Multi-Award Winning Novel2018 Royal Dragonfly Awards – 1st Place in Cultural Diversity Ebook Category2018 IAN Book of the Year Award – Christian/Religious Category – Finalist2018 Eric J. Hoffer Awards – Ebook Category – Honorable Mention2018 Eric J. Hoffer Awards – Montaigne Medal Finalist2016 ACFW Genesis Contest FinalistLinda Palacios crossed the border at age three with her mother, Juanita, to … three with her mother, Juanita, to escape their traumatic life in Mexico and to pursue the American dream. Years later, Linda nears college graduation. With little hope for the future as an undocumented immigrant, Linda wonders where her life is going.
Tim Draker, a long-unemployed businessman, has wondered the same thing. Overcome with despair, he decides to take his own life. Before he can carry out his plan, he changes course when he finds a job as a mechanic. Embarrassed about working at a garage in the barrio, he lies to his wife in hopes of finding something better.
After Juanita’s coworker gets deported, she takes in her friend’s son, Hector, whom her daughter Linda can’t stand, While Juanita deals with nightmares of her traumatic past, she loses her job and decides to go into business for herself.
Will the three of them allow God to guide them through the challenges to come, or will they let their own desires and goals get in the way of His path?
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Why do you need to read Vivir el Dream?You’ll be entertained, of course, but why do you need to read it? Here are three reasons to start:#1 Asking “What If?” Challenges our FaithWhat would my faith look like if…What would I have done if…? It’s really easy to see or hear about a situation on the news and think we would have done differently. To think we would have done better. When we ask “what if?” we get to explore with the Holy Spirit some of the areas where we may need to grow.#2 Your heart will break.Mine broke for someone who was supposed to be a bad guy. Maybe who the “bad guy” is in your mind will be different from my “bad guy.” Allison, for the record, I was really bummed about how things ended up with Tim. (see, no spoilers). My heart broke for him. And your heart will break…for someone in this story. You will feel the love and compassion God feels for people, regardless of their faith and beliefs, behaviors, prison record, immigration status…you name it. God’s love is not conditional. It doesn’t depend on who we are or what we have done. It depends only on who he is and what he has done! When you read Vivir el Dream, you won’t just practice your Spanish (or your familiarity with the footnotes if Spanish isn’t your thing). Your heart will break and you’ll feel God’s love as he looks at his kiddos in all shapes, sizes, and attitude problems.#3 Political Issues have FacesHere’s something true. Social Media, news media, and our polarized political environment…it is easy to forget that on every side of every issue, just like on every side of war, there are real people. Real broken people. That doesn’t always mean we should change our opinion – sometimes yes, sometimes no. But we need to wear different glasses. People glasses. God’s-image glasses. Glasses that see people the way that God sees them. We need to wear those glasses all the time – when we go to work and when we come home, when we go to church or to the grocery store or the voting booth. We especially need to wear those glasses as we talk in public or even in front of our kids. Even if we disagree with a person’s viewpoint or even their decisions, can we have compassion for people? For how they got there, even if we might have made different choices? Can we be in fellowship with that crazy liberal or the ultra-conservative nutjob? (Yes, there are nutjobs on every end of the spectrum!) Can we figure out how to walk out our faith in these really messy situations where maybe there isn’t a black-and-white answer?
I received a review copy of this book; all opinions are my own.
Currently immigration is a touchy and controversial topic in this country. I won’t go into full detail on my personal opinions on the topic, but I think we should all be able to agree that it’s a “complicated” topic as much as it is controversial. I used to work with a girl that I would call a friend who was the daughter of migrants workers who at the age of 15 already had a one-year-old baby that she was trying to support. She didn’t have life easy. I also know of people who have been deported for actual violent crimes. It’s not as simple as calling all of them criminals, but they aren’t all harmless either. From both sides of the argument it’s a broken system as we look at it today.
I really like how the author words it in her guest post when she says “A wonderful thing happens when we’re reading a book. We jump into the shoes of the main character. We understand their plight. Their hopes are our hopes. We feel their story, their dreams, their love, their anguish, their joy. That is one of the great things about reading.” I couldn’t have said that better myself if I tried. This book is a lesson in empathy. If you thought the argument was black-and-white before this one is sure to at least help you see the gray. Linda’s road isn’t an easy one, and oh how I wished it could be made easier! What made it more difficult to read was that her support system was just as helpless (if not more) than she was.
