âBrilliant.â âThe Washington Post * âNuanced and compelling.â âThe New York Times
From the PEN/Hemingway Awardâwinning author of The Madonnas of Echo Park, an engrossing dystopian novel set in a near-future America where mandatory identification wristbands turn second-generation immigrants into second-class citizensââa well-imagined allegory of divisive racial politicsâ (Kirkus Reviews).
Iris Prince is starting over. After years of drifting apart, she and her husband are going through a surprisingly drama-free divorce. Sheâs moved to a new house in a new neighborhood, and has plans for gardening, coffee clubs, and spending more time with her nine-year-old daughter Melanie. It feels like her life is finally exactly what she wants it to be.
Then, one beautiful morning, she looks outside her kitchen windowâand sees that a wall has appeared in her front yard overnight. Where did it come from? What does it mean? And why does it seem to keep growing?
Meanwhile, a Silicon Valley startup has launched a high-tech wrist wearable called âthe Band.â Pitched as a convenient, eco-friendly tool to help track local utilities and replace driverâs licenses and IDs, the Band is available only to those who can prove parental citizenship.
Suddenly, Iris, a proud second-generation Mexican American, is now of âunverifiable origin,â unable to prove who she is, or where she, and her undocumented loved ones, belong. Amid a climate of fear and hate-fueled violence, Iris must confront how far she'll go to protect what matters to her most.
âPart social commentary and part thoughtful consideration of themes that include family, identity, transitions, perspectives, and hopeâ (Shelf Awareness), My Name Is Iris is an all-too-possible story that offers a brilliant and timely look at one womanâs journey to discover who she canâtâand canâbe.