Make Your Home Among Strangers

By: Jennine Capó Crucet

Narrated by: Marisol Ramirez

Lizet, a daughter of Cuban immigrants and the first in her family to graduate from high school, secretly applies and is accepted to an ultra-elite college. Her parents are furious at her decision to leave Miami, and amid a painful divorce, her father sells her childhood home, leaving Lizet, her mother, and older sister, a newly single mom, without a steady income and scrambling for a place to live. Amid this turmoil, Lizet begins college, but the privileged world of the campus feels utterly foreign to her, as does her new awareness of herself as a minority. Struggling both socially and academically, she returns home for a Thanksgiving visit only to be overshadowed by the arrival of Ariel Hernandez, a young boy whose mother died fleeing with him from Cuba on a raft. The ensuing immigration battle puts Miami in a glaring spotlight, captivating the nation and entangling Lizet's entire family. Pulled between life at college and the needs of those she loves, Lizet is faced with hard decisions that will change her life forever. Her urgent, mordantly funny voice leaps off the page to tell this moving story of a young woman torn between generational, cultural, and political forces; it's the new story of what it means to be American today.

©2015 Jennine Capó Cruet (P)2015 Recorded Books

Great Book.

Really enjoyed the writing style and the story overall. Started reading for my english course but it was extremely informative as a first year college student.

Best narration I've heard

Not only is the story both poignant and humorous, the narration by Marisol Ramirez with all the subtle variations of Cuban and Cuban American accents is superb.

Entertaining and Informative

Enjoyed listening to the telling of the Elian Gonzalez story through the eyes of the fictionalized characters. Having lived in south Florida during the event it was enlightening to see it through Cuban eyes.

Amazing

I loved this book and I could relate to a lot of the charcters struggles

Interesting Story - Weird Editing

I think I would have gotten more out of this book if I had read it for myself instead of listening to it. The narrator did as well as she could, but whoever edited the book made her seem stilted and inconsistent.