"Lyrical [and] haunting, América's liberating epiphany will have
readers . . . on their feet and cheering." -- Washington Post
Deftly written and fiercely resilient, América's Dream explores the
ever-shifting definition of what it means to be American and exemplifies
the spirit of every immigrant who has dared to realize the American
dream.
América Gonzalez is a hotel housekeeper on Vieques, an island off the
coast of Puerto Rico, cleaning up after wealthy foreigners who don't
look her in the eye. Her alcoholic mother resents her; her married
boyfriend, Correa, beats her; and their fourteen-year-old daughter
thinks life would be better anywhere but with América. So when América
is offered the chance to work as a live-in housekeeper and nanny for a
family in Westchester, New York, she takes it as a sign to finally make
the escape she's been longing for.
Yet, even as América revels in the comparative luxury of her new
life--daring to care about a man other than Correa--she is faced with
the disquieting realization that no matter what she does, she can never
really escape her past.