronological order. But, nope. This bounced all over in time. I get it was to give the story maximum impact, but for very logical, left brained people such as myself, this is actually distracting and takes away from the story.

I did truly enjoy the familial nature of it- they all loved one another and had reasons for their decisions. But those decisions often influenced the other person's life.

Almarie Guerra narrates the audio book.

I received an advance audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

Speak to Me of Home by Jeanine Cummins (book cover is in image) describes how three generations of Puerto Rican women struggled with finding their identity and place living in two worlds. This is a great depiction of the unique diaspora Puerto Ricans experience, being born as an American and never being accepted as Americans, and also being Puerto Rican, and never being seen as truly Puerto Rican by those born and raised on the island. Puerto Rican myself, I can identify with some of the struggles depicted in this book.

The narration by Almarie Guerra was expertly done giving a unique voice to each character. I highly recommend this book for those who enjoyed Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez, When I Was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago, or Down These Mean Streets by Piri Thomas. This is an amazing addition to the Puerto Rican diaspora cannon. Being

Thank you, Henry Holt & Company | Henry Holt and Co. and Macmillan Audio, for the opportunity to read this ARC and listen to this ALC. All opinions are my own.

Rating: 5 Stars
Book and Audio Release Date: May 13 2025

Tags:
#HenryHoltandCo
#MacmillanAudio
#SpeaktoMeofHome
#JeanineCummins
#AlmarieGuerra
#WomensFiction
#PuertoRicanDisapora
#yarisbooknook
#netgalley

I absolutely LOVED this book!!!

As I am reading it, I'm thinking that the author’s name sounds familiar, and is it the same person who wrote 'American Dirt" which I loved? And, yes it is. And yes, I loved this one too!

Again, emotionally gripping on so many levels.
This one spans three generation of women from Puerto Rico (men too...but hey, it's mostly about the women...) 😁

We see how things have changed over the years for them, but then again, some things seem to never change... and that is very disheartening.

We explore love and school and family and friends... again, on so many levels!

You will LAUGH. You will CRY. You will find that your heart has been destroyed... And then you will find that it is fuller than you could've ever imagined.

This is the result of finding a very gifted writer... and if you pick this one up, well then, you have!

AND... when she speaks the name of the book... in the context it is in... Well, it just broke me. Open waterworks as it just... hit... home...

#SpeakToMeOfHome by #JeanineCummins and narrated stunningly by #AlmarieGuerra.

*** RELEASE DATE IS TOMORROW, 5/13/25... SO LOOK 👀 FOR IT ON SHELVES THEN!!! ***

5+++ 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟💫💫💫💫💫✨✨✨✨✨ for me!!!

Thanks so much to #NetGalley and #MacmillanAudio for an ARC of the audiobook, in exchange for an honest review.

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