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The Same Sky
From the acclaimed author of How to Be Lost and Close Your Eyes comes a beautiful and heartrending novel about motherhood, resilience, and faith—a ripped-from-the-headlines story of two families on both sides of the American border.
Alice and her husband, Jake, own a barbecue restaurant in Austin, Texas. Hardworking and popular in their community, they have a loving marriage and thriving business, but Alice still feels that something is missing, lying just beyond reach.
Carla is a strong-willed young girl who’s had to grow up fast, acting as caretaker to her six-year-old brother Junior. Years ago, her mother left the family behind in Honduras to make the arduous, illegal journey to Texas. But when Carla’s grandmother dies and violence in the city escalates, Carla takes fate into her own hands—and with Junior, she joins the thousands of children making their way across Mexico to America, facing great peril for the chance at a better life.
In this elegant novel, the lives of Alice and Carla will intersect in a profound and surprising way. Poignant and arresting, The Same Sky is about finding courage through struggle, hope amid heartache, and summoning the strength—no matter what dangers await—to find the place where you belong.
Alice and her husband, Jake, own a barbecue restaurant in Austin, Texas. Hardworking and popular in their community, they have a loving marriage and thriving business, but Alice still feels that something is missing, lying just beyond reach.
Carla is a strong-willed young girl who’s had to grow up fast, acting as caretaker to her six-year-old brother Junior. Years ago, her mother left the family behind in Honduras to make the arduous, illegal journey to Texas. But when Carla’s grandmother dies and violence in the city escalates, Carla takes fate into her own hands—and with Junior, she joins the thousands of children making their way across Mexico to America, facing great peril for the chance at a better life.
In this elegant novel, the lives of Alice and Carla will intersect in a profound and surprising way. Poignant and arresting, The Same Sky is about finding courage through struggle, hope amid heartache, and summoning the strength—no matter what dangers await—to find the place where you belong.
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 20, 2015
365 people are currently reading
11159 people want to read
About the author
Amanda Eyre Ward
16 books1,416 followersAmanda Eyre Ward’s new novel. LOVERS AND LIARS, will be published in May, 2024! It is the story of a librarian in love.
Here is a very long bio: Amanda was born in New York City in 1972. Her family mved to Rye, New York when she was four. Amanda attended Kent School in Kent, CT, where she wrote for the Kent News.
Amanda majored in English and American Studies at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. She studied fiction writing with Jim Shepard and spent her junior fall in coastal Kenya. She worked part-time at the Williamstown Public Library. After graduation, Amanda taught at Athens College in Greece for a year, and then moved to Missoula, Montana.
Amanda studied fiction writing at the University of Montana with Bill Kittredge, Dierdre McNamer, Debra Earling, and Kevin Canty, receiving her MFA. After traveling to Egypt, she took a job at the University of Montana Mansfield Library, working in Inter Library Loan.
In 1998, Amanda moved to Austin, Texas where she began working on Sleep Toward Heaven. Amanda finished Sleep Toward Heaven, which was published in 2003. Sleep Toward Heaven won the Violet Crown Book Award and was optioned for film by Sandra Bullock and Fox Searchlight. To promote Sleep Toward Heaven, Amanda, her baby, and her mother Mary-Anne Westley traveled to London and Paris.
Amanda moved to Waterville, Maine, where she wrote in an attic filled with books. Amanda’s second novel, How to Be Lost, was published in 2004. How to Be Lost was selected as a Target Bookmarked pick, and has been published in fifteen countries.
After one year in Maine and two years on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Amanda and her family returned to Austin, Texas.
To research her third novel, Forgive Me, Amanda traveled with her sister, Liza Ward Bennigson, to Cape Town, South Africa. Forgive Me was published in 2007.
Amanda's short story collection, Love Stories in This Town, was published in April, 2009.
Her fourth novel, Close Your Eyes, published in July, 2011, received a four-star reiew in People Magazine, won the Elle Lettres Readers' Prize for September, and inspired the Dallas Morning News to write, "With CLOSE YOUR EYES, Austin novelist Amanda Eyre Ward puts another jewel in her crown as the reigning doyenne of 'dark secrets' literary fiction."
Close Your Eyes was named in Kirkus' Best Books of 2011, and won the Elle Magazine Fiction Book of the Year. It was released in paperback in August, 2012.
Amanda's fifth novel, The Same Sky, was published on January 20, 2015. It was named one of the most anticipated books for 2015 by BookPeople and Book of the Week by People Magazine. Dallas Morning News writes, "Ward has written a novel that brilliantly attaches us to broader perspectives. It is a needed respite from the angry politics surrounding border issues that, instead of dividing us, connects us to our humanity."
The Same Sky was chosen as a Target Bookmarked pick.
Amanda's new novel, The Nearness of You, was published on Valentine's Day, 2017.
Amanda's new novel, THE JETSETTERS, was chosen by Reese's Book Club and Hello Sunshine and became a New York Times bestseller. Her novel THE LIFEGUARDS was published in 2022.
Ask me anything and stay tuned for news about LOVERS AND LIARS and TV and film projects based on Amanda's work!
Here is a very long bio: Amanda was born in New York City in 1972. Her family mved to Rye, New York when she was four. Amanda attended Kent School in Kent, CT, where she wrote for the Kent News.
Amanda majored in English and American Studies at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. She studied fiction writing with Jim Shepard and spent her junior fall in coastal Kenya. She worked part-time at the Williamstown Public Library. After graduation, Amanda taught at Athens College in Greece for a year, and then moved to Missoula, Montana.
Amanda studied fiction writing at the University of Montana with Bill Kittredge, Dierdre McNamer, Debra Earling, and Kevin Canty, receiving her MFA. After traveling to Egypt, she took a job at the University of Montana Mansfield Library, working in Inter Library Loan.
In 1998, Amanda moved to Austin, Texas where she began working on Sleep Toward Heaven. Amanda finished Sleep Toward Heaven, which was published in 2003. Sleep Toward Heaven won the Violet Crown Book Award and was optioned for film by Sandra Bullock and Fox Searchlight. To promote Sleep Toward Heaven, Amanda, her baby, and her mother Mary-Anne Westley traveled to London and Paris.
Amanda moved to Waterville, Maine, where she wrote in an attic filled with books. Amanda’s second novel, How to Be Lost, was published in 2004. How to Be Lost was selected as a Target Bookmarked pick, and has been published in fifteen countries.
After one year in Maine and two years on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Amanda and her family returned to Austin, Texas.
To research her third novel, Forgive Me, Amanda traveled with her sister, Liza Ward Bennigson, to Cape Town, South Africa. Forgive Me was published in 2007.
Amanda's short story collection, Love Stories in This Town, was published in April, 2009.
Her fourth novel, Close Your Eyes, published in July, 2011, received a four-star reiew in People Magazine, won the Elle Lettres Readers' Prize for September, and inspired the Dallas Morning News to write, "With CLOSE YOUR EYES, Austin novelist Amanda Eyre Ward puts another jewel in her crown as the reigning doyenne of 'dark secrets' literary fiction."
Close Your Eyes was named in Kirkus' Best Books of 2011, and won the Elle Magazine Fiction Book of the Year. It was released in paperback in August, 2012.
Amanda's fifth novel, The Same Sky, was published on January 20, 2015. It was named one of the most anticipated books for 2015 by BookPeople and Book of the Week by People Magazine. Dallas Morning News writes, "Ward has written a novel that brilliantly attaches us to broader perspectives. It is a needed respite from the angry politics surrounding border issues that, instead of dividing us, connects us to our humanity."
The Same Sky was chosen as a Target Bookmarked pick.
Amanda's new novel, The Nearness of You, was published on Valentine's Day, 2017.
Amanda's new novel, THE JETSETTERS, was chosen by Reese's Book Club and Hello Sunshine and became a New York Times bestseller. Her novel THE LIFEGUARDS was published in 2022.
Ask me anything and stay tuned for news about LOVERS AND LIARS and TV and film projects based on Amanda's work!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,118 reviews
July 3, 2015
I wish authors wouldn’t try to have two stories going at once—one chapter for each character, back and forth, as if it’s fair. It’s never fair, and it never fails: you always like one better than the other. There’s the Good Story and then there’s The Other One. I just wanted The Other One to stop interrupting, to stop sticking its nose in my face when I’m trying to find out what happens in the Good Story.
Here, the Good Story is terrifying, riveting, heart-wrenching. Carla is telling the story. She’s a young girl living in abject poverty in Honduras. In charge of her younger brother, she forages for food at the dump, dreams of escaping to America, and then makes a harrowing run for it.
The Other One is boring. Alice tells her story. She’s a middle-class, 40-year-old woman in Texas whose husband owns a popular restaurant. She desperately wants to adopt a baby and has just had to give an adopted baby back. Here’s a couple of things Alice and her family do: They go to parades and say grace. Alice’s husband gets interviewed for a story in a food magazine. The story has a Hallmark feel. See? No contest! Why not just make the story all about Carla?
Okay, Carla’s story. I’ve never read a book that describes poverty so vividly. You feel like you’re right there with Carla, walking in her shoes as she barely finds enough food to stay alive and as she endures horrible events during her trek to America. I was on the edge of my seat, waiting to see what horror she would face next and how she would survive. I’ll never look at immigrants in the same light again. When I hear of people trying to cross the border, I’ll think of Carla’s frightening struggles, her desperation, and her determination to get out of her country. It’s a treacherous journey, and not for the weak. Hunger, rape, theft, death, and pure and constant fear—this is what immigrants face.
The author does an amazing job of making it feel real. Carla is very well developed, the scenes are vivid, the pacing of the novel is excellent. There are no wasted words.
I have two criticisms of the Good Story. One is Carla’s voice. Occasionally, she sounds like an American writer.
For example, she says:
“I tried to push down my anger, the sense that I had been abandoned, a fledgling left to founder in a disintegrating nest.”
