'New' Book Review of Nepantla Familias

This is a book review I had never seen before of the book I edited, Nepantla Familias. Thank you, Josh Cook, for a thoughtful read and review. Texas A&M University Press tells me it's a bestseller!

"Nepantla Familias explores life in the liminal spaces between borders. The essays, poems, and short stories in this anthology, all by Mexican American writers, present the conflicts — internal and external — that occur in these spaces between nations, cultures, and languages. They raise questions like: How does someone who straddles two worlds fit into either? Is it possible to live in both? What is lost when someone chooses, or is forced to choose, one world over the other? The answers vary, but in the attempts to find them, a main theme emerges: the power of storytelling to work through pain and forge identity."

https://smashingtreasuredcrockery.medium.com/book-review-nepantla-familias-and-the-power-of-storytelling-1fcd018af837

Sergio Troncoso Visits Harvard/Radcliffe Raza

Thank you Harvard/Radcliffe Raza for inviting me to give a talk at Harvard Hall and to answer questions from your members! I loved it! Raza was so important to my surviving Harvard as a poor Mexican American student from the border. Always give back to your community to help the next generation and to strategize with them about how to empower themselves. These students are from all across the country. So proud of all of them!

 

IAIA Chapter House Journal's Review of Nobody's Pilgrims

Thank you Rey M. Rodriguez for reviewing NOBODY’S PILGRIMS in IAIA Chapter House Journal:

 “A masterfully wrought thriller road trip from El Paso, Texas to Kent, Connecticut... Troncoso writes about the new pilgrims of this country. Those who some are calling vermin or saying that immigrants are poisoning the blood of this country. In other words, those people who some people would call nobody’s children.... These immigrants—like Turi, Molly, and Arnulfo—represent as Troncoso has confirmed in his writing and lectures the best values of this country. They show us what it means to work hard and make it on your own. They show us the importance of fighting for your place. They show us that we need each other and we must help others to succeed.”

https://chjournal.com/chapter-house-blog/2024/11/15/book-review-of-nobodys-pilgrims-written-by-sergio-troncoso-by-rey-m-rodrguez

Nepantla Familias on Texas Public Radio

I recently did an interview on the anthology I edited, NEPANTLA FAMILIAS: AN ANTHOLOGY OF MEXICAN AMERICAN LITERATURE ON FAMILIES IN BETWEEN WORLDS, for Fronteras on Texas Public Radio. I've included the link below. It's probably one of the best radio/podcast interviews I've given on this book and the concepts behind my work. It's 28 minutes and discusses the anthology, works in it, and the ideas and complexities I tried to achieve by choosing the work. I hope you enjoy it. 

"A deeply meaningful collection that navigates important nuances of identity."   —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

https://www.tpr.org/podcast/fronteras/2024-11-15/fronteras-nepantla-familias-explores-identity-hybridity-of-the-mexican-american-experience

Pleiades Interview with Sergio Troncoso

"There are many hidden philosophical questions and issues in the book. How do you develop character? How do you morph from idealism to realism as you move into adulthood? The book addresses racism, as well. Along the way some people are welcoming to Turi and Arnulfo, but others are racist and xenophobic. They don’t want Mexican Americans or Mexicans living in this country. How do you keep that racist poison from infecting your soul as you are faced with this kind of hate? Turi has to fight for his place in this country rather than to assume he belongs. He has to survive here, and he’s not turning back. Connecticut is where he’ll make his stand. Nobody’s Pilgrims is a thriller."

Thank you to Pleiades Magazine, Jennifer Maritza McCauley, and Rey Rodriguez for this interview.

https://pleiadesmag.com/an-interview-with-sergio-troncoso/

Sergio Troncoso in New York Times

By the way, I’m mentioned in the New York Times today:

“And Sergio Troncoso is such a beloved writer of the borderlands, there is a public library branch named for him in El Paso. His 'A Peculiar Kind of Immigrant’s Son' is simply brilliant.”

Thank you, Luis Alberto Urrea!

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/14/books/us-mexico-border-books.html

Nobody's Pilgrims is El Paso Matters Book Club's Summer Selection

Pick you your copy of Nobody's Pilgrims at Literarity Book Shop for the El Paso Matters Book Club's summer selection. My favorite independent bookstore in El Paso, Texas! I'll see you at the Troncoso Branch Library (9321 Alameda Avenue in El Paso) on Saturday, July 29, 4 PM.

