“It was her idea to tie up the nun.

The dormitory lights were cut every night at ten. Locked into their rooms, girls commanded to a cemetery silence before sleep, waking at dawn for morning prayers. The nuns believed silence a weapon, teaching the girls that only with it could they discover the depths of their interior without being servants to the temptations of this world.”

Infinite Country
By Patricia Engle
Source: Advance review copy

Talia is the 15-year-old girl main protagonist and as the novel opens she is in a juvenile detention center somewhere in a remote part of the Colombian countryside. She is desperate to get out of the detention center and make her way to Bogota to her father and to the plane ticket he has waiting for her to get to the U.S. and be reunited with her family.

Her journey is treacherous but along the way she meets people who will offer her rides and help her in other ways to get to Bogota. As the story unfolds we learn why she was in the detention center to begin with and about the love story of her parents. Mauro and Elena who had dreams of going to the North and a better future but that no one prepared them for the difficulties ahead and some of the very difficult choices they have to make.

How does a parent decide one child stays in one country and another child in a different country? What happens you have to rely on strangers to keep you safe and they betray you? And, in the end are the sacrifices you make for your parents and your children worth it?

I loved the description of Colombia and the weaving of Colombian myths into the storyline. It’s a book with some violence and as Talia is making her way across the country I felt on edge expecting dangers at every turn because let’s not forget, she is a 15 year-old with no money and wanted by the law. But she is fierce and resilient.

This is a definite keeper for me. It raised a lot of emotions for me and made me think about the very real families who have to make difficult choices like these. I highly recommend it.

First let me just say thank you so much for all of your sweet comments in my previous post. I’m so sorry I’m behind on answering comments and blog visiting. Although I took time away from the blog to celebrate my bloggiversary, I was busy with work and such and now I’ve started transitioning back to the office too. It’s a bit hard but I’m grateful that I can do a hybrid work schedule for a while longer.

Today I did go in to the office and oh my goodness was it hot outside. I guess summer is here. Now the good thing about being back in the car a bit more is that I get to listen to an audiobook. Who would have thought that I actually missed that! I remember a time when I thought I could never do audiobooks.

I’ve been listening to Gone Missing by Linda Castillo which is the fourth Kate Burkholder mystery. I really like this series.

Oh and before I forget, yes, I have been making some book purchases but I’m waiting for my books to arrive so I’ll tell you more about those later.

Anyway, I hope you are having a great start to the week. Hope you are keeping cool and safe!