With a similar feel to Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko but in a magnified time snippet, Shanthi Sekaran uses Lucky Boy to share two heart-pulling stories, garnering sympathy and sadness from the reader. Although the book is named for the child, Ignacio El Viente Castro Valdez, the focus is on the boy’s mother, Soli, and his foster family, Kavya and Rishi.
Soli’s path follows that of many undocumented immigrants. Seeking a better life in America, Soli uses local community networks to begin her journey out of Mexico. After her dangerous journey, she begins a life as an undocumented housekeeper. Unexpectedly pregnant, she brings Ignacio into the world and begins to raise him. After having Ignacio, Soli reflects that “Having a child was like turning inside out and exposing to the world the soft pulp of her heart.”
Told in alternating chapters as a parallel story, Kavya and Rishi desperately want a child but are unable to conceive. Disregarding their cultural taboos, they pursue fostering and adoption. When Kavya first meets Ignacio, the two get along fabulously. Under the care of Rishi and Kavya, Ignacio thrives, lucky to have such privileged and loving foster parents. But Soli is a good mother too, and she wants her son back.
Lucky Boy begins at a steady tempo mostly due to the relatively uneventful lives of Rishi and Kavya interrupting Soli’s high-stakes journey. The last half of the book would not let me focus on anything else. Throughout my day, my eyes would dart in the direction of the book. I found myself slowing down while walking past it. What would happen to Ignacio, Soli, Kavya, and Rishi? I had to know.
With a similar feel to Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko but in a magnified time snippet, Shanthi Sekaran uses Lucky Boy to share two heart-pulling stories, garnering sympathy and sadness from the reader. Although the book is named for the child, Ignacio El Viente Castro Valdez, the focus is on the boy’s mother, Soli, and his foster family, Kavya and Rishi.
Soli’s path follows that of many undocumented immigrants. Seeking a better life in America, Soli uses local community networks to begin her journey out of Mexico. After her dangerous journey, she begins a life as an undocumented housekeeper. Unexpectedly pregnant, she brings Ignacio into the world and begins to raise him. After having Ignacio, Soli reflects that “Having a child was like turning inside out and exposing to the world the soft pulp of her heart.”
Told in alternating chapters as a parallel story, Kavya and Rishi desperately want a child but are unable to conceive. Disregarding their cultural taboos, they pursue fostering and adoption. When Kavya first meets Ignacio, the two get along fabulously. Under the care of Rishi and Kavya, Ignacio thrives, lucky to have such privileged and loving foster parents. But Soli is a good mother too, and she wants her son back.
Lucky Boy begins at a steady tempo mostly due to the relatively uneventful lives of Rishi and Kavya interrupting Soli’s high-stakes journey. The last half of the book would not let me focus on anything else. Throughout my day, my eyes would dart in the direction of the book. I found myself slowing down while walking past it. What would happen to Ignacio, Soli, Kavya, and Rishi? I had to know.