Solito

A child's odyssey to reunite with his parents on the other side of the border

Young Javier dreams of eating orange sherbet ice cream with his parents in the United States. For this to happen, he must embark on a three-thousand-mile journey alone. It should last only two weeks. But it takes seven.

In limbo, Javier learns what people will do to survive – and what they will forfeit to save someone else.

This is a memoir of perilous boat trips, relentless desert treks, and pointed guns. But it is also a story of tasting tacos for the first time, of who passes you their water jug in the crippling heat, and of longing to be in your mother’s arms.

‘If there’s any justice, Solito will someday be considered a classic.’ — Rumaan Alam

‘Heartbreaking… A rare, eye-opening rendition of the brutal reality of border-crossing.’ — Lea Ypi