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Cristina Henríquez

Biography

Cristina Henríquez

Cristina Henríquez is the author of THE GREAT DIVIDE, THE BOOK OF UNKNOWN AMERICANS, THE WORLD IN HALF and COME TOGETHER, FALL APART: A Novella and Stories. She has been longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and was a finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. Her writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New York Times Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Real Simple, The Oxford American, The American Scholar and elsewhere. She earned her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. She lives in Illinois.

Cristina Henríquez

Books by Cristina Henríquez

by Cristina Henríquez - Fiction

It is said that the Panama Canal will be the greatest feat of engineering in history. For Francisco, a local fisherman who resents the foreign powers clamoring for a slice of his country, nothing is more upsetting than the decision of his son, Omar, to work as a digger in the excavation zone. Ada Bunting is a bold 16-year-old from Barbados who arrives in Panama as a stowaway alongside thousands of other West Indians seeking work. When she sees Omar, who has collapsed after a grueling shift, she is the only one who rushes to his aid. John Oswald has dedicated his life to scientific research and has journeyed to Panama with the goal of eliminating malaria. But his wife, Marian, has fallen ill herself, and when he witnesses Ada’s bravery and compassion, he hires her on the spot as a caregiver. This fateful decision sets in motion a sweeping tale of ambition, loyalty and sacrifice.

by Cristina Henríquez - Fiction

Arturo and Alma Rivera have lived their whole lives in Mexico. One day, their 15-year-old daughter, Maribel, sustains a terrible injury. The Riveras come to America with a single dream: that in this country of great opportunity and resources, Maribel can get better. When Mayor Toro, whose family is from Panama, sees Maribel in a Dollar Tree store, it is love at first sight --- and the beginning of a friendship between the Rivera and Toro families.