And this:
“What do you want?, he said, leaning back against the door frame of my house, looking insouciant.”
Okay, embarrassing truth: I had to look up insouciant. (It means nonchalant, if you were as clueless as I was.) So Carla, who isn’t a native English speaker, uses insouciant? I don’t think so. I realize that she was probably an adult telling her story, looking back at her life in Honduras and her journey to America, but I sometimes didn’t buy her vocabulary and sentence structure. Did she get her M.A. in English or creative writing?
The second criticism is a spoiler, so I’ll hide it here.
I don’t have a lot to say about the Other One. Besides being a mundane story, the relationship between Alice and her husband just didn’t ring true. Several actions seemed out of character. For example, Alice tries to help a troubled teenager, Evian, and Alice’s husband doesn’t approve. Then suddenly he is gung-ho Evian, with no explanation of why he changed his tune. Evian even contacts him, which seems totally out of character. I didn’t buy it. Another example: Alice insinuates that her husband is flirting with a person interviewing him, and it’s never addressed. Also, the dialogue is often stilted. The author keeps the story moving, but I wasn’t interested. I was dying to get back to Carla. The way the two stories intersect is cool but somewhat predictable.
I did like many of the metaphors used (“Her teeth are white as American sugar.”). I always love a good metaphor, and it made me see that the writer was clever when it came to creating good images.
I wish a reviewer had mentioned that the book has a God bent. God works in mysterious ways; you must have faith, etc. etc. I didn’t want to hear it. I felt like I was listening to a famous person who, when interviewed, thanks God (instead of giving themselves credit) for whatever he or she has achieved—which lessens my admiration of the star.
I’m going to pay careful attention when a book blurb says that the book is about “faith.” It usually means there’s God stuff, which will send me running the other way. In the acknowledgments, the author thanks a priest who provided much of the info on Carla’s story. No wonder the book has a religious bent. The characters in Alice’s story are also religious (though I must admit, not in a major way). Given that the family is apple-pie America, the inclusion of religious just turned me off more. I prefer edgy, not mundane straight lives of god-fearing people in middle America. But this is just my opinion.
I’ve recently read two other books, Calling Me Home and Five Days Left, both of which also had two alternating stories, and in both cases I liked one story and not the other. I just don’t understand why the authors aren’t happy sticking with the strong story and ditching the other. The books would be so much better.
The Carla story was great, but the Alice story wasn’t. It was a fast read. I know most people raved about this book, but I can’t gush. All I can give it is a 3.
Thank you NetGalley for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.
Here, the Good Story is terrifying, riveting, heart-wrenching. Carla is telling the story. She’s a young girl living in abject poverty in Honduras. In charge of her younger brother, she forages for food at the dump, dreams of escaping to America, and then makes a harrowing run for it.
The Other One is boring. Alice tells her story. She’s a middle-class, 40-year-old woman in Texas whose husband owns a popular restaurant. She desperately wants to adopt a baby and has just had to give an adopted baby back. Here’s a couple of things Alice and her family do: They go to parades and say grace. Alice’s husband gets interviewed for a story in a food magazine. The story has a Hallmark feel. See? No contest! Why not just make the story all about Carla?
Okay, Carla’s story. I’ve never read a book that describes poverty so vividly. You feel like you’re right there with Carla, walking in her shoes as she barely finds enough food to stay alive and as she endures horrible events during her trek to America. I was on the edge of my seat, waiting to see what horror she would face next and how she would survive. I’ll never look at immigrants in the same light again. When I hear of people trying to cross the border, I’ll think of Carla’s frightening struggles, her desperation, and her determination to get out of her country. It’s a treacherous journey, and not for the weak. Hunger, rape, theft, death, and pure and constant fear—this is what immigrants face.
The author does an amazing job of making it feel real. Carla is very well developed, the scenes are vivid, the pacing of the novel is excellent. There are no wasted words.
I have two criticisms of the Good Story. One is Carla’s voice. Occasionally, she sounds like an American writer.
For example, she says:
“I tried to push down my anger, the sense that I had been abandoned, a fledgling left to founder in a disintegrating nest.”
And this:
“What do you want?, he said, leaning back against the door frame of my house, looking insouciant.”
Okay, embarrassing truth: I had to look up insouciant. (It means nonchalant, if you were as clueless as I was.) So Carla, who isn’t a native English speaker, uses insouciant? I don’t think so. I realize that she was probably an adult telling her story, looking back at her life in Honduras and her journey to America, but I sometimes didn’t buy her vocabulary and sentence structure. Did she get her M.A. in English or creative writing?
The second criticism is a spoiler, so I’ll hide it here.
I don’t have a lot to say about the Other One. Besides being a mundane story, the relationship between Alice and her husband just didn’t ring true. Several actions seemed out of character. For example, Alice tries to help a troubled teenager, Evian, and Alice’s husband doesn’t approve. Then suddenly he is gung-ho Evian, with no explanation of why he changed his tune. Evian even contacts him, which seems totally out of character. I didn’t buy it. Another example: Alice insinuates that her husband is flirting with a person interviewing him, and it’s never addressed. Also, the dialogue is often stilted. The author keeps the story moving, but I wasn’t interested. I was dying to get back to Carla. The way the two stories intersect is cool but somewhat predictable.
I did like many of the metaphors used (“Her teeth are white as American sugar.”). I always love a good metaphor, and it made me see that the writer was clever when it came to creating good images.
I wish a reviewer had mentioned that the book has a God bent. God works in mysterious ways; you must have faith, etc. etc. I didn’t want to hear it. I felt like I was listening to a famous person who, when interviewed, thanks God (instead of giving themselves credit) for whatever he or she has achieved—which lessens my admiration of the star.
I’m going to pay careful attention when a book blurb says that the book is about “faith.” It usually means there’s God stuff, which will send me running the other way. In the acknowledgments, the author thanks a priest who provided much of the info on Carla’s story. No wonder the book has a religious bent. The characters in Alice’s story are also religious (though I must admit, not in a major way). Given that the family is apple-pie America, the inclusion of religious just turned me off more. I prefer edgy, not mundane straight lives of god-fearing people in middle America. But this is just my opinion.
I’ve recently read two other books, Calling Me Home and Five Days Left, both of which also had two alternating stories, and in both cases I liked one story and not the other. I just don’t understand why the authors aren’t happy sticking with the strong story and ditching the other. The books would be so much better.
The Carla story was great, but the Alice story wasn’t. It was a fast read. I know most people raved about this book, but I can’t gush. All I can give it is a 3.
Thank you NetGalley for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.
December 18, 2014
I finished this book last night and I woke up this morning with a different perspective on illegal immigrants and why some of them would risk their lives to escape to a place that they thought would give them a better life. Yes, I have read a lot in the news especially of late about families being separated, parents trying to provide for their children by escaping to the U.S., but I don't know what it feels like to not have food or a comfortable, safe place to live. Ward really brought those stories to life by telling the story of Carla, an incredibly brave 11 year old girl left in Honduras with her little brother while their mother is in the U.S. sending money when she can, but never enough for them to get there.
In Carla’s world there are hungry children trying to make money for food by selling junk and garbage from the dump and she is among them. There are children addicted to sniffing glue because it keeps them from feeling hungry and her six year old brother Junior is among them. They live alone in a dangerous place where gangs rule. Carla chooses to try to escape to the US. Some pretty awful things happen on the train as Carla and her brother led by a boy named Ernesto try to make their way to the U.S. and to their mother. Carla's story grabbed me from the start and I wondered how many other Carla's are out there. It was impossible not to love this little girl who was brave and bold and still believed in God even after the heartbreaking and gut wrenching journey.
There is another story here told in an alternating narrative of a lovely couple living in Texas, trying desperately to adopt a child. Alice and Jake are trying to accept their childless circumstances. Alice, a cancer survivor is unable to bear children and there are a number of failed attempts at adoption. I really liked these people and my heart was broken for them, but I was always anxious to finish Alice’s chapters so I could get back to Carla’s story which just gripped me from the beginning.
I couldn't help but wonder if they would meet. At one point it becomes obvious how their paths will cross. In spite of the sadness, the heartbreaking things that happen, this was a beautiful story. This is the first book I read by Ward but I will definitely look into her others.
Ward mentions the seed for her story was “speaking with a pregnant girl in Brownsville who had come from El Salvador to find her aunt in the United States. “ She also says that “the soul of this book came from the work of Father Alejandro Solalinde Guerra, whose shelter, Hermanos en el Camino in Ciudad Ixtepec, Oaxaca, provides a safe place for migrants, offering them food, shelter, medical and psychological attention, and legal aid. His work and his words are the meaning of grace. “
Carla's story could be the story of many a young girl trying to escape the poverty and danger in their lives seeking a better and safe place. For Carla, the place wasn’t all she hoped it would be, but yet this resilient young girl has hopes for a better future and makes enormous sacrifices with a hope and a belief that things will be better.
Thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine and Netgalley.
In Carla’s world there are hungry children trying to make money for food by selling junk and garbage from the dump and she is among them. There are children addicted to sniffing glue because it keeps them from feeling hungry and her six year old brother Junior is among them. They live alone in a dangerous place where gangs rule. Carla chooses to try to escape to the US. Some pretty awful things happen on the train as Carla and her brother led by a boy named Ernesto try to make their way to the U.S. and to their mother. Carla's story grabbed me from the start and I wondered how many other Carla's are out there. It was impossible not to love this little girl who was brave and bold and still believed in God even after the heartbreaking and gut wrenching journey.
There is another story here told in an alternating narrative of a lovely couple living in Texas, trying desperately to adopt a child. Alice and Jake are trying to accept their childless circumstances. Alice, a cancer survivor is unable to bear children and there are a number of failed attempts at adoption. I really liked these people and my heart was broken for them, but I was always anxious to finish Alice’s chapters so I could get back to Carla’s story which just gripped me from the beginning.
