This is a cautionary tale of ethnic unrest leading to revolution within our borders. As I read this story, I was thinking to myself that this simply could not happen in our country...the quarantine and relocation of a whole ethnic group. And then I remembered the Japanese Americans that were relocated to camps during World War II, all their homes and belongings taken over by the government.  So, maybe if the conditions were right, it could happen to these Latinos after years of anti-immigrant reaction.

This is an intense novel of the near future, filled with violence, tension, and fear, after the death of an innocent Latina in Texas triggers riots that spread over the country.  A group of Hispanics organize a group called La Defensa del Pueblo to marshal the Hispanic Americans and immigrants into a coalition bent on forming their own independent government and reclaiming the parts of the United States that were originally taken from the Hispanics.

Populated with unforgettable characters, this book will haunt me for a long time to come.  The ex-army Ranger, Manolo Suarez, his wife, Rosa, and their two children; Josefina Herrera, the wealthy blonde Latina whose scrap recycling business fronts the organization, and many other memorable characters vow to obtain justice for their people, through violence if necessary. Mano, a staunch American Patriot, has difficulty accepting the role they want him to play as a military leader for the insurgents, until tragedy strikes his family.

This award winning first novel by Raul Ramos Y Sanchez tells the story of ethnic unrest from the perspective of the Hispanic community, and it should be read by every American. An intense novel of action, reaction, and consequence that presents many questions without answers.  A sneak peak at the sequel, El Nuevo Alamo, is in the back of the book, along with a reading group guide.