Brighter Than the Sun

Name: Brighter Than the Sun
Brand: Dreamscape Media
Availability: InStock
Author: Daniel Aleman
ISBN: 9781666653762

Author: Daniel Aleman

Narrator: M. L. Sanchez

Unabridged: 7 hr 50 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Dreamscape Media

Published: 01/16/2024

Categories: Young Adult Fiction, Diversity & Multicultural, Social Themes, Family

Synopsis

Every morning, sixteen-year-old Sol wakes up at the break of dawn in her hometown of Tijuana, Mexico and makes the trip across the border to go to school in the United States. Though the commute is exhausting, this is the best way to achieve her dream: becoming the first person in her family to go to college. When her family’s restaurant starts struggling, Sol must find a part-time job in San Diego to help her dad put food on the table and pay the bills. But her complicated school and work schedules on the US side of the border mean moving in with her best friend and leaving her family behind. With her life divided by an international border, Sol must come to terms with the loneliness she hides, the pressure she feels to succeed for her family, and the fact that the future she once dreamt of is starting to seem unattainable. Mostly, she’ll have to grapple with a secret she’s kept even from herself: that maybe she’s relieved to have escaped her difficult home life and that a part of her may never want to return.

About Daniel Aleman

Daniel Aleman is the award-winning author of Indivisible and Brighter Than the Sun. Born and raised in Mexico City, he has lived in various places across North America and is currently based in Toronto, where he is on a never-ending search for the best tacos in the city.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Marieke on April 21, 2023

Beautiful. Powerful. Sad at times. Hopeful in the end. I immediately fell in love with Daniel Aleman’s debut Indivisible, a raw story about undocumented Mexican immigrants. And believe me, Brighter Than the Sun is as good and maybe even better! Sometimes I just know from the first page that a book wil......more

Goodreads review by Daniel on September 20, 2022

Hello! I wrote this book, and I am so excited to share it with you! If you read and loved Indivisible, you'll find many familiar elements in this new story. Brighter Than the Sun is a book about family, friendship, and immigration, and it is guaranteed to break your heart but also mend it. This i......more

Goodreads review by Shannon on February 07, 2024

A heartfelt YA immigration story that sees a Mexican American teen girl making the difficult decision to travel back and forth across the border to attend school in California, where she was born, but still trying to help her struggling Mexican family with their restaurant. Perfect for fans of books......more

Goodreads review by Glenda on February 21, 2024

So far Daniel Aleman is 2/2. His books have yet to disappoint me. To grow up Latino/a and know everyone has their own unique story/journey, is special. Yet, we can all connect with a story and feel the same pull. Sol lives in Tijuana with her dad, brothers and grandma where they run a family restaur......more

Goodreads review by Meg on March 25, 2023

you all have heard me talk before about how much I love reading diverse books that show me other people's perspectives and lives. This book did so beautifully. Sol's story is so heartbreaking. She feels enormous pressure as a 16 year old trying to help support her family. She gets up so early every......more

Quotes

Sol’s character is complex, as her identity is torn between worlds. …The stream-of-consciousness narrative grabs the hearts of readers and is perfect for building empathy as a mirror, window, or sliding glass door.