I couldn't help but wonder if they would meet. At one point it becomes obvious how their paths will cross. In spite of the sadness, the heartbreaking things that happen, this was a beautiful story. This is the first book I read by Ward but I will definitely look into her others.
Ward mentions the seed for her story was “speaking with a pregnant girl in Brownsville who had come from El Salvador to find her aunt in the United States. “ She also says that “the soul of this book came from the work of Father Alejandro Solalinde Guerra, whose shelter, Hermanos en el Camino in Ciudad Ixtepec, Oaxaca, provides a safe place for migrants, offering them food, shelter, medical and psychological attention, and legal aid. His work and his words are the meaning of grace. “
Carla's story could be the story of many a young girl trying to escape the poverty and danger in their lives seeking a better and safe place. For Carla, the place wasn’t all she hoped it would be, but yet this resilient young girl has hopes for a better future and makes enormous sacrifices with a hope and a belief that things will be better.
Thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine and Netgalley.
December 26, 2014
A timely read and one that leaves the reader much to ponder. My views on illegal immigration will not be stated here but like many other readers of this book I do have a better understanding of why they try to get to America but more importantly, what they go through to get here.
Carla is a young girl of ten, living in Honduras, when her grandmother dies. Left solely in charge of her younger brother, no food except that found in the local dump, no money except that which is sporadically sent by her mother in Texas. As always there are those who do nothing but prey on the weak and innocent. When her younger brother starts sniffing glue, which many do to forget their hunger, she decides, at the age of twelve, that it is time for them to join her mother and other brother in Texas. What she experiences will leave her a child no longer.
Alice, at forty wants more than anything to have a child. Not able to have her own she and her husband try to adopt. The child they do adopt they only have for one day, before the birth mother changes her mind, leaving her and her husband Jake, devastated.
The story is told in alternating chapters between Carla and Alice. At first I found Carla's story, though hard to read, more interesting. Alice slowly grew on me and the parts in her story that were humorous gave a much needed lightness. Well and engagingly written, with both stories moving along at a steady pace, I was interested to see how these two stories managed to converge. Loved at the end we got to see what plans Carla envisioned for her future. Good book dealing with two weighty subjects, that will tug on the heartstrings.
Arc from publisher.
Carla is a young girl of ten, living in Honduras, when her grandmother dies. Left solely in charge of her younger brother, no food except that found in the local dump, no money except that which is sporadically sent by her mother in Texas. As always there are those who do nothing but prey on the weak and innocent. When her younger brother starts sniffing glue, which many do to forget their hunger, she decides, at the age of twelve, that it is time for them to join her mother and other brother in Texas. What she experiences will leave her a child no longer.
Alice, at forty wants more than anything to have a child. Not able to have her own she and her husband try to adopt. The child they do adopt they only have for one day, before the birth mother changes her mind, leaving her and her husband Jake, devastated.
The story is told in alternating chapters between Carla and Alice. At first I found Carla's story, though hard to read, more interesting. Alice slowly grew on me and the parts in her story that were humorous gave a much needed lightness. Well and engagingly written, with both stories moving along at a steady pace, I was interested to see how these two stories managed to converge. Loved at the end we got to see what plans Carla envisioned for her future. Good book dealing with two weighty subjects, that will tug on the heartstrings.
Arc from publisher.
February 3, 2015
***** 5 Powerful Stars*****
(Arc Kindly provided by publisher via Netgalley)
I wanted to read this book because being an immigrant who moved to the US at a young age I always feel compelled to delve into stories that talk about the struggles and triumphs of those like me who leave everything behind and move here in search of the American dream...
Alice Conroe owns a famous BBQ restaurant with her husband in Texas. Married for more than decade, this happy couple seems to have everything except what they want most, a child. For a while they have been trying to adopt without any success because Alice can't get pregnant as a result of her struggles with breast cancer in her younger years. The last attempt to adopt went terribly wrong, leaving both Alice and her husband Jake hurting and scared to try again. Jake seems to have made peace with the fact that they will never be parent,s and he is trying to cope with the idea ,that it will be just the two of them and their legendary restaurant, that gets more recognition every day, but Alice has a huge gap inside her heart and only a baby to love can fill.
Carla Trujillo is from Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Her mother left to The United States and left her and her twin brothers to be raise by their grandmother. Carla's mother works very heard to send them money and clothing and at one point is able to save enough money to only bring one of the twins to live with her in Texas. When Carla is thirteen and after her grandmother dies she's now in charge of her little brother. The situation in her village is becoming more dangerous every day, work is hard to come by and hunger is their every day companion. Carla starts to notice that her little brother Junior ,might be in danger of becoming another statistic of children who rely on drugs to keep them from feeling hungry, and so she decides to make the hazardous journey to America.
Both Alice and Carla are facing very challenging paths and at some point their roads will intercept changing their worlds forever. These two characters have only one thing in common and that is that no matter how hard things around them get , they both refuse to be victims and not even in their darkest days they never loose hope. I always love a story with a strong female character and Carla (13) and Alice (40) were both fearless females and I couldn't help but to feel inspired by their heartbreaking stories.
Im very familiar with the topic of immigration so I was able to relate to Carla because like her, my mother left me with my father when I was very young to pursue a better future here in America. Is not easy to grow up without your mother and even though my journey to come here wasn't traumatic like Carla's, is never easy for anybody to leave everything you know behind and move to a different country and start over. I know a lot of people who have almost lost their lives trying to make it here and I was very impressed by how accurate and by how sensibly this author was able to craft this story, giving a voice to so many voiceless people and children who go through unimaginable and awful things to come here. A lot of them try to cross but not all succeed and those left behind will forever be remembered as their love ones carry pain and guilt of making it to the other side of the border. This a was a beautiful story that I would recommend to everybody and without doubt I'll never forget.
(Arc Kindly provided by publisher via Netgalley)
I wanted to read this book because being an immigrant who moved to the US at a young age I always feel compelled to delve into stories that talk about the struggles and triumphs of those like me who leave everything behind and move here in search of the American dream...
Alice Conroe owns a famous BBQ restaurant with her husband in Texas. Married for more than decade, this happy couple seems to have everything except what they want most, a child. For a while they have been trying to adopt without any success because Alice can't get pregnant as a result of her struggles with breast cancer in her younger years. The last attempt to adopt went terribly wrong, leaving both Alice and her husband Jake hurting and scared to try again. Jake seems to have made peace with the fact that they will never be parent,s and he is trying to cope with the idea ,that it will be just the two of them and their legendary restaurant, that gets more recognition every day, but Alice has a huge gap inside her heart and only a baby to love can fill.
Carla Trujillo is from Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Her mother left to The United States and left her and her twin brothers to be raise by their grandmother. Carla's mother works very heard to send them money and clothing and at one point is able to save enough money to only bring one of the twins to live with her in Texas. When Carla is thirteen and after her grandmother dies she's now in charge of her little brother. The situation in her village is becoming more dangerous every day, work is hard to come by and hunger is their every day companion. Carla starts to notice that her little brother Junior ,might be in danger of becoming another statistic of children who rely on drugs to keep them from feeling hungry, and so she decides to make the hazardous journey to America.
Both Alice and Carla are facing very challenging paths and at some point their roads will intercept changing their worlds forever. These two characters have only one thing in common and that is that no matter how hard things around them get , they both refuse to be victims and not even in their darkest days they never loose hope. I always love a story with a strong female character and Carla (13) and Alice (40) were both fearless females and I couldn't help but to feel inspired by their heartbreaking stories.
Im very familiar with the topic of immigration so I was able to relate to Carla because like her, my mother left me with my father when I was very young to pursue a better future here in America. Is not easy to grow up without your mother and even though my journey to come here wasn't traumatic like Carla's, is never easy for anybody to leave everything you know behind and move to a different country and start over. I know a lot of people who have almost lost their lives trying to make it here and I was very impressed by how accurate and by how sensibly this author was able to craft this story, giving a voice to so many voiceless people and children who go through unimaginable and awful things to come here. A lot of them try to cross but not all succeed and those left behind will forever be remembered as their love ones carry pain and guilt of making it to the other side of the border. This a was a beautiful story that I would recommend to everybody and without doubt I'll never forget.
December 11, 2014
Powerful!
Characters feel Real!
A Significant Achievement!
Vibrantly imagined!
Although this novel is a page turning 'story' --the heart of the matter deals with a very serious subject: Immigrant children! Small children enter our country hungry, frighten, illegally.
....The simple writing style allow the importance of the story be what is most important!
I could NOT STOP READING.....
I could write pages of details about this story --but why??? JUST READ IT! Its wonderful! Its a book that offers possibility to transform our thinking --and sincerely open our hearts.
I leave you with one quote:
"Part of me was glad to have learned a tough lesson early - life could take everything from you when you weren't paying attention"
"The Same Sky" ............. Its the world we all share!
Congrats to the author! AMAZING novel!
Thank you Netgalley!
Characters feel Real!
A Significant Achievement!
Vibrantly imagined!
Although this novel is a page turning 'story' --the heart of the matter deals with a very serious subject: Immigrant children! Small children enter our country hungry, frighten, illegally.
....The simple writing style allow the importance of the story be what is most important!
I could NOT STOP READING.....
I could write pages of details about this story --but why??? JUST READ IT! Its wonderful! Its a book that offers possibility to transform our thinking --and sincerely open our hearts.
I leave you with one quote:
"Part of me was glad to have learned a tough lesson early - life could take everything from you when you weren't paying attention"
"The Same Sky" ............. Its the world we all share!
Congrats to the author! AMAZING novel!
Thank you Netgalley!
March 27, 2018
Brilliant
The Same Sky is a great read, well researched, thought provoking, and utterly believable. If you have seen the TV show “Border Wars” or the documentary “Which Way Home” this book might not be anything new to you. It alternates back and forth between a young Honduran girl trying to make it to Texas illegally and an Austenite wanting a child more than anything else. There is a connection between the two and the surprise ending caught me off guard! I like the two parallel stories being familiar with Austin, bbq, immigration, and growing up in a border town. I highly recommend it!
