The Things We Didnt Know, Elba Iris Perez
The Things We Didnt Know, Elba Iris Perez
List: $25.99 | Sale: $18.20
Club: $12.99

The Things We Didn't Know

Author: Elba Iris Pérez

Narrator: Marisa Blake

Unabridged: 9 hr 49 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/06/2024


Synopsis

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

The USA TODAY bestselling inaugural winner of Simon & Schuster’s Books Like Us contest, Elba Iris Pérez’s lyrical and “wonderfully compelling” (Judith Simon Prager, author of What the Dolphin Said) cross-cultural coming-of-age debut novel explores a young girl’s childhood between 1950s Puerto Rico and a small Massachusetts factory town.

Andrea Rodríguez is nine years old when her mother whisks her and her brother, Pablo, away from Woronoco, the tiny Massachusetts factory town that is the only home they’ve known. With no plan and no money, she leaves them with family in the mountainside villages of Puerto Rico and promises to return.

Months later, when Andrea and Pablo are brought back to Massachusetts, they find their hometown significantly changed. As they navigate the rifts between their family’s values and all-American culture and face the harsh realities of growing up, they must embrace both the triumphs and heartache that mark the journey to adulthood.

A heartfelt, evocative portrait that “breathes with narrative magic” (Harry Youtt, poet and author of I’m Never Not Thinking of You), The Things We Didn’t Know establishes Elba Iris Pérez as a sensational new literary voice.

About Elba Iris Pérez

Elba Iris Pérez is from Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico, and spent her early childhood in Woronoco, Massachusetts. She taught theatre and history at the University of Puerto Rico in Arecibo, and now lives in Houston. Her debut novel, The Things We Didn’t Know, was an instant USA TODAY bestseller and the inaugural winner of Simon & Schuster’s Books Like Us First Novel Contest. She is also the author of El teatro como bandera, a history of street theater in Puerto Rico. 


Reviews

Goodreads review by Christina on May 03, 2024

I love this book! It is a simple coming of age story but it is told with so much heart!!......more

Goodreads review by Deanna (she_reads_truth_365) on November 26, 2023

Debut novel by local Houstonian author Elba Iris Perez was fantastic! This is a powerful coming of age story that will tug on your heart strings. I was immersed in this relatable story from the beginning until the end. I felt connected to the characters and the authenticity of their journey. I loved......more

Goodreads review by Desiree on December 05, 2024

THE GOOD: Our leading lady is a vibrant, youthful character, if a bit lacking in confidence. Her loud, noisy, opinionated family radiates their love for her, both in positive and negative ways. The slice of life in Puerto Rico is interesting. Love the use of Spanish here and there throughout. It was ju......more

Goodreads review by Nora on September 15, 2023

Oh My Gaga!!!! I was so happy to have won the giveaway when it happened. I just finished this book and OH MY GAGA!!!! It was so good!!! I’m Puerto Rican & Cuban and I could relate to a lot of what Andrea had to deal with in the book. I will totes be recommending this book to others when it comes out......more

Goodreads review by enchantingprose on January 14, 2024

I wanted to love this book. I think the first 100 pages I did. I can forgive the weak character building and no plot. But then the story just gets worse and worse. This book is melodramatic at odd times and the times where more prose was needed it just glossed over.......more