Ms. Villavicencio is angry. It's obvious in the writing and it bleeds out through the pages. There is the introduction, where the swearing is prolific. And then she moves on to interviews of specific groups -- a chapter on day laborers in NYC leads to stories of undocumented workers who helped with the 9/11 cleanup and were then abandoned by the U.S. government. There are women who lack medical insurance in Miami and in Flint, Michigan. In Cleveland an undocumented father is taken from his family and in New Haven the author's own family struggles play out. Ms. Villavicencio has reason to be angry and doesn't apologize for her rage, making it clear that she didn't write this book for people to like it. But it is a worthwhile read. With a tremendous lyricism she paints the portraits of Americans, so many Americans, who live a partial existance in this country. The stories are visceral and haunting. It's more than a little possible you might be a tad angry after reading about the supreme unfairness of it all. It was a National Book Award Finalist and made the New York Times 100 Notable Books list in 2020. Open your world and see through other eyes. Being able to do this is what really makes us Americans.