"Troncoso delivers a surprisingly fast-paced, character-driven story. For example, readers watch Turi evolve from a meek 16-year-old loner to a capable young man who genuinely cares for his 'semi-friend' Arnulfo. At the same time, the road trip keeps the tightly plotted narrative moving across the country, all while villains (there are quite a few) close in. The cast also shines, including one criminal henchman harboring a tender affection for his 'hulking giant' of a partner. The author rounds out his memorable tale by touching on contemporary topical issues, like prejudices against caramel skin and undocumented immigrants. A sublime, diverse cast drives this tale of looking for a safe, welcoming home."
---Kirkus Reviews

The Last Tortilla Selected for List of "Real America"

Thank you Susan Straight of The Los Angeles Times for selecting THE LAST TORTILLA AND OTHER STORIES for "A Map of 1001 Books of Fiction That Show the Real America."

 https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2023-05-28/american-novels-1001-literary-geography-map-states

***

"These stories are richly satisfying."—Publishers Weekly

"Enthusiastically recommended."—Booklist

"Troncoso really shines when he writes about El Paso and the life of Mexican Americans there. He has the gift for writing from his heart outward into his reader's heart."—Bloomsbury Review

Nepantla Familias Wins IPPY Award

The anthology I edited, NEPANTLA FAMILIAS: AN ANTHOLOGY OF MEXICAN AMERICAN LITERATURE ON FAMILIES IN BETWEEN WORLDS (Texas A&M University Press), wins the Bronze Award for Anthologies in the Independent Publisher Book Awards! I'm grateful for the awards and recognition this anthology keeps receiving.

Kirkus Reviews, starred review: "'The either/or proposition that forces you to choose between your community and, say, your country has never been true,' Troncoso writes in the introduction. 'The very skills we learn to cross borders within ourselves help us to cross borders toward others outside our community.' A deeply meaningful collection that navigates important nuances of identity."

https://ippyawards.com/169/medalists/2023-medalists-1-54

Nepantla Familias Wins Award for Cover Artwork

So proud that Antonio Castro H., the cover artist for the anthology I edited, NEPANTLA FAMILIAS, is one of the winners of the Da Vinci Eye from the Eric Hoffer Book Awards for "books with superior cover artwork." For many years, I have loved Antonio's cover art: he also created the covers for my books A PECULIAR KIND OF IMMIGRANT'S SON and NOBODY'S PILGRIMS. Antonio is head of graphics design program at the University of Texas at El Paso. Thank you, too, for Texas A&M University Press for believing in this unique anthology, which also received a starred review from Kirkus Reviews: "A deeply meaningful collection that navigates important nuances of identity."

https://www.hofferaward.com/da-Vinci-Eye.html#.ZDVdGBXMLG8

Librarians Select Nobody's Pilgrims for Top Ten List of In the Margins Book Awards

Librarians select Nobody's Pilgrims for the Top Ten List in Fiction, Nonfiction, and Social Advocacy of the IN THE MARGINS BOOK AWARDS for 2023. So grateful for librarians reaching out to readers often overlooked, underrepresented in literature.

"Nobody's Pilgrims offers a stark vision of a country whose social ills have sullied the path to the pursuit of happiness. Yet its intrepid protagonists Turi and Molly persevere, charting their own map and adapting, like generations of dreamers, immigrants, and adventurers before them, to the latest hurdles of our troubled world. Sergio Troncoso has given us a timely dystopian tale heavy with anguish but invigorated by resilience."
--Rigoberto González, author of Butterfly Boy: Memories of a Chicano Mariposa

https://inthemarginssite.blog/2023/02/09/2023-press-release/

Sergio Troncoso and Willie Velasquez

I am writing a series of essays about my experiences as a Mexican American student at Harvard. I found the letter below in my papers, a recommendation from the great Willie Velasquez of the Southwest Voters Registration Education Project, whom I met at the John F. Kennedy School's Institute of Politics while I was an undergraduate. He was an IOP Fellow and probably the most inspiring person I met up to that point. His commitment to the Mexican American community, his political intelligence and savvy, and his character, all were guides for me as I became a writer who also cared about our community, how it was represented, why our voices and stories mattered, why I wanted to focus on los de abajo.

Recently, the Texas Institute of Letters made me a Fellow of the TIL, one of only eighteen fellows chosen since 1936 and the first Mexican American to be selected for this distinction. I thought about Willie's commitment and drive, and how the awards are not really what matter. What matters is what you do, and what you continue to do, because you give a damn and you are not ever satisfied. I'm proud to be a Fellow of the TIL, but I also feel that I need to get to work to keep fighting for not just the political but also the cultural empowerment of Mexicans Americans and those who are underdogs. Stay tuned. Descanse en paz, Willie Velasquez.

 

 

Nobody's Pilgrims Wins Best Novel- Adventure or Drama from ILBA

Last night in LA, Nobody’s Pilgrims won the Gold Medal for Best Novel- Adventure or Drama in English at the International Latino Book Awards. Thank you to Empowering Latino Futures, Las Comadres, and Reforma for this award.

Kirkus Reviews: "Troncoso delivers a surprisingly fast-paced, character-driven story.... A sublime, diverse cast drives this tale of looking for a safe, welcoming home."

Rigoberto González: "Sergio Troncoso has given us a timely dystopian tale heavy with anguish but invigorated by resilience."

