A Review On Remember Me by Mario Escobar

The real-life stories that shape Remember Me by Mario Escobar show the impacts of war it has on families through the life of Marco Alcalde.

The touching story of Marco Alcalde’s journey to Morelia, Mexico from Madrid, Spain alongside his two younger sisters, Ana and Isabel to escape the war in Spain, leaving his parents behind as it was safer for them to escape. Marco’s love for his family to protect and care for his sisters and reunite his family once again after the war makes this book strong because it shows how powerful family motivation can be even during a tough time like war.

Book: Remember Me by Mario Escobar
Series: Standalone
Publication Date: September 15, 2020
(Thank you NetGalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review)
Tags: Historical Fiction, Family,
Links: Goodreads | Ebook | Paperback | Hardback | Audio
Read: August 22, 2020 to August 25, 2020

From international bestseller Mario Escobar comes a 20th-century historical novel of tragedy and resilience inspired by Spain’s famed Children of Morelia and the true events that shaped their lives.

Historians refer to the Spanish Civil War as one of the bloodiest wars of the twentieth century. In 1937, at Mexico’s request and offer, nearly 500 children from Spain—remembered as Los Niños de Morelia—were relocated via ship to Mexico to escape the war’s violence. These children traveled across the sea without their families and were expected to return at the war’s end. No one could have foreseen another world war was on the way—or that that Franco’s regime would prevent the children from coming home. These enduring conflicts trapped the children in a country far from their homeland, and many never made it back.

Remember Me is Mario Escobar’s novelization of these events, as told by a fictional survivor—one of the children of Morelia—who looks back upon his life after making the long and devastating journey across the Atlantic. This story explores the endurance of the human spirit as well as the quandary of a parent’s impossible decision, asking: At what cost do you protect your child in the face of uncertainty?

The real-life stories that shape Remember Me by Mario Escobar show the impacts of war it has on families through the life of Marco Alcalde.

I gave Remember Me four stars after reading the sad story of the Alcalde family’s journey to find each other. This book, while fiction, was based on events of real people’s lives, showing the true aspects of what some people during the Spanish Civil War had to deal with, as well as many of the other wars. The most frightening thing to read this was how real survivors truly went through this. The detail in this book when Marco, Ana, and Isabel were living on their own and relying on each other was heartbreaking and I couldn’t stop feeling anxious for them whenever something happened to them and their parents. For the whole book I was left wondering what would happen to them, hoping that they came out of this war safe and sound.

I found the short romance between Marco and Maria interesting but kind of unnecessary and wished that if she played an important role, she would have more appearances and interactions throughout the book.

All in all, I think this was well written and the detail put into this book as well as the research on the Spanish War was shocking to read. I never knew about the Spanish War but reading this has made me aware of what people truly went through during the war and all wars. It was something that should have been taught because of how crucial a part it played even if it was a civil war. This story was an important to read and I enjoyed it quite a lot.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I hope you guys have a great day, please like and comment down below if you enjoyed this book as well or if you plan on reading it!

Loves,

Veronica Chen