In Amanda Eyre
Ward’s The
Same Sky, two narrators memorably tell simultaneous but separate stories. Carla
is a young girl living in Honduras who grows up quickly when she becomes
responsible for a younger brother and decides to attempt the dangerous journey to
Texas to join her mother, an illegal immigrant. Alice is a co-owner of a barbeque restaurant in
Austin. She lost her own mother at a
young age, battled cancer and, along with her husband, Jake, was recently devastated
once again when a potential adoption falls through.
These two stories, full of trials, courage, and sacrifice,
are told in alternating chapters. I was
totally engrossed in both, and found the contrast to be extremely effective. At first, there does not seem to be much in
common, but Ward deftly shares the internal struggles, tested faith, and learning
that each narrator experiences. The Same Sky is a quick,
compelling read with a powerful message relevant to social issues such as
undocumented immigrants, poverty and substance abuse. Carla and Alice are not easy to forget.
I highly recommend The Same Sky and want to also
briefly mention several other titles on immigration, survival/resilience and the
struggle to fit in: La Linea by Jaramillo (2008); Enrique's Journey by Nazario (2006); Girl in Translation by Kwok (2010); Digging to America by Tyler (2006); Book of Unknown Americans by Henriquez (2014) and several works by Amy Tan, plus Americanah which is our book group selection for next month.
