Migrant Heart by Reyna Grande Review

 Title: Migrant Heart: Essays About Things I Can’t Forget

Author: Reyna Grande

Age Group: Adult

Genre: Essays/Memoir

Star Rating: 5 Out of 5 Stars

I received an advanced reader copy of this book through the publisher, Atria Books, and Netgalley, my thanks to both!

I love essays and memoirs, especially ones that dig deep. Nonfiction can be picky for me, but I really loved Migrant Heart! Reyna Grande is a woman with deep trauma and psychological scars. A writer and novelist, she opens up about her family history, including how she crossed the border illegally as a child. This book was so raw and brave to me: I was spellbound by this deep, painful yet lovely book. I couldn’t stop reading, and when I wasn’t reading, it was haunting my thoughts. In it, Grande questions being a child of both America and Mexico, picking apart the knots of her childhood and upbringing, her present, and her future, as well as the future of her young children. I was totally captivated, and this book was nothing less than a bare, naked lens into what it is like to be a child of two worlds, too much and too little of both yet not enough. I think everyone needs to read these essays, because they would have much more empathy towards people crossing the border into America.

Grande was so naked and raw in these essays, truly exposing her wounds and scars. I loved her vulnerability and the way she approached all of these topics with unflinching honesty. Her voice is warm in some places, yet bleak and sad in others. I aspire to be an author like Grande, lyrical and warm but honest and frank as well. I just finished this book a few days prior, and I haven’t been able to get it out of my mind. Migrant Heart is one of my favorite books of 2026, and I will be actively looking for more of Reyna’s work. This memoir seemed to take my heart out of my chest and squeeze, I’m not ashamed to say I was crying at certain intervals of the book. The sheer bravery of this book bowled me over, and I will never forget it. The bottom line: Honest, painful, and deep, I loved Migrant Heart!