The Book of Unknown Americans

The Book of Unknown Americans (2014) is a novel by American author Christina Henríquez. The story follows two families, one Mexican and one Panamanian, as they navigate the experience of being Latin American immigrants in the United States. The Mexican girl, Maribel, and Panamanian boy, Mayor, fall in love, which brings the families together. While mainly fictional, The Book of Unknown Americans is inspired by Henríquez’s father’s experience as a Mexican immigrant in the United States. The novel explores themes such as The Dangers of Machismo, The Cultural Isolation of Immigrants in America, and The Myriad Forms of Trauma. Henríquez’s other works include the novels The World in Half and The Great Divide and the short story collection Come Together, Fall Apart.

Content Warning: The guide contains discussions of racism, rape, ableism (including the r-word), and sexual assault of a minor that are present in the source text.

Plot Summary

Told through a host of different voices and perspectives, The Book of Unknown Americans examines the experiences of Hispanic immigrants to the US and presents their stories in a full and varied light. The central focus is the Rivera family, who have traveled from Mexico in order to get better schooling for their teenage daughter, Maribel. Maribel has a brain injury as the result of a fall from a ladder. Her parents, Arturo and Alma, hope that American special education will help Maribel return to her own self. As it turns out, the real assistance comes from a neighbor boy, Mayor Toro, who falls in love with Maribel. Mayor’s family becomes deeply entwined in the lives of their new neighbors and helps them adjust to American culture, sharing faith, food, and camaraderie.

When Maribel is sexually assaulted by Garrett, a white boy from a nearby neighborhood, Alma becomes all the more even protective of her fragile daughter. Egged on by a meddling neighbor, Quisaqueya, herself a survivor of sexual assault, Alma and Arturo decide to forbid Mayor and Maribel’s relationship. They effectively convince Mayor’s parents to do the same. The plan backfires and the teenagers cut school to be together. When Maribel doesn’t come home from school at the scheduled time, Alma tells Arturo about the sexual assault, a secret she’d been keeping from him because she feels that she has again failed her daughter. Arturo goes out looking for Maribel and heads in the direction of Garrett’s home, thinking that Maribel may be with him. Garrett’s father shoots Arturo; shortly after, Arturo dies of his injuries. Maribel and Alma prepare to travel back home to Mexico, with Alma still reeling from her loss but aware that Maribel has regained some of her own self, thanks to her relationship with Mayor and her stay in the US.