The Same Sky is a great read, well researched, thought provoking, and utterly believable. If you have seen the TV show “Border Wars” or the documentary “Which Way Home” this book might not be anything new to you. It alternates back and forth between a young Honduran girl trying to make it to Texas illegally and an Austenite wanting a child more than anything else. There is a connection between the two and the surprise ending caught me off guard! I like the two parallel stories being familiar with Austin, bbq, immigration, and growing up in a border town. I highly recommend it!
October 26, 2015
I wanted to enjoy this story. Really.
It takes a skilled person to write a narrative using the first person tense. It takes an awesome writer to do this and use two POVs alternating from one to the other. Three chapters in, and I should have marked it as 'not finished'. But it was my first buddy-read and Iwanted needed to complete the book.
When I began reading the same sky, Carla leapt off the pages as utterly human. She was a very young child and her heartbreaking reality was depressing even on good days. The product of a single mother and an unknown father, she lived with her grandmother and twin baby half-brothers in abject poverty. Truthfully, aside from some skewed 'best intentions', the mother abandoned them.
As I continued reading, my emotions should have come into play. They didn't. This piece of contemporary fiction was a messy soup. Carla and Alice were two people with a substantial age difference and from contrasting cultures. Unfortunately, they lacked dimension and the actual story was coarsely written and inconsistent. I seriously wondered how it earned all the five star reviews.
And not to nitpick
In short, I did not care what transpired and that saddened me.
It takes a skilled person to write a narrative using the first person tense. It takes an awesome writer to do this and use two POVs alternating from one to the other. Three chapters in, and I should have marked it as 'not finished'. But it was my first buddy-read and I
When I began reading the same sky, Carla leapt off the pages as utterly human. She was a very young child and her heartbreaking reality was depressing even on good days. The product of a single mother and an unknown father, she lived with her grandmother and twin baby half-brothers in abject poverty. Truthfully, aside from some skewed 'best intentions', the mother abandoned them.
As I continued reading, my emotions should have come into play. They didn't. This piece of contemporary fiction was a messy soup. Carla and Alice were two people with a substantial age difference and from contrasting cultures. Unfortunately, they lacked dimension and the actual story was coarsely written and inconsistent. I seriously wondered how it earned all the five star reviews.
And not to nitpick
In short, I did not care what transpired and that saddened me.
January 3, 2015
This was a quick read yet it was still very powerfully written. I think that given all of the current legislation being debated over illegal immigration this novel helps to put human faces on this issue. I loved Carla and truly empathized with her plight... I had a harder time with Alice. Something about her relationship with her husband just didn't work for me. I would encourage everyone to read this in the hopes that with knowledge comes more understanding of this difficult issue. 3.5 stars
January 3, 2015
I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. To read more reviews like this one, check out Obsessive Book Nerd!
The Same Sky was a pretty quick read for me, but unfortunately I just couldn’t give it a stellar review. I’m actually pretty torn about what to say. The story follows two characters, Clara on her journey from Honduras to Texas and Alice dealing with the disappointment and numerous failed attempts of becoming a mother. I knew at some point the two characters would cross paths, but it just didn’t happen quick enough for me.
I enjoyed Clara’s story so much more than Alice’s. Clara and her supporting characters seemed real. I felt that her journey was genuine. The struggles and hardships she endured were heartbreaking. There times however, when modern technology was mentioned (a.k.a. the internet) by Clara and this was confusing because Clara was living in a village where she slept on a pallet, robbed of cooking pots, had to walk miles to use the only phone in town, and ate flour paste for meals. So I’m assuming that she is referring to using the internet once she is older and living a better life in America. But, why even refer to it? I was just confused.
Alice’s part of the book felt disconnected. Her character was more well rounded than the others but didn’t feel fully developed. Just when I thought I had a good read on each of the supporting characters, they did/said something abrupt and out of character. It went completely against the already developed character. I found myself re-reading paragraphs because I didn’t understand why a character just did/said the thing they did/said because it didn’t make any sense. Every single character in Alice’s story fell into this category of dissapoint me for me.
I’m a little concerned that this book is getting such great reviews on Goodreads. My review and rating does not follow suit. So I kind of feel like I’m not being fair, but I’ve thought long and hard about this book and I’m just not happy about it. The second I finished it, the first feeling I had was utter disappointment. I could tell at about 65% through the book that I might not like where the book ended, but I kept reading on. Overall, I probably would have given the novel a better rating had it just been Clara’s story.
The Same Sky was a pretty quick read for me, but unfortunately I just couldn’t give it a stellar review. I’m actually pretty torn about what to say. The story follows two characters, Clara on her journey from Honduras to Texas and Alice dealing with the disappointment and numerous failed attempts of becoming a mother. I knew at some point the two characters would cross paths, but it just didn’t happen quick enough for me.
I enjoyed Clara’s story so much more than Alice’s. Clara and her supporting characters seemed real. I felt that her journey was genuine. The struggles and hardships she endured were heartbreaking. There times however, when modern technology was mentioned (a.k.a. the internet) by Clara and this was confusing because Clara was living in a village where she slept on a pallet, robbed of cooking pots, had to walk miles to use the only phone in town, and ate flour paste for meals. So I’m assuming that she is referring to using the internet once she is older and living a better life in America. But, why even refer to it? I was just confused.
Alice’s part of the book felt disconnected. Her character was more well rounded than the others but didn’t feel fully developed. Just when I thought I had a good read on each of the supporting characters, they did/said something abrupt and out of character. It went completely against the already developed character. I found myself re-reading paragraphs because I didn’t understand why a character just did/said the thing they did/said because it didn’t make any sense. Every single character in Alice’s story fell into this category of dissapoint me for me.
I’m a little concerned that this book is getting such great reviews on Goodreads. My review and rating does not follow suit. So I kind of feel like I’m not being fair, but I’ve thought long and hard about this book and I’m just not happy about it. The second I finished it, the first feeling I had was utter disappointment. I could tell at about 65% through the book that I might not like where the book ended, but I kept reading on. Overall, I probably would have given the novel a better rating had it just been Clara’s story.
February 17, 2015
Two alternating story lines, one is Carla a young girl living in poverty in Honduras, the other is Alice, married to Jake in Texas and desperately wanting a child.
Big impact themes are present in the Same Sky
- poverty
- rape
- infertility
- immigration
- drugs
- gangs
- cancer
However the way this novel was written meant the above themes didn't have the big impact they could. The whole novel seems to be in continuous shutter speed - click, click, click, click, click, click. It needed to be fleshed out a lot more. Perhaps just Carla's story with more effort in it? Alice's storyline didn't add to the novel but rather detracted.
Skip this one.
Big impact themes are present in the Same Sky
- poverty
- rape
- infertility
- immigration
- drugs
- gangs
- cancer
However the way this novel was written meant the above themes didn't have the big impact they could. The whole novel seems to be in continuous shutter speed - click, click, click, click, click, click. It needed to be fleshed out a lot more. Perhaps just Carla's story with more effort in it? Alice's storyline didn't add to the novel but rather detracted.
Skip this one.
August 28, 2019
Wonderful book, I felt like it was a true story. Showing the hardships of a young girl in Honduras who has to take care of her little brother, where finding food most of the time is almost impossible. And then she decides to take her brother and journey to America to find her mom. The journey is scary and horrendous. Also there is a other part of the story about a couple who want to adopt a child.
January 26, 2015
Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary e-book copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
My Review: This was one of those books that surprised me. It has some rather heavy subjects that it addresses but also has a rather quiet feel to it as the reader gets an intimate look at both Carla and Alice's lives as they tell their stories in alternating chapters.
Both Carla and Alice's story lines focused on their daily struggles which were interesting and touching. Carla's story was emotional, raw and showed that a child could endure so much more than you'd expect. My heart went out to her as she struggled with what life (and her mother) left her to deal with. She was naive but courageous and ultimately risked everything in order to save herself and her brother.
Alice's story was, for me anyway, less interesting than Carla's. Maybe it was because I found her to not be as likable as Carla. Maybe that was because I wasn't fond of some of her choices - how she treated her husband, how she allowed Evian to take advantage of her repeatedly. I suppose Alice's struggles seemed to pale just a bit compared to Carla's because, while they were important to her, they weren't life threatening like Carla's. But on the other hand, if Alice's story was as dark as Carla's the book would have taken on too much of a somber tone.
While this book deals with some heavy subjects it also gives the reader a chance to step into two very different people's shoes and get a very intimate take on their personal struggles. Ultimately it is an emotional story that showcases how hope can endure in even the darkest of places.
My Rating: 3.5/5 stars
*** This book review, as well as hundreds more, can also be found on my blog, The Baking Bookworm (www.thebakingbookworm.blogspot.ca) where I also share hundreds of my favourite recipes. ***
My Review: This was one of those books that surprised me. It has some rather heavy subjects that it addresses but also has a rather quiet feel to it as the reader gets an intimate look at both Carla and Alice's lives as they tell their stories in alternating chapters.
Both Carla and Alice's story lines focused on their daily struggles which were interesting and touching. Carla's story was emotional, raw and showed that a child could endure so much more than you'd expect. My heart went out to her as she struggled with what life (and her mother) left her to deal with. She was naive but courageous and ultimately risked everything in order to save herself and her brother.
Alice's story was, for me anyway, less interesting than Carla's. Maybe it was because I found her to not be as likable as Carla. Maybe that was because I wasn't fond of some of her choices - how she treated her husband, how she allowed Evian to take advantage of her repeatedly. I suppose Alice's struggles seemed to pale just a bit compared to Carla's because, while they were important to her, they weren't life threatening like Carla's. But on the other hand, if Alice's story was as dark as Carla's the book would have taken on too much of a somber tone.
