Published : 2021 || Format : print || Location : Colombia ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ What was it about the country that kept everyone hostage to its fantasy? The previous month, on its own soil, an American man went to his job at a plant and gunned down fourteen coworkers, and last spring alone there were four different school shootings. A nation at war with itself, yet people still spoke of it as some kind of paradise.. Thoughts : Infinite Country follows two characters - young Talia, who at the beginning of this book, escapes a girl’s reform school in North Colombia so that she can make her previously booked flight to the US. Before she can do that, she needs to travel many miles to reach her father and get her ticket to the rest of her family. As we follow Talia’s treacherous journey south, we learn about how she ended up in the reform school in the first place and why half her family resides in the US. Infinite Country tells the...

Being a huge book in size, I assumed it would take me a while to get through it. On the contrary, it was a breezy read, but no less intense for that. I love it that this is a book of little words and more pictures. There are dialogues but they are used only where necessary. David Small lets his pictures do the talking and they certainly do it well!

David's mom was obsessed with saving money, so much so that when there are the beginnings of a lump on David's neck, she doesn't rush to get him treatment. Instead she chides him about it insisting that they don't have the money for it. She gets him a preliminary diagnosis, and even when his dad is suddenly the recepient of a huge amount of money, both his parents hurry off to do some shopping. There's no way I can explain that sudden feeling of sadness I got when I saw that even when they do have the means, it is spent on trivial pursuits and not on the health of their son.

There are patches in this book when I didn't get quite as invested in David's story. Sometimes, I wasn't sure where the story was heading, since the cliffhanger comes well after two-thirds of the book. However, I'm sure my opinion will change after I reread this book, which I hope to do soon. There are many dimensions to this book, and to fully appreciate it, a reread is certainly in order. I would however be lying if I said that I wasn't moved. It was a very poignant read and bristling with righteous anger. For a long time, David kept quiet. He didn't fight or argue with his parents, but you could always sense the inevitable boiling point. But what brings about that eventuality is something very shocking - something David had to find out the really hard way.
I borrowed this book from the library.

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