 

Kirkus Reviews on Nobody's Pilgrims

"Troncoso delivers a surprisingly fast-paced, character-driven story. For example, readers watch Turi evolve from a meek 16-year-old loner to a capable young man who genuinely cares for his 'semi-friend' Arnulfo. At the same time, the road trip keeps the tightly plotted narrative moving across the country, all while villains (there are quite a few) close in. The cast also shines, including one criminal henchman harboring a tender affection for his 'hulking giant' of a partner. The author rounds out his memorable tale by touching on contemporary topical issues, like prejudices against caramel skin and undocumented immigrants. 

A sublime, diverse cast drives this tale of looking for a safe, welcoming home."

 https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/sergio-troncoso/nobodys-pilgrims/

Sergio Troncoso on Nobody's Pilgrims

Nobody's Pilgrims is my latest novel, an adventure story about three seventeen-year-old teenagers (Turi, Arnulfo, and Molly) who find each other and believe in each other, as evil pursues them across the United States. A novel that somewhat predicted the pandemic, Nobody's Pilgrims is set in a dystopian America where grit, intelligence, luck, and love are needed to survive. Here's a brief talk I did on YouTube on the main themes of Nobody's Pilgrims (Lee & Low Books). I hope you enjoy it.

 

https://youtu.be/X6thIoAgq3I

Diverse Voices Book Review on Nobody's Pilgrims

Thank you Hopeton Hay for interviewing me about Nobody's Pilgrims for Diverse Voices Book Review. What a great conversation we had! I loved it. These are my favorite conversations to have, with someone who loves books and digs deep into the novel and can appreciate the nuances of the characters and places I write about. So grateful!

 

 https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/hbhpodcasts/episodes/2022-06-05T05_57_50-07_00

Philadelphia's AL DÍA Interviews Sergio Troncoso

 

I'm on the cover AL DÍA, a bilingual magazine from Philadelphia. Thank you!

"NOBODY'S PILGRIMS was written before 20 cases of COVID-19 existed in the U.S., and in a way, the novel predicted the pandemic that was to follow. The pandemic in my novel is transmitted by touch, and I just thought about what would tear apart this country and set us against each other. My answer was a pandemic. The three teenagers, all outsiders, forge a community of three, even as many around them turn against each other. And that’s what the novel is about: how we fight to stay together, how we struggle and succeed in becoming a ‘we,’” he said.

 

https://www.aldianews.com/.../books-and-authors/view-border

Predicting the Pandemic in Nobody’s Pilgrims

My blog post about NOBODY'S PILGRIMS (Cinco Puntos Press: Lee & Low Books):

 

"Can imagination be a window into a possible future? Yes, indeed it can. I wrote my novel, Nobody’s Pilgrims, before twenty cases of COVID-19 existed in the United States. I actually turned in the final final draft of my novel to my publisher, Cinco Puntos Press, on leap day, February 29, 2020. Moreover, most of the novel had been written even earlier. And what was the novel about? Three runaway teenagers, Turi, Arnulfo, and Molly, pursued by evil people across a dystopian United States collapsing because of a pandemic."

https://blog.leeandlow.com/2022/05/12/predicting-the-pandemic-in-nobodys-pilgrims-a-guest-post-by-sergio-troncoso/

 

Somos En Escrito Interviews Sergio Troncoso

The editors of Somos En Escrito --Armando Rendon, Jenny Irizary, and Scott Duncan Fernandez--
interview Sergio Troncoso about his trajectory as a writer, Chicano literature and the morphing of its readership, changing organizations like the Texas Institute of Letters, and his new novel, Nobody's Pilgrims (Lee & Low Books: Cinco Puntos Press).

Sergio Troncoso: "The novel is about the grit and intelligence and luck of these three teenagers, Turi, Arnulfo, and Molly. They are all people who are ignored, los de abajo. They are working class, or even worse. They find each other, and they don't belong anywhere else. They belong with each other, but not with anyone else. And as things start falling apart, they have to find solutions.... The novel is about creating that togetherness within this small group that maybe we don't have or are losing in this country, how we belong together when we go through very difficult trials."

 

 https://youtu.be/OYBeJLhzyrk

 

El Paso Matters Interviews Sergio Troncoso

"I was a poor kid growing up in Ysleta, and the El Paso Public Library was the place where I found my
sanctuary. I found the peace and quiet to concentrate my mind, and I could go and pick up books for free and read to my heart’s content. The public library was so central to my early education and to expanding what I learned in grade school and high school....

At a meeting, the El Paso City Council voted unanimously to rename the branch library in Ysleta as the Sergio Troncoso Branch Library. It was one of the proudest moments of my literary life. I had grown up within walking distance from the library. Our family had begun with an outhouse in the backyard and kerosene lamps and stoves in Ysleta. We were as poor as poor can be. But reading, focus, discipline and the Mexican immigrant values of my parents propelled me forward over many years. And I never stopped working to be a literary voice for los de abajo, the underdogs, from Ysleta and El Paso."

https://elpasomatters.org/2022/04/19/texas-literary-giants-gathering-in-el-paso-this-week/