Absolutely fabulous graphic novel about two young Guatemalan-Americans learning about the Guatemalan Genocide and their family's experiences during it. Heartbreaking, unflinching, and so very human. A must read

This graphic novel is honest, informative, and frank in its delivery. I learned much more about how the indigenous people of Guatemala were impacted, as well as the ways the US was involved. Yet another piece of history we don't hear much about in school. While this will be a difficult topic for many in the honest portrayal of brutality and political entanglement, it is also incredibly important and timely. Much of what occurs in this book continues to be seen today elsewhere in the world, but still involving some of the same political powers. I also appreciated the multiple points of view used in this story. We see through the eyes of the mother that lived through a genocide, and we see the ongoing impact through the experiences of her sons. A very strong option for summer reading lists, teens interested in history and politics, or for those looking to learn more about their own background or family roots.

Trigger warnings for: ethnic genocide, gore, murder, torture, mentions of rape, offscreen death of men, women, children, racism, PTSD

Jose and Charlie are the framing device this story is shown through, as two young men who learn about their mother’s harrowing and heartbreaking past in Guatemala. When she finally does talk about it, they learn not only that they had an aunt — and an uncle, killed as a child during a military cleansing of their village — who vanished without a trace. First we learn the mother’s story, of her good fortune in finding a neighbor willing to take her in, of enduring racism, classism, even from Guatemalans as Clara is a member of an indigenous group undergoing an ethnic genocide. Then her sister’s who joined the guerilla forces in attempting to stand against the army and the government it supported. Neither of them were able to change the world, but each of them did what they could to survive until they were able to meet again thanks to the help of Jose and Charlie.

As a white American, I knew nothing about the events in this book. I didn’t know the scope of the murders, didn’t know anything about the men who organized them or what happened to them. (Unfortunately, most of them got away with it.) This story helped me understand some of what these people have gone through — as their own government began racial profiling, as military groups made men, women and children vanish from the streets on the slenderest of pretexts, as they were put into prisons for the crime of being indigenous, of living on land someone else wanted, of being just “other” enough that the army needed no excuse.

It’s horrifying and terrifying, and the art — with its soft colors and expressive style -- manages to land faces to just one of the stories. There are so many out there, and it’s exhausting as well as terrible, but these are stories that need to be heard.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC.

I found out about this book because of my partner, who is a Guatemalan artist. They thought it was exciting that something like this was being published as the Guatemalan genocide is not something that we in the United States are very aware of. I thought that this historical fiction graphic novel was very informative in describing some of the despicable things that went on, while still providing a hopeful air that even after so much tragedy, good things can still happen.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in history and will be using reader's advisory to point it out to any historical fiction fans looking for a new read. I also think that there is a great lack of anything about Guatemala in books for all age groups, I'm glad this is an option.