Review Source: Publisher’s Weekly
Book Author: Pablo Leon
In a solo debut, Leon (Miles Morales: Stranger Tides) delivers a potent graphic novel examination of the effects of the Guatemalan civil war on its people. In 2013, American-born brothers José and Charlie live with their overworked single immigrant mother, Clara, in Langley Park, Maryland. When a teacher asks José if his mother was following coverage of the criminal trials relating to the Guatemalan genocide, José realizes that he knows nothing about his mom’s past.
Though initial attempts to broach the subject end with emotional outbursts from Clara, she soon shares stories about her youth in a Q’eqchi’ Mayan village. After Clara reveals that she hasn’t seen her sister, Elena, since they were separated during a violent conflict as children, José and Charlie resolve to discover what happened to their aunt. Continue reading on Publisher’s Weekly.
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Silenced Voices by Pablo Leon
Published by HarperCollins on September 2, 2025
Genres: Central America, Graphic Novels and Comics, Guatemala
Pages: 240
Reading Level: High School
ISBN: 9780063223578
Review Source: Publisher's Weekly
Publisher's Synopsis:
Brothers Jose and Charlie know very little about their mother’s life in Guatemala, until Jose grows curious about the ongoing genocide trial of Efrain Rios Montt. At first his mother, Clara, shuts his questions down. But as the trial progresses, she begins to open up to her sons about a time in her life that she’s left buried for years.
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