Books
Brownsville
At the country’s edge, on the Mexican border, Brownsville, Texas, is a town like many others. It is a place where men and women work hard to create better lives for their families, where people sometimes carry grudges against their neighbors, where love blossoms only to fade, and the only certainty is that life holds surprises.
“Marvelous…resembles early Steinbeck work more than anything else.”
— Carolyn See, Washington Post
Amigoland
Along the U.S.-Mexico border live two brothers, Don Fidencio and Don Celestino. Stubborn and independent, they now must face the facts: they are old, and they have let a family argument stand between them for too long. After Don Celestino becomes romantically involved with his housekeeper, she convinces him to make amends—while he still can. They secretly help Don Fidencio from the nursing home and travel into Mexico to solve the mystery at the heart of their dispute: the family legend of their grandfather’s kidnapping. In time, a trip that starts off as an attempt to uncover the past leads each of them to a new beginning.
“Cásares has proven himself to be a writer with a big heart. This debut novel indicates he’s also a writer with a big future.”
— Edward Nawotka, Dallas Morning News
Where We Come From
A stunning and timely novel about a Mexican-American family in Brownsville, Texas, who reluctantly becomes involved in smuggling immigrants into the United States. For Nina, after doing a small favor for her maid she eventually finds herself providing refuge for a young immigrant boy named Daniel, for whom traveling to America has meant trading one set of dangers for another. Separated from the violent human traffickers who brought him across the border, pursued by the authorities, Daniel must stay completely hidden. But the arrival Nina’s 12-year-old godson, Orly, threatens to put them all at risk of exposure. Tackling the crisis of U.S. immigration policy from a deeply human angle, Where We Come From explores through an intimate lens the ways that family history shapes us, how secrets can burden us, and how finding compassion and understanding for others can ultimately set us free.
“In some ways timely, this quiet, delicate book delivers a truly timeless emotional punch.”
— Kirkus Reviews (Starred Reviews!)