Bang

A family struggles to reunite after a plane crash leaves teenage brothers Rafa and Uli lost in Mexico in Peña’s harrowing debut. When the boys’ mother, Araceli, is notified, she leaves their home in a citrus grove in Harlingen, Tex., and crosses the border south to Matamoros in search of her children, knowing she may never be able to return to the U.S. due to her undocumented status. Araceli ventures further into the country she once knew as home, hoping to locate her sons. Uli becomes a prisoner of a cartel that forces him to become a drug mule. Rafa wakes in a hospital and then heads to his father’s home in San Miguel, only to discover the town ravaged by drug wars. As weeks pass, Araceli, Rafa, and Uli each experience profound violence while struggling to stay alive. The story depicts those caught among countries, armed conflicts, and shifting identities. The adroit characterizations and alternating points of view advance a memorable narrative about overlooked populations in America that are victimized by drug smuggling. Peña examines the symbiosis of the United States and Mexico and makes painfully clear the negative effects of international trade—legal and illegal. This is a notable and compassionate novel. (Nov.)