I received a free copy of Loteria from TLC Book Tours for my honest opinion.
About the Book:
• Publisher: Harper (July 2, 2013)
About the Author:
My Opinion:
This is a powerful little book. I must admit that I think it was a bit over my head – it involves the slowly revealed tale of young Luz Castillo, currently in the custody of child protective services. Why? The reader doesn’t know yet – Luz refuses to talk. The bits and pieces of her life with her father, mother, sister and aunt are slowly told through her journal entries with the use of Loteria cards – a Mexican bingo type game.
Each chapter (and I use that term very loosely as some are mere paragraphs long) is introduced with one of the cards and Luz writes a bit about her life. The story is told through the eyes and thoughts of this 11 year old girl and the reader soon learns the horror of her life in a very abusive household. Her parents came to the US from Mexico to find a better life but they did not find it. The story Luz writes is rife with alcohol, tradition and her Catholic upbringing.
There is a fair bit of Spanish used within the story – some can be gleaned from context but without a knowledge of the language (mine is minimal – I took it in college) there is some googling to do to try and maintain the storyline.
The reader does feel a touch lost at first – at least I did as you just don’t know what is going on. You are given bits of information that you need remember as each card is revealed. It all comes together in a very troubling story with an ending that I didn’t see coming. Despite my feeling that a lot of things were over my head it was a book that caused me much thought and one I’ll keep to perhaps read again. I suspect that I might sort more out upon a second reading when I’m knowledgeable of the outcome and I can then better understand the beginnings.
It’s not a long read by any stretch of the imagination but it is most assuredly a thought provoking one.
Rating:
4.5
You can see the Loteria Tour Schedule
You can purchase Loteria from Amazon.com
Disclosure: I received a free copy of Loteria from TLC Book Tours for my honest opinion. I received no compensation for this post.
