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The Grief Keeper
The Grief Keeper | Alexandra Villasante
15 posts | 13 read | 25 to read
After escaping a detention center at the U.S. border, seventeen-year-old Marisol agrees to participate in a medical experiment hoping to keep her and her younger sister, Gabi, from being deported to El Salvador.
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review
BookNightOwl
The Grief Keeper | Alexandra Villasante
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Pickpick

I love going into books not knowing anything about the story. This story is about two girls who enter the United States illegally trying to seek asylum. They get caught and are held while it‘s decided if they will get asylum or not. The girls escape and that is where the story really begins. I listened to the audiobook which I really enjoyed. 4*

41 likes1 stack add
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kera_11
The Grief Keeper | Alexandra Villasante
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To gain asylum for her and her sister, Marisol agrees to an experimental trial where the grief and trauma of someone else is passed to her. I thought this book was purely a commentary on the trails & treatment of immigrants in the US, but then it turned into a statement on persecution of queer people as well. I liked this book and the story, but I felt like it switched between the 2 without really tying together. Definitely still a very good book

2 likes1 stack add
review
MegCaldwell
The Grief Keeper | Alexandra Villasante
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Pickpick

CW: grief, trauma, homophobia, sexual trauma, violence
Wow this book is so spectacular, I can‘t believe I haven‘t heard more people talk about it. Easily one of my favorite reads of 2021. Queer science fiction love story.

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Kenyazero
The Grief Keeper | Alexandra Villasante
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Pickpick

In order to get US refugee status for her and her sister, Marisol agrees to be part of an experiment with a device that transfers grief and trauma from one person to a surogate. I enjoyed this read quite a bit. I thought the concept of transferring grief & trauma from one person to another was an interesting, troubling, concept and was well executed. It was stressful seeing Marisol trapped by unethical practices targeting vulnerable populations!

review
bibliobard
The Grief Keeper | Alexandra Villasante
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Mehso-so

Based on the summary I thought this was going to be more supernatural — unfortunately it wasn‘t. The story was okay, but because I was expecting something else I ended up a little disappointed. So I don‘t get AS many points, but it still helps me for bingo and my team!

5 + 50 (five hours reading for #BookSpinBingo )
+ 15 for three episodes of Halloween themed viewing cartoons

71 points #TeamHarkness #Scarathlon2020

Clwojick ☠ ☠ ☠ 4y
TheAromaofBooks Great progress! Your little pumpkin stickers are so adorable!!! 4y
bibliobard @TheAromaofBooks Thanks! I like using them for the bingo 4y
18 likes3 comments
blurb
WanderingBookaneer
The Grief Keeper | Alexandra Villasante
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I am Puerto Rican. For those of you who don‘t know, for decades the United States‘s Eugenics Board performed forced sterilizations (without the women‘s knowledge or consent) on about a third of our female population that was of childbearing age.

I can‘t right now with the plot of this one which so far involves a 17-year-old asylum seeker tricked into being part of a shady government experiment in exchange for asylum.

squirrelbrain That‘s something I didn‘t know - how terrible. I‘m sorry that this book has upset you - sending ❤️😘 4y
Suet624 Ugh. The US has so much to be ashamed of. 4y
zezeki I didn't know about that, it's absolutely horrible. 4y
See All 6 Comments
Megabooks The experiments/sterilizations performed on POC are/were deplorable. I can see why it would be very triggering to read about. I was very thankful for one Litten that put an “eating feces” trigger warning on a book. Sometimes we have more “out of the box” ones. 4y
Butterfinger How awful!! I hate that it triggered your emotions, but grateful that you were brave to teach us. We all need to know. 4y
WanderingBookaneer @Megabooks : That‘s an interesting one. Another one for me is people in a coma. After my sister‘s accident and the months she spent in a coma, I just can‘t. 4y
51 likes1 stack add6 comments
blurb
stuck.in.the.stacks
The Grief Keeper | Alexandra Villasante
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today on the blog we offering some recommendations of books we've read and that Latinx reader friends babe confirmed for us are true to their experience and culture.

https://stuckinthestacks.com/2020/01/23/themed-thursdays-awesome-books-by-latinx...

