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“Pulled between her feelings of obligation to her family and the lure of her own dreams, Sol must find a way to straddle both political and personal borderlands…The push and pull between her desires and obligations in both Mexico and the U.S. turns the border into a liminal space that represents the dichotomy and tension it requires to balance between being Sol and Soledad…A coming-of-age narrative with no easy answers but in which hope blooms.”

—Kirkus Reviews

“Sol’s character is complex, as her identity is torn between worlds. …The stream-of-consciousness narrative grabs the hearts of readers and is perfect for building empathy as a mirror, window, or sliding glass door.”

—School Library Journal

Brighter Than the Sun

Written by Daniel Aleman
Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Every morning, sixteen-year-old Sol wakes up at the break of dawn in her hometown of Tijuana, Mexico and makes the trip across the border to go to school in the United States. Though the commute is exhausting, this is the best way to achieve her dream: becoming the first person in her family to go to college.

When her family’s restaurant starts struggling, Sol must find a part-time job in San Diego to help her dad put food on the table and pay the bills. But her complicated school and work schedules on the US side of the border mean moving in with her best friend and leaving her family behind.

With her life divided by an international border, Sol must come to terms with the loneliness she hides, the pressure she feels to succeed for her family, and the fact that the future she once dreamt of is starting to seem unattainable. Mostly, she’ll have to grapple with a secret she’s kept even from herself: that maybe she’s relieved to have escaped her difficult home life, and a part of her may never want to return.

Primary ISBN: 9780316704472
Publication Date: March 2023
Available As: Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook, eBook
Young Adult, Age 14 or older

Community Represented:

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Setting: Mexico (Tijuana), United States (San Diego CA)

Character's Place in the Immigration Journey: Home Country, Immigrant

Book Creator(s) Connection to the Community Represented: Own Voices/Lived Experience

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