While this book deals with some heavy subjects it also gives the reader a chance to step into two very different people's shoes and get a very intimate take on their personal struggles. Ultimately it is an emotional story that showcases how hope can endure in even the darkest of places.
My Rating: 3.5/5 stars
*** This book review, as well as hundreds more, can also be found on my blog, The Baking Bookworm (www.thebakingbookworm.blogspot.ca) where I also share hundreds of my favourite recipes. ***
November 22, 2016
Three and a half stars
For someone who has never known what it is to not have enough food to eat, or sleep in a comfortable bed, or know the love of caring parents who were there throughout my childhood, this book is a real culture shock. It tells the story of Carla, who lives in poverty in Honduras with her grandmother and younger brothers. Her mother is in the U.S and sends what she accent to try and help support her family, but still 11 year old Carla is one of a number trying survive by selling junk from the garbage dump or scrounging for food. Where they live, life is precarious at best as gangs rule the neighbourhood. After her grandmother dies, Carla tries to escape to her mother in Texas.
The other story is that of Alice, a cancer survivor, and her husband who live in Austin, Texas. They long for a child but are unable to have one. Then the adoption they had been so thrilled about falls through. The novel tells the stories of Carla and Alice in alternating chapters.
I found this an enlightening read and one that takes the reader on a heartbreaking journey. It also helps give more understanding of why immigrants go to such lengths to leave their homeland. There are some horrific events occur in the book, which were dealt with in a journalistic, matter of fact, way rather than over dramatized. Some people may find that lessens the impact of them. I was not one of them. I found them heartbreaking scenes to read. This is a book that makes you think about the human spirit and what some people have to put up with in life. A quick, though not an easy read in some ways, it takes the reader inside the situations depicted. Despite some of the language and the harsh scenes of life, it is worth reading. The stunning cover caused me initially to pick up this book.
For someone who has never known what it is to not have enough food to eat, or sleep in a comfortable bed, or know the love of caring parents who were there throughout my childhood, this book is a real culture shock. It tells the story of Carla, who lives in poverty in Honduras with her grandmother and younger brothers. Her mother is in the U.S and sends what she accent to try and help support her family, but still 11 year old Carla is one of a number trying survive by selling junk from the garbage dump or scrounging for food. Where they live, life is precarious at best as gangs rule the neighbourhood. After her grandmother dies, Carla tries to escape to her mother in Texas.
The other story is that of Alice, a cancer survivor, and her husband who live in Austin, Texas. They long for a child but are unable to have one. Then the adoption they had been so thrilled about falls through. The novel tells the stories of Carla and Alice in alternating chapters.
I found this an enlightening read and one that takes the reader on a heartbreaking journey. It also helps give more understanding of why immigrants go to such lengths to leave their homeland. There are some horrific events occur in the book, which were dealt with in a journalistic, matter of fact, way rather than over dramatized. Some people may find that lessens the impact of them. I was not one of them. I found them heartbreaking scenes to read. This is a book that makes you think about the human spirit and what some people have to put up with in life. A quick, though not an easy read in some ways, it takes the reader inside the situations depicted. Despite some of the language and the harsh scenes of life, it is worth reading. The stunning cover caused me initially to pick up this book.
October 26, 2015
I have to say that if it wasn't a book club and buddy-read, I would probably dnf this book or never read it at all. I'm still trying to figure out why it had gotten such great reviews.
It's a story with alternating narrative told from POV of two very different characters.
Carla, 11-year-old girl from Honduras is trying to make the journey across the border to get to her mother in Texas. Alice, 40-year-old cancer survivor in Austin, is trying to put her life back together after a failed adoption.
Right from the beginning, the book didn't work for me. The two stories with unequal impact, uninspiring writing, underdeveloped characters....I was left with the feeling that the author had more of an interest in a socio-political statement than in a well-told story.
Alice came across as self-indulgent woman. She seemed to display a tremendous lack of good judgment in her dealings with everyone, but especially with Evian, a high school student at risk who Alice wanted to help. It was hard to believe that Alice was actually the adult in the relationship. The whole Evian's plot line left me unimpressed and frankly disgusted with Alice.
Carla's story was stronger and I actually wish it was the only story in the book. The struggles and hardships she endured were heartbreaking. But,again, the writing was choppy and the narrative felt flat.
Overall, the book had a great potential but didn't deliver and left me unimpressed.
It's a story with alternating narrative told from POV of two very different characters.
Carla, 11-year-old girl from Honduras is trying to make the journey across the border to get to her mother in Texas. Alice, 40-year-old cancer survivor in Austin, is trying to put her life back together after a failed adoption.
Right from the beginning, the book didn't work for me. The two stories with unequal impact, uninspiring writing, underdeveloped characters....I was left with the feeling that the author had more of an interest in a socio-political statement than in a well-told story.
Alice came across as self-indulgent woman. She seemed to display a tremendous lack of good judgment in her dealings with everyone, but especially with Evian, a high school student at risk who Alice wanted to help. It was hard to believe that Alice was actually the adult in the relationship. The whole Evian's plot line left me unimpressed and frankly disgusted with Alice.
Carla's story was stronger and I actually wish it was the only story in the book. The struggles and hardships she endured were heartbreaking. But,again, the writing was choppy and the narrative felt flat.
Overall, the book had a great potential but didn't deliver and left me unimpressed.
October 1, 2015
After finishing The Same Sky, I'm a little confused about how it has so many 4 and 5 star ratings. For me, it was ok at best and I'm not even sure if it's worthy of the 2 star rating I've given it.
Alice and the characters in her section were inconsistent - their actions are dictated by the emotion the author needed them to convey in that scene. The book's description mentions Alice's "perfect life".. huh? What perfect life? She is unhappy with most things about herself and her life.
One thing that drove me crazy about Carla's section were when the author wrote things like:
Alice and the characters in her section were inconsistent - their actions are dictated by the emotion the author needed them to convey in that scene. The book's description mentions Alice's "perfect life".. huh? What perfect life? She is unhappy with most things about herself and her life.
One thing that drove me crazy about Carla's section were when the author wrote things like:
I do not need to elucidate for you the misery of hiking across a desert, so I will not do so.Really? What a lazy way to get out of writing something. This happened multiple times and I found it ridiculous. I read books because authors have the power to take a reader into another world and in this book, the author missed a golden opportunity.
May 2, 2022
The Same Sky alternates between Texas BBQ owner, Alice, and her husband, Jake, who are unable to conceive and young Carla who was born in Honduras but is desperate to join her mother in Texas. How and when will their paths cross?
This was a heartbreaking look at illegal immigration and very much reminded me of American Dirt (4 stars) by Jeanine Cummins. The story was very heavy at times as Carla journeyed north to Texas enduring horrible things along the way. Alice's story about yearning for a baby was also very sad. It ended, however, on a high, hopeful note and brought tears of joy to my eyes.
3.5 stars
Location: Texas (Austin), Honduras, and Mexico
Recommended by Jodi Picoult
To read an interview with the author, click here: http://momadvice.com/post/sundays-wit...
This was a heartbreaking look at illegal immigration and very much reminded me of American Dirt (4 stars) by Jeanine Cummins. The story was very heavy at times as Carla journeyed north to Texas enduring horrible things along the way. Alice's story about yearning for a baby was also very sad. It ended, however, on a high, hopeful note and brought tears of joy to my eyes.
3.5 stars
Location: Texas (Austin), Honduras, and Mexico
Recommended by Jodi Picoult
To read an interview with the author, click here: http://momadvice.com/post/sundays-wit...
February 18, 2015
Whenever I visit book clubs people ask about my favorite writers and Amanda Eyre Ward always tops the list. I've loved every book she's ever written but this is my favorite. It is gorgeous and heartbreaking. At one point I almost couldn't read further...it was too crushing. And this was before the *really* bad stuff. Overall a very haunting and emotional read, made even more so when you learn so much of this is based on stories she heard at immigration centers. A magnificent--and important--book.
December 15, 2014
A special thank you to Random House Publishing Group, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
THE SAME SKY, by Amanda Eyre Ward is a riveting novel of a woman and a teen, a powerful journey of two souls which connect for a heartfelt novel of loss, faith, hope, and love. A story which will grab you and will linger long after the book ends.
Jake and Alice, live in Austin, Texas—a couple having given up on conceiving after ten long years. Alice, has come to terms with no longer being a mother and throws herself into work at her husband’s barbeque restaurant. They try the adoption route to once again end in a disappointment, among other things which is destroying the happiness in their marriage.
Carla Trujilio, thirteen years old is poor, and being raised by her grandmother in Honduras, with her four year old twin brothers. They have experienced poverty and life has not been easy, surrounded by violence. They long for a life in America with the American dream. A young girl with hopes and dreams she envisions for her life.
Her mother left when she as five years old, and sends money home Texas where she’s trying to make a better life for her family, but she only has enough to bring one son. When Carla’s grandmother dies, Carla decides to take her fate into her own hands and embarks on a dangerous journey across the border with Junior, the twin left behind.
Poor Carla’s journey is heartbreaking, as she walks and walks and hitches a ride on a freight train known as "The Beast," and endures pain and loss that makes her long for her simple life back home. On the Beast and in shelters along its rails, people traded stories about their experiences, discussing everything from bandits, robbers, and rape as she makes her way from Tegucigalpa to Texas.
Alternating between Carla and Alice, (which I enjoyed) readers will cry and weep for Carla for a poignant story of love and loss. Alice wants a baby and Carla longs for a life in America with her mother and family. As a girl, Carla dreamed of America, imagining lying down in a large green field, watching her mother unpack a picnic dinner. The basket would be filled with anything she could dream of, before she held her close to say she loved her.
Both a young girl and a mature woman, both under the same sky wanting a somewhat different. but really the same life. One of love and compassion. The love of a mother and daughter, and family. Ward holds off on the final intersection of characters until the end, making for a powerful ending.
