It was great to read a book that focusses on the border crossing. This is something I had no idea about and the book made me get a glimpse of what it is like and I felt emotionally connected to the main character. It kept me on edge and I was holding my breath to see when he'd reach the States safely.

Note: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. This has not influenced my review in any way. ( )

Rendez-vous in Phoenix from Tony Sandoval is an autobiographical graphic tale that tells of the author's attempts to enter the United States for both love and a career.

The story is told simply, the fellow immigrants and their stories were woven into the Tony's singular story. The artwork was interesting and worked with the story very well. Beyond that there isn't a lot to add. It was enjoyable and well done, I just wasn't moved much beyond complimenting the quality.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley. ( )

Tony Sandoval nació en el noroeste de México y, como muchos compatriotas, sus sueños se encontraban más allá de la frontera. Cita en Phoenix es un relato autobiográfico donde el autor nos cuenta el estremecedor viaje en el que se embarcó para cruzar de forma ilegal la frontera estadounidense. Con un rotulador, algo de dinero y muchas esperanzas, dejó atrás su patria para buscar el gran sueño americano. Pero lo que de forma ingenua e idealista pensó que sería algo rápido y sencillo, se tornó en una pesadilla que parecía no tener fin.

Tony Sandoval nos proporciona una visión personal de los padecimientos por los que pasan los ilegales en su viaje hacia una vida mejor.

I find comics hard to review. I know they can have depth and I know they can be meaningful, but so many of them I read and can only think of them as slight. So, does Rendez-vous in Phoenix have a bit more heft than others? I suppose I could be convinced, but if I need to be convinced of the merit, doesn't that say something as well?

I think my problem is two-fold:

1. I either get distracted by the pictures or I ignore them entirely, missing out on that entire aspect of the medium; and



2. to get any internal character depth, it ends up like voice over and pretty much the only thing I remember from Adaptation is voice over = lazy. And really, I like character depth more than anything else in fiction.

Everyone has a right to tell their story, ergo Sandoval has every right to write about his attempts to cross the Mexican-American border illegally in the nineties. Everyone has a right to use whatever medium they want to tell their stories, ergo, again, Sandoval can choose comics. But comics as a medium to tell deep stories -- I know Maus managed it somehow; but whatever Maus had, that unknowingable, intangible whatever isn't there in Rendez-vous in Phoenix.

It's not bad, Rendez-vous in Phoenix. I feel super dismissive saying it's just a comic when I don't want that to be dismissive at all. But it is just what it is. And that's fine, but it's hardly transcendent.

Rendez-vous in Phoenix by Tony Sandoval went on sale November 8, 2016.

I received a copy free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )