Advanced
Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.
Title details for Prayers for the Stolen by Jennifer Clement - Available

Prayers for the Stolen

by Jennifer Clement
ebook
Read a sample Read a sample
The haunting novel of love and survival that inspired Mexico’s official submission for International Feature Film—now shortlisted for the 94th Academy Awards® and streaming on Netflix
 
“Prayers for the Stolen gives us words for what we haven’t had words for before, like something translated from a dream in a secret language. . . . Beguiling, and even crazily enchanting.”—Francisco Goldman, New York Times Book Review
FINALIST FOR THE PEN/FAULKNER PRIZE • AN IRISH TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR
Ladydi Garcia Martínez is fierce, funny, and smart. She was born into a world where being a girl is a dangerous thing. In the mountains of Guerrero, Mexico, women must fend for themselves, as their men have left to seek opportunities elsewhere. Here in the shadow of the drug war, bodies turn up on the outskirts of the village to be taken back to the earth by scorpions and snakes. School is held sporadically, when a volunteer can be coerced away from the big city for a semester. In Guerrero the drug lords are kings, and mothers disguise their daughters as sons, or when that fails they “make them ugly”—cropping their hair, blackening their teeth, anything to protect them from the rapacious grasp of the cartels. And when the black SUVs roll through town, Ladydi and her friends burrow into holes in their backyards like animals, tucked safely out of sight.
 
While her mother waits in vain for her husband’s return, Ladydi and her friends dream of a future that holds more promise than mere survival, finding humor, solidarity, and fun in the face of so much tragedy. When Ladydi is offered work as a nanny for a wealthy family in Acapulco, she seizes the chance, and finds her first taste of love with a young caretaker there. But when a local murder tied to the cartel implicates a friend, Ladydi’s future takes a dark turn. Despite the odds against her, this spirited heroine’s resilience and resolve bring hope to otherwise heartbreaking conditions.
 
An illuminating and affecting portrait of women in rural Mexico, and a stunning exploration of the hidden consequences of an unjust war, Prayers for the Stolen is an unforgettable story of friendship, family, and determination.
Expand title description text
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group

OverDrive Read

  • ISBN: 9780804138796
  • Release date: February 11, 2014

EPUB ebook

  • ISBN: 9780804138796
  • File size: 4675 KB
  • Release date: February 11, 2014
Loading
Loading

Formats

OverDrive Read
EPUB ebook

subjects

Fiction Literature

Languages

English

Levels

Lexile® Measure:800
Text Difficulty:3-4

The haunting novel of love and survival that inspired Mexico’s official submission for International Feature Film—now shortlisted for the 94th Academy Awards® and streaming on Netflix
 
“Prayers for the Stolen gives us words for what we haven’t had words for before, like something translated from a dream in a secret language. . . . Beguiling, and even crazily enchanting.”—Francisco Goldman, New York Times Book Review
FINALIST FOR THE PEN/FAULKNER PRIZE • AN IRISH TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR
Ladydi Garcia Martínez is fierce, funny, and smart. She was born into a world where being a girl is a dangerous thing. In the mountains of Guerrero, Mexico, women must fend for themselves, as their men have left to seek opportunities elsewhere. Here in the shadow of the drug war, bodies turn up on the outskirts of the village to be taken back to the earth by scorpions and snakes. School is held sporadically, when a volunteer can be coerced away from the big city for a semester. In Guerrero the drug lords are kings, and mothers disguise their daughters as sons, or when that fails they “make them ugly”—cropping their hair, blackening their teeth, anything to protect them from the rapacious grasp of the cartels. And when the black SUVs roll through town, Ladydi and her friends burrow into holes in their backyards like animals, tucked safely out of sight.
 
While her mother waits in vain for her husband’s return, Ladydi and her friends dream of a future that holds more promise than mere survival, finding humor, solidarity, and fun in the face of so much tragedy. When Ladydi is offered work as a nanny for a wealthy family in Acapulco, she seizes the chance, and finds her first taste of love with a young caretaker there. But when a local murder tied to the cartel implicates a friend, Ladydi’s future takes a dark turn. Despite the odds against her, this spirited heroine’s resilience and resolve bring hope to otherwise heartbreaking conditions.
 
An illuminating and affecting portrait of women in rural Mexico, and a stunning exploration of the hidden consequences of an unjust war, Prayers for the Stolen is an unforgettable story of friendship, family, and determination.
Expand title description text
Fiction Literature
The Ontario Library Service Download Centre site is funded by participating libraries.