According to Mayan tradition, if you whisper your troubles to the Worry Dolls, they will do the worrying instead of you–therefore, it follows that Worry Dolls are the keepers of a great many secrets . . .On the eve of the end of the world–according to the Mayan calendar–Mari Guarez Roselli’s secrets are being unraveled by her daughter, Lu.Lu’s worry dolls are at-capacity as she tries to outrun … she tries to outrun the ghosts from her past–including loved ones stolen on 9/11–by traveling through her mother’s homeland of Guatemala, to discover the painful reasons behind her own dysfunctional childhood, and why she must trust in the magic of the legend.
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I think that I will remember this book for a long time. The author did an excellent job of depicting multiple tragic events without seeming overly-sensational or cliched.
I liked the main character. By realistic, I mean a human being. She is the daughter of a Guatemalan native with a secret past. The worry dolls are given to children to help them sleep. Somehow the book seems to work but not in a “happily ever after way”.
I have a small bag of worry dolls in my purse a good friend gave me a long time ago, so the title intrigued me . I found the story entertaining and interesting. I liked the back and forth of time and place. Having it relate to 9/11 was interesting as well.
Throughly loved this one and fell in love with the characters- would highly recommend.
I will start by saying that I am Guatemalan so anything from Guatemala seems spectacular. But this is really a great book. They draw on legacies and past experiences and create a fulfilling life. I love the way the author portrayed my country, with so much respect and love. And I also love books about real women, who are happy, sad, in love, in despair, and somehow work through it and create a good life for themselves. Read this book and then come see Lake Atitlan for yourself, you will not regret it!
I enjoyed reading about characters who were just trying to make the best of an unfair and malevolent world in Guatemala. Fleeing to America seemed to be an answer, but it was and it wasn’t. It’s a great book, one that i’m happy to have read. With all the interest in immigration these days, it’s a beautiful, timely look at what it means to others, and to our country, to be enhanced by others.
Kudos to the author for really pulling me into the story right away. I loved the cultural pulls to a country I’ve never been to – Guatemala, the tragedies surrounding 9/11, and a mother-daughter story that I’ll remember for a long time.
In Secrets of Worry Dolls, Mari and Lu, mother and daughter, are separated by an abyss created by misgivings, long-held secrets and tragedies almost too great to bear. Every daughter will recognize the pull of self-discovery and every mother will feel the tension between who she must be as a parent and who she is destined to be as an autonomous person. Stirring, intricate and full of surprises, this story will propel readers forward through the twists of fortune in the lives of these two women, torn apart yet forever linked, not simply by fate and blood, but by true compassion–and a sprinkling of magic.
Truly Boring
I enjoyed this book very much. At first the cover and name of the book caught my interest as I grew up in Guatemala and enjoy reading stories that take place there.
This is a story which takes us back and forth between, New York and Guatemala.
It is told mainly in two voices that of the mother Mari and her daughter Lu.
Mari Guarez originally from Guatemala, ends up in NY after having to leave her country, but never getting over what happened to her there. While in NY she meets her husband to be, a firefighter and together they have two twin daughters, Lu and Rae.
The book centers around what happened in Guatemala, on 9/11 in NYC and an airplane crash in the neighborhood where the family lives.
It is a story of regrets, longings, secrets, facing ones fears and trying to cope. A story that will pull at the heartstrings but also one that will make you want to shakes some sense into certain people.
There are a lot of good stories and people to read about as both Mari and Lu tell their stories. Mari about her life before leaving Guatemala and her choices after. And that of Lu’s trip to Guatemala, to find out more about her mother and her own heritage.
Beautifully written and great descriptions. I look forward to reading something else by this author.