Entertainment

Books: Lost Children Archive brings US detention camps into heartbreaking focus

Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli
Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli

Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli is published in hardback by HarperCollins, priced £16.99 (ebook £6.69)

"SUPPOSE you and Pa were gone, and we were lost. What would happen then?" The question on the cover of the Lost Children Archive echoes through the book, which interlaces the journeys of a family heading from their New York home on a road trip through the south-west US, with stories of the perilous trek north for immigrant children hoping to be reunited with relatives in the States. Interspersed with Polaroids, quotes, and various stories and histories – told from both the point of view of a mother whose marriage is ending and her 10-year-old stepson – US-based Mexican author Valeria Luiselli's novel is a triumph. It brings detention camps at the US-Mexico border into heartbreaking focus – and the desert deaths of escapees – but also shines a light on the personal mythology in a family and how stories of people, and peoples, are told.

8/10

Laura Paterson

Daisy Jones And The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid is published in hardback by Hutchinson, priced £12.99 (ebook £7.99)

THE saying goes, if you could remember the 60s, you weren't there. But for some of music's biggest stars, the next decade offered an even bigger chance to become part of a totally lost generation, as the bands, records, tours and the excesses all became more extreme and bloated. Wild child Daisy is a veteran of LA's Sunset Strip and its sex, drugs and rock and roll scene, before she's out of her teens. When fate – and a switched-on manager – put her together with an up-and-coming new band with frontman Billy Dunne, it's never clear whether it's a match made in heaven or hell. The rest of the band are deftly portrayed, though the Rolling Stone interview-style format doesn't leave much room for character development. And sometimes, you long for a grittier, harder take from Taylor Jenkins Reid. Fans familiar with Fleetwood Mac's love-hate relationships, fights and touring excesses will recognise some familiar territory.

7/10

Derek Watson