-
Your next favorite book
is waiting.
Reclaiming Memories from the Guatemalan Genocide
by Pablo Leon
In this moving intergenerational tale perfect for fans of Messy Roots and Illegal, Eisner-nominated creator Pablo Leon combines historical research of the Guatemalan Civil War with his own experiences as a Guatemalan immigrant to depict a powerful story of family, sacrifice, survival, and hope.
Langley Park, Maryland, 2013
Brothers Jose and Charlie know very little about their mother's life in Guatemala, until Jose grows curious about the ongoing genocide trial of Efrain Rios Montt. At first his mother, Clara, shuts his questions down. But as the trial progresses, she begins to open up to her sons about a time in her life that she's left buried for years.
Peten, Guatemala, 1982
Sisters Clara and Elena hear about the armed conflict every day, but the violence somehow seems far away from their small village. But the day the fight comes to their doorstep, the sisters are separated and are forced to flee through the mountains, leaving them to wonder…Have their paths diverged forever?
"A stirring story about the power of familial bonds and historical recollection in the face of grief, fear, and hopelessness." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A beautiful, timely reminder that hope is never out of reach." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"A powerful story that gives voice to millions of forgotten and displaced people from Central America." —Robin Ha, bestselling creator of Almost American Girl
"A heart wrenching tale of the brutality and healing that happens when we shed light on family trauma." —Victoria Ying, author and illustrator of Harvey Award-winner Hungry Ghost
This information about Silenced Voices was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Pablo Leon is an author and artist from Guatemala, currently living in Los Angeles, California, and jumping between the TV animation and comics industries. His original comic, The Journey, an account of an unaccompanied child coming from Central America to the US, was a 2019 Eisner Award nominee, and he was the illustrator for the exciting middle grade graphic novel Miles Morales: Shock Waves and its follow-up, Stranger Tides. He's worked with Disney, Warner Bros, and Nickelodeon, and when not working he enjoys cooking alongside his two helper cats, Agave and Moth.
If you liked Silenced Voices, try these:
by Nathan Harris
Published 2025
A gripping story about a brother and sister, emancipated from slavery but still searching for true freedom, and their odyssey across the deserts of Mexico to finally reunite, all while escaping a former master still intent on their bondage.
by Ruben Reyes
Published 2025
From the author of There Is a Rio Grande in Heaven, a piercing debut novel following two families in alternative timelines of the Salvadoran civil war—a stunning exploration of the mechanisms of fate, the gravity of the past, and the endurance of love.
by Abdulrazak Gurnah
Published 2023
From the winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature, a sweeping, multi-generational saga of displacement, loss, and love, set against the brutal colonization of East Africa.
Fanaticism consists in redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!
Can you name the title?
Test your book knowledge with our daily trivia challenge!
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