This book is written in what you would call “Spanglish.” It is mostly in English, but there is a heavy dosage of Spanish throughout. The Spanish is translated for you into English at the bottom, but I don’t think this would be an easy read without at least a basic knowledge of the language. I personally know quite a bit of Spanish but I’m “rusty” at best because I almost never use it anymore. I was able to understand quite a bit of it but I definitely admit to needing the translations in several spots as well. I actually liked that it challenged me a bit, but if it were any other language I don’t think I would have enjoyed it because I would have been overwhelmed with all of the foreign language. So I’ll just leave this note as a heads up for comprehension.
I love a book that can stretch my mind and and challenge me to think deeper. This one truly did that and has left me thinking even more. Allison has truly written a wonderful story and on that I’m sure will stay with me for a long time. I highly recommend it as a book to help understand the times better. It’s unquestioningly a complicated issue, but this one is sure to tug at your heart strings.
*I received a copy of this book through CelebrateLit. Thoughts and opinions expressed are mine alone.
remember reading another book by this author recently and thinking how thought provoking the story was. This book is just as powerful and really takes readers into the world of how an undocumented person has many obstacles trying to better their life. Linda is the main character in this story and I really loved how hard she worked and how much she wanted to help her family. The struggles that the author describes when Linda was a child was very hard to read. I liked how the author pointed out how children crossing the border with their parents have no choice whether to stay or go. It made me think how unfair these children have been treated here in the United States when their choice to come here was decided by their parents.
I can’t imagine what it must be like to experience what Linda has as she attends college all the while worried that her secret may be found out. What would it be like to always look over your shoulder wondering if someone was there to arrest you because you are in the country illegally? I enjoyed learning about the Dream Act which I had never heard of before.
The story is well written and opens doors of discussion about immigration. There are many opinions about this subject and the author offers us a different way to view this issue. These people are just like everyone else. They seek to provide for their family, make a better life for them and follow their dream.
There is one character that really irked me most of the time. He thought he was better than others and had a real problem with immigrants. His prejudice was overwhelming and I liked that he had to swallow his pride and find a job that he felt was beneath him. Will he change his mind about immigrants, or will his bitterness destroy him? The constant belittling from his wife will take a toll on him as well.
The author makes a great point when talking about immigrants from European places. I remember reading about immigrants coming to Eliis Island fresh off boats waiting to enter the United Stares. We forget sometimes that many people from different nationalities are immigrants. Linda is very passionate about explaining this to her college classmates. Not everyone agrees with her but I loved her passion and her strength in standing up for what she believe in.
The ending is filled with a dangerous situation and brings heartache to several characters. The book is a realistic look at immigration and the effects it has on people. As in her other book, the author uses Spanish through out the book with footnotes at the bottom of the pages to translate the words into English. I continue to wish the author would put the English translation in parenthesis next to the Spanish words. It was very distracting for me to have to continually look down at the bottom of the page to understand what was being said.
I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.
Vivir El Dream
A really touching book. Linda is a undocumented immigrant. She came to the U. S. when she was 3 with her mother. She is now in college and trying to find work. Her situation really made me think about what people like her go through. I am definitely thankful to have been born in America.
The story also involves Tim that was unemployed businessman. He finds a job working on trucks and cars. He is ashamed to tell his wife. Even though he loves his job he gets very discouraged. I felt so bad for him.
It was a privilege to receive a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher through Celebrate Lit. I was not required to write an positive review. This is my own opinion.
‘Life is better singing’.
What an incredible book! Linda was brought to the USA by her mother when she was 3 years old. They were fleeing an abusive situation that was sure to end in death. The author shows us the plight of those who are here by no choice of their own and who have no other home. The faith portrayed by this young lady and those close to her was evident in all their actions. In spite of possible deportation every day, they continued to work and serve those around them.
This novel shows us faith and the redeeming love of God when immigration is such a conundrum. I received this copy through CelebrateLit. All impressions and opinions are my own.
A most enjoyable read with its Latino flavour and passion! The book is essentially one of the struggle of the main characters and facing challenges as illegal immigrants in a country where cultural differences are rife and racism exists. However there’s a thread of romance which lightens the mood and allows us to see how relationships can build over time. The story ends a little abruptly but nevertheless it is definitely worth reading!