This was my first book by Ward and was blown away by this thought-provoking story, as you feel the emotion and pain of the characters and you become invested in their happiness and survival. I have already chosen some of her books on audible, which I look forward to listening and reading more from this newfound and talented author.
The book hits home to all of us as Americans today, as we take for granted our lives, when so many immigrants are suffering through real poverty, as they attempt to flee to come to America through violence and danger, such as portrayed in this gripping novel
I have to agree with some of the other reviewers, I wished for one more chapter to allow readers to linger and bask in a few more moments of happiness.
THE SAME SKY would make for an ideal book for book clubs or group discussions.
Judith D. Collins Must Read Books
THE SAME SKY, by Amanda Eyre Ward is a riveting novel of a woman and a teen, a powerful journey of two souls which connect for a heartfelt novel of loss, faith, hope, and love. A story which will grab you and will linger long after the book ends.
Jake and Alice, live in Austin, Texas—a couple having given up on conceiving after ten long years. Alice, has come to terms with no longer being a mother and throws herself into work at her husband’s barbeque restaurant. They try the adoption route to once again end in a disappointment, among other things which is destroying the happiness in their marriage.
Carla Trujilio, thirteen years old is poor, and being raised by her grandmother in Honduras, with her four year old twin brothers. They have experienced poverty and life has not been easy, surrounded by violence. They long for a life in America with the American dream. A young girl with hopes and dreams she envisions for her life.
Her mother left when she as five years old, and sends money home Texas where she’s trying to make a better life for her family, but she only has enough to bring one son. When Carla’s grandmother dies, Carla decides to take her fate into her own hands and embarks on a dangerous journey across the border with Junior, the twin left behind.
Poor Carla’s journey is heartbreaking, as she walks and walks and hitches a ride on a freight train known as "The Beast," and endures pain and loss that makes her long for her simple life back home. On the Beast and in shelters along its rails, people traded stories about their experiences, discussing everything from bandits, robbers, and rape as she makes her way from Tegucigalpa to Texas.
Alternating between Carla and Alice, (which I enjoyed) readers will cry and weep for Carla for a poignant story of love and loss. Alice wants a baby and Carla longs for a life in America with her mother and family. As a girl, Carla dreamed of America, imagining lying down in a large green field, watching her mother unpack a picnic dinner. The basket would be filled with anything she could dream of, before she held her close to say she loved her.
Both a young girl and a mature woman, both under the same sky wanting a somewhat different. but really the same life. One of love and compassion. The love of a mother and daughter, and family. Ward holds off on the final intersection of characters until the end, making for a powerful ending.
This was my first book by Ward and was blown away by this thought-provoking story, as you feel the emotion and pain of the characters and you become invested in their happiness and survival. I have already chosen some of her books on audible, which I look forward to listening and reading more from this newfound and talented author.
The book hits home to all of us as Americans today, as we take for granted our lives, when so many immigrants are suffering through real poverty, as they attempt to flee to come to America through violence and danger, such as portrayed in this gripping novel
I have to agree with some of the other reviewers, I wished for one more chapter to allow readers to linger and bask in a few more moments of happiness.
THE SAME SKY would make for an ideal book for book clubs or group discussions.
Judith D. Collins Must Read Books
March 3, 2015
I received this book in a goodreads giveaway.
Alice and Carla are each searching for the American dream, and a family that is complete. Alice and her husband Jake long for a baby. They own a successful BBQ restaurant in Austin, Texas, and are involved in their community. But the void of being childless has left Alice feeling untethered and empty.
Carla is an eleven year old girl, left by her mother in the care of her grandmother in Honduras. Her mother made her way to Austin to provide for the family and sends clothes and money as she can. Carla longs for her mother, and upon the death of her grandmother she alone is respondsible for her younger brother. She makes the decision to embark on the long and dangerous journey to reunite with her mother, and have an opportunity for a better future. What an arduous journey for Carla, not knowing who could be trusted and fearful of those looking to take advantage of her. An eye opening account of the risks that countless children and families are willing to take in hope of a better life. The story is also a testament of faith. A beautiful ending that brings Alice's and Carla's stories together.
Really 4.5 stars
Alice and Carla are each searching for the American dream, and a family that is complete. Alice and her husband Jake long for a baby. They own a successful BBQ restaurant in Austin, Texas, and are involved in their community. But the void of being childless has left Alice feeling untethered and empty.
Carla is an eleven year old girl, left by her mother in the care of her grandmother in Honduras. Her mother made her way to Austin to provide for the family and sends clothes and money as she can. Carla longs for her mother, and upon the death of her grandmother she alone is respondsible for her younger brother. She makes the decision to embark on the long and dangerous journey to reunite with her mother, and have an opportunity for a better future. What an arduous journey for Carla, not knowing who could be trusted and fearful of those looking to take advantage of her. An eye opening account of the risks that countless children and families are willing to take in hope of a better life. The story is also a testament of faith. A beautiful ending that brings Alice's and Carla's stories together.
Really 4.5 stars
February 13, 2015
Not really sure why the author chose to have two stories. Alice is a 40ish woman in Austin, Texas, who has been unable to have children. An adoption has just fallen through. So she and her husband are stuck, out of money, and with a hole their potential child leaves behind. As Alice grieves for this loss, she and her husband drift apart. She ends up mentoring a troubled teenage girl who has little to no parental supervision and is likely to face a life of bad choices and an inability to escape her upbringing.
Carla is a 10 year old girl in Honduras with her grandmother and twin brothers. Her mother is in Texas, sending money and clothes and gifts while she can, as well as saving up money for smugglers to bring her children over the border. As time passes, one of her brothers is successfully smuggled to the US, leaving Carla with her other brother Junior and their grandmother who is in fragile health.
Thus we see two very different stories that will come together only at the very end. Carla decides, after the death of her grandmother, that she and Junior must leave Honduras, especially in the wake of increasing gang violence. In a journey faced with long, exhausting walks, violence, theft, rape, Carla and Junior make their way towards the United States in the hopes for a better life.
Meanwhile, Alice is facing trying to mentor Evian, and is totally under prepared for dealing with a troubled teenager. Throw in the fact that her sister Jane is pregnant and that a magazine wants to a spread on Alice and husband Jake's amazing BBQ restaurant and it is quite messy.
Like what many reviewers have said, Carla's story is the much stronger and poignant one. The book jacket clearly notes the author spoke to immigrant children and it clear she did her research to write this story. Alice's tale becomes increasingly tedious--while I felt for her at first, her story got old rather fast. Her husband seemed to be right: his wife was trying to fill the emptiness with Evian and perhaps animals too. And I just found I couldn't relate to her more and more as the story went on.
I also didn't particularly like how Alice seemed to have issues with boundaries: she brings home Evian to sleep on the couch, which Jake is not happy with (I wouldn't be happy with some random stranger on my couch either!). Alice insists on visiting her sister Jane in Colorado despite being told by Jane's husband that right now Jane doesn't need visitors, just family ("I am family!" Alice replies and tells him she'll see him soon). While the husband might not be a very nice man anyway (and strictly speaking she is family), this just totally rubbed me the wrong way. Especially as in the end, it all seems to rather conveniently work out.
This goes for Carla too. Her life seems to significantly improve once she reaches the US, despite not speaking a word of English (or very, very little). Which is not to say that does not happen, but some significant plot points that happen along the way either end up very conveniently solved (which ties hers and Alice's story together) or somehow get completely swept away. That's it? It seemed rather unbelievable as a development and I couldn't quite understand the point, unless the author was trying to underscore what happens to families that try to make the trip together.
I had a *very* hard time understanding how both Carla and her mother (and Carlos) seemed to accept this particular event, and the author seems to brush this and other developments as "God's will," "it's what God wants," and other very similar sentiments. It was too easy to wipe away things with that. I respect that both Alice and Carla are from religious families and religious areas. But the fact that God is spoken in about repeatedly in the *exact* same manner, whether in Texas, Colorado, Mexico or Honduras, it's just sloppy, lazy and obnoxious.
The book is written in alternating views, but I would say it's actually completely possible to just read Carla's chapters. Without giving too much away, Alice's story really isn't affected by Carla's (and vice versa) and I think this would have been *much* better if the author had actually just written about Carla, and left Alice as a secondary character. I actually wonder if Alice is a character that would somehow help bring the book to a wider audience (middle-aged woman unable to conceive) vs. the story of a young immigrant girl who is trying to cross the border illegally. Because the more I think on it, the more I think it really should have been just Carla's story.
A MUCH better book about immigration, family and more with a similar structure (except told in multiple viewpoints instead of two, and not all the vignettes are tied together with some more than others) would be The Book of Unknown Americans: A novel by Cristina Henríquez
Skip this one.
Carla is a 10 year old girl in Honduras with her grandmother and twin brothers. Her mother is in Texas, sending money and clothes and gifts while she can, as well as saving up money for smugglers to bring her children over the border. As time passes, one of her brothers is successfully smuggled to the US, leaving Carla with her other brother Junior and their grandmother who is in fragile health.
Thus we see two very different stories that will come together only at the very end. Carla decides, after the death of her grandmother, that she and Junior must leave Honduras, especially in the wake of increasing gang violence. In a journey faced with long, exhausting walks, violence, theft, rape, Carla and Junior make their way towards the United States in the hopes for a better life.
Meanwhile, Alice is facing trying to mentor Evian, and is totally under prepared for dealing with a troubled teenager. Throw in the fact that her sister Jane is pregnant and that a magazine wants to a spread on Alice and husband Jake's amazing BBQ restaurant and it is quite messy.
Like what many reviewers have said, Carla's story is the much stronger and poignant one. The book jacket clearly notes the author spoke to immigrant children and it clear she did her research to write this story. Alice's tale becomes increasingly tedious--while I felt for her at first, her story got old rather fast. Her husband seemed to be right: his wife was trying to fill the emptiness with Evian and perhaps animals too. And I just found I couldn't relate to her more and more as the story went on.
