Thank you the NOVL for the arc.
It was back in 2019 when ICE arrested almost 700 people and left their children without anyone to take care of them. They came out of school, wondering where their parents were. I always wondered if they got somewhere safe; if someone they knew was taking care of them or if their parents were allowed out of detention to make sure their children were safe. I'm old enough to know the evil hides behind a human face. Those photographs of those poor children broke my heart, and I tried and tried to understand why...
INDIVISIBLE answers a lot of those nagging questions. Mateo, a Broadway enthusiast, and brother to Sophie, suddenly finds his life turned upside down when both of his parents are detained by ICE. At sixteen, he does not have the skills to take care of his little sister, cook, and clean, and work at his parent's bodega. While his friends fill his life with their positivity, he finds that he can't confide in them what's going, thus keeping all of his emotions bottled up inside. He turns to his uncle, but their living situation only fuels the fire burning inside of him. This is a story of heartbreak, fear, and hope that will have you questioning by things are the way they are.
Daniel Aleman brings the topic of family separation into the YA world. I am pretty sure this book is going to make waves. It's such an important book for this day and age. Not only is it about the love of family, but also about friendship, and learning to find the strength to lean on others when things get too difficult.
The writing is accessible; I devoured this book within a day and a half. There's a word readers often use. Unputdownable. This word fits here. I couldn't stop reading, however hard my stomach was clenching.
Oh, and there are queer reps! Both Mateo and his best friend Adam are gay.
Diversity! There are Asian and Italian reps, as well as Mexican, of course.
This has to be my favorite read of February, if not of all of 2021. I know the year is young, but I have a feeling this book will not move an inch from its spot on my best reads of this year.
Triggers for emotional distress, and some talk of sex and swears.
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