Please consider these books instead of American Dirt and remember that just because you don't understand another's experience, doesn't mean you stop listening. - Haley and Emily ❤

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks I subscribed to your newsletter, but it said it could not open 🤷🏼‍♀️ 4y
stuck.in.the.stacks @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks that's weird! We'll look into that. Can you email us the error message so we can see exactly what you're seeing? stuckinthestacks123@gmail.com 4y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @stuck.in.the.stacks it says it‘s working now. 🤷🏼‍♀️ I‘ll let you know if I don‘t get any emails! Thank you 💛 4y
stuck.in.the.stacks @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks oh good! Keep us posted! 4y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @stuck.in.the.stacks I will! 4y
13 likes5 comments
review
CBee
The Grief Keeper | Alexandra Villasante
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Pickpick

Alex Villasante has written a beautiful book. I‘ll remember this one for a long time ♥️♥️

47 likes3 stack adds
review
That-Bookish-Hiker
The Grief Keeper | Alexandra Villasante
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Pickpick

17 yr old Marisol Morales and her 12 yr old sister Gabi have been caught crossing the border looking for Asylum in the U.S. and the only way to get asylum is if Marisol participated in a study helping people deal with their PTSD.

There is SO much I want to say about this book but don‘t have enough space. Such an impactful story, written with great characters and the author did an amazing job shooting the contrast between Marisol‘s life and Rey‘s.

That-Bookish-Hiker ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5y
Biverson12 Added to my stack! 5y
CBee Finished this tonight. I agree - so much to say but not enough space. And just so much love for the book that it‘s difficult to put into words! ♥️ 4y
44 likes5 stack adds3 comments
blurb
vonnie862
The Grief Keeper | Alexandra Villasante
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Yay! The Grief Keeper arrived with awesome swag! Thank you to the ladies over @latinxathon for the giveaway! So looking forward to next week! #latinxathon #latinxLitTakeOver

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That-Bookish-Hiker
The Grief Keeper | Alexandra Villasante
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The new books I‘ve gotten in the last week.

I found the amazing graphic novel edition of Speak at Powell‘s last week. I love the artist since I saw her work in Through the Woods.

I preorder The Grief Keeper as soon as I saw @kamoorephoto review of it. Thanks for sharing!

And Emergency Contact was delivered today! I‘ve seen such great things about it on litsy.

#litsylove #bookhaul #newbooks #blameitonlitsy

hermyknee Ooh I think you‘ll really like Emergency Contact! 5y
kamoorephoto Yay! I hope you love 5y
Lovesbooks87 I LOVED Emergency Contact! 5y
That-Bookish-Hiker @hermyknee @Lovesbooks87 yay! After your endorsements I‘ll read it next. 😍 5y
46 likes4 comments
blurb
That-Bookish-Hiker
The Grief Keeper | Alexandra Villasante
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Isn‘t it great when you forget you preorder a book and then come home to a package from amazon and it‘s a book!

#bookmail

Soubhiville Yes! 5y
GondorGirl That cover is gorgeous! 😍 5y
Aims42 I love when that happens!! My mom preordered a book for me at Christmas and told me. But I forgot and got a fun surprise in the mail 5 months after Christmas 🤣 5y
43 likes3 comments
review
Bookalong
The Grief Keeper | Alexandra Villasante
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Pickpick

4/5?
This was beautiful written. So vivid and realistic. The characters were well developed. I enjoyed the sisters relationship. Having a sister myself I related to them. And the LGTBQIA romance was well done too. The concept of a "greif keeper" and ridding people of their sadness was so interesting! Really the whole story was very engrossing.
Available on Tuesday June 11th!
#bookreview #ya

9 likes1 stack add
blurb
kamoorephoto
The Grief Keeper | Alexandra Villasante
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This book is blowing me away.
17-year old Marisol and her younger sister Gabi have crossed the U.S. border illegally, fleeing a life in El Salvador where they were frightened for their lives and their brother had just been murdered. Marisol‘s asylum request is denied but she soon is asked to become a ‘grief keeper,‘ and this is where a story about the complexities of immigration, grief, and sexual orientation really comes alive.
#LGBTQ #yalit

kamoorephoto THIS BOOK IS OUTSTANDING. Will add my review link once I have it up! 🙀 5y
61 likes2 stack adds1 comment