I also didn't particularly like how Alice seemed to have issues with boundaries: she brings home Evian to sleep on the couch, which Jake is not happy with (I wouldn't be happy with some random stranger on my couch either!). Alice insists on visiting her sister Jane in Colorado despite being told by Jane's husband that right now Jane doesn't need visitors, just family ("I am family!" Alice replies and tells him she'll see him soon). While the husband might not be a very nice man anyway (and strictly speaking she is family), this just totally rubbed me the wrong way. Especially as in the end, it all seems to rather conveniently work out.
This goes for Carla too. Her life seems to significantly improve once she reaches the US, despite not speaking a word of English (or very, very little). Which is not to say that does not happen, but some significant plot points that happen along the way either end up very conveniently solved (which ties hers and Alice's story together) or somehow get completely swept away. That's it? It seemed rather unbelievable as a development and I couldn't quite understand the point, unless the author was trying to underscore what happens to families that try to make the trip together.
I had a *very* hard time understanding how both Carla and her mother (and Carlos) seemed to accept this particular event, and the author seems to brush this and other developments as "God's will," "it's what God wants," and other very similar sentiments. It was too easy to wipe away things with that. I respect that both Alice and Carla are from religious families and religious areas. But the fact that God is spoken in about repeatedly in the *exact* same manner, whether in Texas, Colorado, Mexico or Honduras, it's just sloppy, lazy and obnoxious.
The book is written in alternating views, but I would say it's actually completely possible to just read Carla's chapters. Without giving too much away, Alice's story really isn't affected by Carla's (and vice versa) and I think this would have been *much* better if the author had actually just written about Carla, and left Alice as a secondary character. I actually wonder if Alice is a character that would somehow help bring the book to a wider audience (middle-aged woman unable to conceive) vs. the story of a young immigrant girl who is trying to cross the border illegally. Because the more I think on it, the more I think it really should have been just Carla's story.
A MUCH better book about immigration, family and more with a similar structure (except told in multiple viewpoints instead of two, and not all the vignettes are tied together with some more than others) would be The Book of Unknown Americans: A novel by Cristina Henríquez
Skip this one.
February 5, 2017
Carla is twelve years old and lives in a hut with her grandmother and twin brothers in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Her mom lives in Austin, Texas having gotten there via a coyote. She sends money as often as possible and at one point is able to bring one of the twins to her. When the grandmother passes away, Carla makes the choice for her and her remaining brother to join their family in Austin. Alice is happily married and part-owner of a successful BBQ restaurant in Austin. Yet what she wants most is a baby, having been let down more than once through the adoption process. Though this two women are strangers, their paths will cross.
This book had been on my to-read list for some time but I particularly picked it now because of current events (you might have heard of the construction of a certain wall). Carla's story is heartbreaking. What this novel helped me see is that its so important to try and understand the motivations behind people. You do not have to agree or like them but until we step in another person's shoes, we do not know their lives. Carla is only twelve, alone and in charge of her remaining brother, who is only six. They have next to nothing even with the money their mother sends. Crossing the border is dangerous but she is desperate. While Alice's story is compelling, Carla's stood out far more for me. Initially I did not see how these two stories were going to intertwine but towards the end it becomes obvious. Still, that does not take away from the story. Its powerful, compelling and thought-provoking. I can not begin to imagine everything Carla went through. Her choices, while you may not agree with them, are certainly bold. Ultimately everyone wishes for a fair shot at life and I sincerely hope that moving forward a fair agreement can be reached. A great book.
This book had been on my to-read list for some time but I particularly picked it now because of current events (you might have heard of the construction of a certain wall). Carla's story is heartbreaking. What this novel helped me see is that its so important to try and understand the motivations behind people. You do not have to agree or like them but until we step in another person's shoes, we do not know their lives. Carla is only twelve, alone and in charge of her remaining brother, who is only six. They have next to nothing even with the money their mother sends. Crossing the border is dangerous but she is desperate. While Alice's story is compelling, Carla's stood out far more for me. Initially I did not see how these two stories were going to intertwine but towards the end it becomes obvious. Still, that does not take away from the story. Its powerful, compelling and thought-provoking. I can not begin to imagine everything Carla went through. Her choices, while you may not agree with them, are certainly bold. Ultimately everyone wishes for a fair shot at life and I sincerely hope that moving forward a fair agreement can be reached. A great book.
March 19, 2016
I wasn't quite sure what to expect of The Same Sky by Amanda Eyre Ward. I do live in Texas and was looking for a solid perspective on the Austin scene and the influx of immigrants from Mexico and Central America.
I also had the opportunity to hear the author, Ms. Ward, speak at a Texas Writing Institute meeting. Ms. Ward did her homework, people. She's traveled as far south as Brownsville (I lived there for many years.) and interviewed many, many immigrants and staff associated with immigration. She had first-hand info on the horrors pre-travel and post-travel from young and old. This book wasn't just based on newspaper headlines.
The parallels between Alice's and Carla's stories really drew me in. Alice from Austin is looking for a deep sense of family with the blessing of motherhood so far out of reach and Carla is faced with the mission of uniting a family thousands of miles out of reach. The human heartbeats are interwoven throughout this story. And how does life present itself in order to fulfill one's destiny? You be the judge as to the end justifying the means.
I really enjoyed this one. Will be looking into other books by Amanda Eyre Ward.
I also had the opportunity to hear the author, Ms. Ward, speak at a Texas Writing Institute meeting. Ms. Ward did her homework, people. She's traveled as far south as Brownsville (I lived there for many years.) and interviewed many, many immigrants and staff associated with immigration. She had first-hand info on the horrors pre-travel and post-travel from young and old. This book wasn't just based on newspaper headlines.
The parallels between Alice's and Carla's stories really drew me in. Alice from Austin is looking for a deep sense of family with the blessing of motherhood so far out of reach and Carla is faced with the mission of uniting a family thousands of miles out of reach. The human heartbeats are interwoven throughout this story. And how does life present itself in order to fulfill one's destiny? You be the judge as to the end justifying the means.
I really enjoyed this one. Will be looking into other books by Amanda Eyre Ward.
April 6, 2015
I love Austin, Texas. I love eating tacos for breakfast. Partying on 6th Street after running their marathon. I love Book People. I love Queso with the Daniels clan. Come on, BBQ at Salt Lick and brisket at Franklin? Rainey Street and drinks on the front porch of the Cedar Door. And reading Amanda Eyre Ward’s wonderful The Same Sky reminded me how much I love that city. You’ll devour this book as fast as you take in every single store, eatery, and music venue on South Congress. You’ll also learn a few things about resilience and about how hard people have it in this world and how hard some people fight to start a new life in our country. And you’ll learn a thing or two about true grace at work in this world through the efforts of people like Father Alejandro Solalinde Guerra, whose shelter, Hermanos en el Camino in Ciudad, Ixtepec, Oxaca saves lives every day. It’s a great read.
February 8, 2015
It was for me a 2.5 star. Because there were some points in both stories that I felt close to conveying real emotions I rounded it up to a three. A short possible spoiler here but I can't seem to review this one or even give a reaction without noting why it became disappointing and that is because: Spoiler follows- outside of their one core desire (leaving Honduras or being a Mother)-I thought both main characters rather stereotypes, certainly not fully fleshed outside of their family relationships. The form of the novel itself was barely a 2 star. Every other chapter switch did not work here. Both stories interfered with connection and flow, butted against each other to negate plot tension. Overall that switching flattened this to the point of my having to force myself to finish the last quarter of the book.
November 28, 2018
This book was really a page turner. By juxtaposing the stories of Carla, an impoverished girl in Honduras, and Alice, a cancer survivor and childless woman yearning to be a mother, we get a stark picture of the differences between the third and first worlds. The story is very timely as Amanda Ward shows one family's descent and the need it created for them to try to sneak into the United States. If this book doesn't convince you that our immigration laws need to be changed, I don't know what will.
March 13, 2017
The Same Sky is told in alternating viewpoints: Alice, a Texas bbq restaurant owner and Carla, a twelve year old living in Honduras with her grandmother and twin little brothers. Worlds apart, in so many ways, but they both long for what they can't have. For Carla, she wants her mother, she wants enough food to eat and to feel safe in her home. For Alice, she wants a child, with a longing so fierce it might break her.
How can we move forward when we don't have what we want most? At the heart of this really moving story, both Carla and Alice have to decide if they are brave enough to either move forward into the terrifying unknown, or to be still and accept an incredibly painful reality, both of which require a kind of bravery you can only find if you dig deep inside yourself. This is a story of poverty, the kind that is hard to imagine and read about. It's a story about what you are willing to do to make a dream come true. It's raw, at times - especially Carla's storyline. Her life made me ache, it made me go online and read about if people really and truly do live this way. And they do. It makes me sympathetic in a way that feels almost embarrassing, needing to acknowledge how privileged of a life I have.
And Alice - I felt her pain too. I liked her arc as a character and I believed in her voice and while sometimes her decisions were frustrating, I got it. I feel like I have SUCH a better appreciation for the desperation one must feel to try and leave your home and come to America - and a better appreciation of the courage it takes to make the journey. I like how this is also a Texas story - I'd recommend it to anyone looking for an emotional and meaningful book about this unique area where cultures are colliding and especially for someone interested in the plight of the undocumented.
I listened to the audio and the voices of both Carla and Alice were really well done. My only complaint is that sometimes Alice would backtrack - like, in the middle of a conversation she'd tell us a different story from her past before zipping back to the present and it was sometimes jarring. But, in the end, I found myself really feeling for their characters and I did have a few tears of both sadness and joy.
How can we move forward when we don't have what we want most? At the heart of this really moving story, both Carla and Alice have to decide if they are brave enough to either move forward into the terrifying unknown, or to be still and accept an incredibly painful reality, both of which require a kind of bravery you can only find if you dig deep inside yourself. This is a story of poverty, the kind that is hard to imagine and read about. It's a story about what you are willing to do to make a dream come true. It's raw, at times - especially Carla's storyline. Her life made me ache, it made me go online and read about if people really and truly do live this way. And they do. It makes me sympathetic in a way that feels almost embarrassing, needing to acknowledge how privileged of a life I have.
