My America: Lilliam Rivera

Acclaimed author LILLIAM RIVERA presents her latest middle grade novel Never Look Back, in which she blends a touch of magical realism into a timely story about cultural identity, overcoming trauma, and the power of first love. This program takes place November 10 at 11:30 am Central and will be hosted live via Zoom, register for the program here.

Presented in conjunction with the AWM’s special exhibit My America: Immigrant and Refugee Writers Today, this program is part of the Jeanne M. & John W. Rowe program series, a series of conversations with leading contemporary writers about their latest work and their thoughts on themes of identity, home, belonging and the meaning of what it is to be American.

More about Never Look Back:

Eury comes to the Bronx as a girl haunted. Haunted by losing everything in Hurricane Maria—and by an evil spirit, Ato. She fully expects the tragedy that befell her and her family in Puerto Rico to catch up with her in New York. Yet, for a time, she can almost set this fear aside, because there’s this boy…

Pheus is a golden-voiced, bachata-singing charmer, ready to spend the summer on the beach with his friends, serenading his on-again, off-again flame. That changes when he meets Eury. All he wants is to put a smile on her face and fight off her demons. But some dangers are too powerful for even the strongest love, and as the world threatens to tear them apart, Eury and Pheus must fight for each other and their lives.

Featuring contemporary Afro-Latinx characters, this retelling of the Greek myth Orpheus and Eurydice is perfect for fans of Ibi Zoboi’s Pride and Daniel José Older’s Shadowshaper.

Praise for Never Look Back:

“Honors the Afro Latinx music, language, heritage and history of its characters…Defying expectation and categorization, Never Look Back is a book not to be read with the mind but to be experienced with the soul. It is a revelation.”
—BookPage, starred review

“A pensive exploration of the deep trauma historically suffered by colonized and enslaved peoples and how that entwines with more recent hardships, like Hurricane Maria, whose damage is worsened by the remnants of those same institutions…Never Looks Back sings its own love song to the world.”
—NPR

“Never Look Back reimagines the Orpheus myth into a bold creation that only Lilliam Rivera could breathe into life. A strange, unsettling love song of a book.”
—Elana K. Arnold, Printz Honor-winning author of DAMSEL

LILLIAM RIVERA is an award-winning writer and author of the young adult novels Dealing in Dreams, The Education of Margot Sanchez, the middle grade novel Goldie Vance: The Hotel Whodunit, and Never Look Back. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times, and Elle, to name a few. Lilliam lives in Los Angeles.