Rubén Degollado is an educator from Texas and the author of The Family Izquierdo. His young adult novel, Throw, was published in 2019 and won the Texas Institute of Letters 2020 Award for Best Young Adult Book. His fiction has appeared in Beloit Fiction Journal, Gulf Coast, Hayden’s Ferry Review, and Image.
The tight-knit Izquierdo family is grappling with misfortunes none of them can explain. Their beloved patriarch has suffered from an emotional collapse and is dying; eldest son Gonzalo’s marriage is falling apart; daughter Dina, beleaguered by the fear that her nightmares are real, is a shut-in. When Gonzalo digs up a strange object in the backyard of the family home, the Izquierdos take it as proof that a jealous neighbor has cursed them—could this be the reason for all their troubles? As the Izquierdos face a distressing present and an uncertain future, they are sustained by the blood that binds them, a divine presence, and an abiding love for one another. Told in a series of soulful voices brimming with warmth and humor, "The Family Izquierdo" is a tender narrative of a family at a turning point. A Kirkus Reviews Best Fiction Book of 2022
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