And Alice - I felt her pain too. I liked her arc as a character and I believed in her voice and while sometimes her decisions were frustrating, I got it. I feel like I have SUCH a better appreciation for the desperation one must feel to try and leave your home and come to America - and a better appreciation of the courage it takes to make the journey. I like how this is also a Texas story - I'd recommend it to anyone looking for an emotional and meaningful book about this unique area where cultures are colliding and especially for someone interested in the plight of the undocumented.
I listened to the audio and the voices of both Carla and Alice were really well done. My only complaint is that sometimes Alice would backtrack - like, in the middle of a conversation she'd tell us a different story from her past before zipping back to the present and it was sometimes jarring. But, in the end, I found myself really feeling for their characters and I did have a few tears of both sadness and joy.
February 28, 2017
Amanda Eyre Ward's latest novel is just a beautiful book. Ward's writing is simply lovely and magical. When I finished the book, I was left feeling a bit disappointed - not by the plot or the writing, but that it was over. It's one of those novels that I'll be recommending to everyone.
The Same Sky tells the story of two unique individuals. The first is Alice, a forty-year-old living in Texas, with her husband. Together, they run a successful BBQ restaurant and appear incredibly happy. But they've been through a long and sad string of infertility, and Alice is left empty by the latest episode - a birth-mother taking back a baby promised to her, after Alice spent the night with the baby she thought was going to be hers.
Alice's chapters alternate with those of Carla, a young girl in Honduras. Carla's mother leaves for America early in the story, leaving Carla with her grandmother and one of her younger twin brothers. Carla's voice is just amazing. Ward captures this young teenager perfectly. I'm not sure how you can read this book and not fall completely for Carla. There are times when I didn't completely love Alice, or when I wanted to shake her, but Carla - I just wanted to hug her and take her home.
As you read the novel, Alice and Carla's stories are completely separate, which is fascinating. They provide an intriguing commentary on our society and the American Dream -- Alice seems to have it all in America, but she feels empty due to her childless state. And Carla wants nothing more than to come to America with her mother.
I simply loved the book - I won't give away any more of the plot, but it was well-written and beautiful. I don't think you could be disappointed in reading The Same Sky - I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.
(Note: I received an advanced copy from Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.)
The Same Sky tells the story of two unique individuals. The first is Alice, a forty-year-old living in Texas, with her husband. Together, they run a successful BBQ restaurant and appear incredibly happy. But they've been through a long and sad string of infertility, and Alice is left empty by the latest episode - a birth-mother taking back a baby promised to her, after Alice spent the night with the baby she thought was going to be hers.
Alice's chapters alternate with those of Carla, a young girl in Honduras. Carla's mother leaves for America early in the story, leaving Carla with her grandmother and one of her younger twin brothers. Carla's voice is just amazing. Ward captures this young teenager perfectly. I'm not sure how you can read this book and not fall completely for Carla. There are times when I didn't completely love Alice, or when I wanted to shake her, but Carla - I just wanted to hug her and take her home.
As you read the novel, Alice and Carla's stories are completely separate, which is fascinating. They provide an intriguing commentary on our society and the American Dream -- Alice seems to have it all in America, but she feels empty due to her childless state. And Carla wants nothing more than to come to America with her mother.
I simply loved the book - I won't give away any more of the plot, but it was well-written and beautiful. I don't think you could be disappointed in reading The Same Sky - I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.
(Note: I received an advanced copy from Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.)
January 20, 2015
I received an advanced electronic copy of this book from Random House Publishers via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
To start, I have to say...if you've never read anything by Amanda Eyre Ward, do yourself a favor and rush to your local bookseller/Amazon/Audible and pick one, any one of her books right now. I fell in love with her writing through her first book, "Sleep Toward Heaven," and to this day, that remains my favorite of her books (one never forgets that first love, right?). Having said that, though, you can't go wrong with any of her books...and her latest, "The Same Sky," would also be an excellent place to start.
The subject matter is plucked straight from the headlines (though I'm sure she began writing before the nation really began noticing), but the story is a personal one. The picture of a Colorado-born woman and a Honduras-born girl are drawn piece by piece, chapter by chapter. So many obvious differences, but the more I read, the more I saw the similarities...the "same sky" not so much a physical sky to me, but more of a metaphorical sky. There are so many differences between us all, many of them simple accidents of birth (there but for the Grace of God, etc.), but underneath that, we all yearn for the same things, don't we? Love, compassion, acceptance, safety.
I loved Carla and Alice and, to be honest, by the end of the book, I wanted more. I wasn't ready to leave them yet. Ward's style, warm, but with no extraneous words, gives an unsentimental, honest, picture of her characters and their lives...what it costs them to keep living...and she uses as deft a hand with the quiet moments as she does with the devestating ones.
Read this book. Take your time and soak each chapter in. You will be tempted to rush through it, but don't... take it from me and let yourself linger there awhile.
To start, I have to say...if you've never read anything by Amanda Eyre Ward, do yourself a favor and rush to your local bookseller/Amazon/Audible and pick one, any one of her books right now. I fell in love with her writing through her first book, "Sleep Toward Heaven," and to this day, that remains my favorite of her books (one never forgets that first love, right?). Having said that, though, you can't go wrong with any of her books...and her latest, "The Same Sky," would also be an excellent place to start.
The subject matter is plucked straight from the headlines (though I'm sure she began writing before the nation really began noticing), but the story is a personal one. The picture of a Colorado-born woman and a Honduras-born girl are drawn piece by piece, chapter by chapter. So many obvious differences, but the more I read, the more I saw the similarities...the "same sky" not so much a physical sky to me, but more of a metaphorical sky. There are so many differences between us all, many of them simple accidents of birth (there but for the Grace of God, etc.), but underneath that, we all yearn for the same things, don't we? Love, compassion, acceptance, safety.
I loved Carla and Alice and, to be honest, by the end of the book, I wanted more. I wasn't ready to leave them yet. Ward's style, warm, but with no extraneous words, gives an unsentimental, honest, picture of her characters and their lives...what it costs them to keep living...and she uses as deft a hand with the quiet moments as she does with the devestating ones.
Read this book. Take your time and soak each chapter in. You will be tempted to rush through it, but don't... take it from me and let yourself linger there awhile.
September 12, 2015
The Same Sky
By
Amanda Eyre Ward
The main and most important characters in this book...
Jake and Alice and Carla are the key characters in this book. Alice and Jake are an infertile couple who want children but time after time their adoptions fail. Carla is a little girl on her own...her life has been filled with pain and sorrow. Her mother is in America...her grandmother is ill...her twin brothers are hers to care for...for a while...
My very brief story summary that includes bits and bobs from the beginning, middle and end of this book...
This book was...for me...very achingly heartbreakingly...sad. Carla living in despair on the other side of the border...never knowing when she and her little brother would eat. The country was so poor and they were targets...because the mother who left them with their grandmother sent either money or inappropriate things. When their grandmother dies...Carla decides to take her brother and head across the border. And that in itself is a trip filled with terror.
The book is told in alternating voices...Alice and Jake's story and Carla's story...sort of paralleling each other until the end when we finally see the beautiful connection.
My actual most favorite part of this book...
I loved the ending because most of the book was heartbreakingly sad. Carla's life was a nightmare. She was still such a little girl trying to save and protect her brother.
My actual true feelings about this book and whether or not other potential readers will enjoy it...
I am not sure I loved this book even though it did have its fine moments. It seemed too real at times and too much like what actually happens in this world. Readers who are less troubled by sad stories than I am might enjoy this book.
By
Amanda Eyre Ward
The main and most important characters in this book...
Jake and Alice and Carla are the key characters in this book. Alice and Jake are an infertile couple who want children but time after time their adoptions fail. Carla is a little girl on her own...her life has been filled with pain and sorrow. Her mother is in America...her grandmother is ill...her twin brothers are hers to care for...for a while...
My very brief story summary that includes bits and bobs from the beginning, middle and end of this book...
This book was...for me...very achingly heartbreakingly...sad. Carla living in despair on the other side of the border...never knowing when she and her little brother would eat. The country was so poor and they were targets...because the mother who left them with their grandmother sent either money or inappropriate things. When their grandmother dies...Carla decides to take her brother and head across the border. And that in itself is a trip filled with terror.
The book is told in alternating voices...Alice and Jake's story and Carla's story...sort of paralleling each other until the end when we finally see the beautiful connection.
My actual most favorite part of this book...
I loved the ending because most of the book was heartbreakingly sad. Carla's life was a nightmare. She was still such a little girl trying to save and protect her brother.
My actual true feelings about this book and whether or not other potential readers will enjoy it...
I am not sure I loved this book even though it did have its fine moments. It seemed too real at times and too much like what actually happens in this world. Readers who are less troubled by sad stories than I am might enjoy this book.
January 29, 2015
> There has been much in the news lately concerning unaccompanied minor children attempting to enter the United States illegally. Similar to the nonfiction book Enrique's Journey written by Sonia Nazario, The Same Sky tells the story of a child riding the train called "The Beast" through Mexico to illegally enter the United States. As in Nazario's work, the child's mother has left her native country for work and to provide a better life for her children.
The Same Sky is the story of a Honduras girl who travels to Austin, Texas to reunite with her mother. As other reviewers have stated, this certainly put a face to the media stories and allowed us a better understanding of why the children would risk so much to escape their homeland.
Included in the novel is a second story, that of a young married couple, also living in Austin. Intuitively you know their paths will cross, as they eventually do. I enjoyed this story line less than that of the child's, but it gave a bit of relief from the deprivation and horrors that you read with the Honduras girl...like a bit of a mind break.
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