Cottonwood saints Book

The book starts out with the son of the main character (who narrates the story) introducing himself as a defrocked Priest for the Catholic Church. A juicy tid-bit that left me anxious to find out what happened; only to come to a pretty anti-climatic answer at the end, that didn't really feel a part of the story at all. Especially since I did not feel connected to his character throughout the book. It's like he starts out with the introduction on the first few pages, and then he just pops up again at the end of the book. (Maybe this is why I couldn't put the book down through the first 2/3, but struggled to finish the last 1/3.)

That annoyance aside, I really liked the story. The author did a great job of connecting me to the main character; but more importantly, I felt connected to her Mother and history as well. And while I didn't feel as connected to her father or his family, there was explanations that gave you a pretty good feel of where he was coming from, too. Understanding the history of Margarita's parents, where THEY came from, and then where SHE came from, is what drew me to her the most. I could empathize with her wants and fears much more; and ultimately, gave me a lot of "food for thought" while reading.

Currently living in New Mexico, I found it fun to see common places and towns in the book. And learning a bit of the history of these towns was fun in this format.