About the book, The Border Between Us 
- Genre: Literary Fiction
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Pages: 256
- Publication Date: August 27, 2024
dad’s dreams of success wither on the vine. Ramón’s mother is constantly preoccupied with his younger brother, who struggles with intellectual disabilities. And the outside world is rife with danger and temptations threatening to distract Ramón from his dreams of making it to New York and succeeding as an artist.
As dreams clash with reality and values conflict with desires, Ramón finds the American dream within his reach—but will it demand too big a sacrifice?
Award-winning author Rudy Ruiz brilliantly captures the beauty and danger of border life as Ramón struggles to understand his home and his place in the world. The Border Between Us is a stunning, compassionate story about a son’s fraught relationship with his father, the challenges of pursuing a creative life when one comes from humble beginnings, and the power of embracing one’s whole self.
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About the Author, Rudy Ruiz 
US–Mexico border, he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Harvard University. Rudy lives and writes in Texas and New England with his wife and children. Visit his website at RudyRuiz.com.
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My Thoughts 
I’ve often said that the Young Adult / New Adult market includes some of the most provocative storytelling in contemporary literature, and Rudy Ruiz’s latest novel, The Border Between Us is proof of this.
Told simply, using Spanish dialogue (without translation) when appropriate, the story of Ramón López, a boy from the southmost part of Brownsville, TX, who makes routine trips across the border-spanning Gateway Bridge with his father, is kind of coming-of-age tale that has you rooting for the protagonist to succeed, even when you’re shaking his head at some of his poor choices.
Author Ruiz brilliantly captures the unique culture of the Texas-Mexico border, and the people who dwell on both sides. It’s a rich tapestry that he gives us: struggling Mexican-American families who live in intergenerational homes and tight-knit communities, more affluent families who are sent to the border to manage companies there, private schools run by nuns, public schools where bullies might carry switchblades or guns or both – and the ever-present angst of knowing that drugs and smuggling are becoming ever more pervasive.
And in this cultural pozole, we have a boy entrepreneur who sells sweet chili packets (foodie readers may recognize this as Tajín) to earn the money for a coveted Evel Knievel bike, until the nuns shut him down and steal his market (in a truly tragi-comic turn of events). The boy mogul finds his second success, years later, in art, and manages to “get out,” as his friend Dante says.
But no one really leaves the border forever, and even when life takes him halfway across the country, Ramón remains connected to his family, his hometown, his culture, even when he doesn’t entirely wish to be.
I loved the characters Rudy Ruiz created. Ramón was the center, of course but his extended family, his friends, even is blonde art-school girlfriend Clara are all painted in vivid colors. Similarly, the landscape is described incredibly realistically. I could feel the hot pavement, taste the dust in the ear, feel the oppressive heat, but I could also smell Grandma Fina’s cooking, taste the cherry (or lemon) donuts provided by Perla, and hear the strumming of David’s guitar.
I also appreciated that none of the characters were perfect, but that their flaws weren’t over the top. Ramón’s father Joe is perhaps the best example of this, as his struggle is a counterpoint to his son’s.
At 296 pages, The Border Between Us is a satisfying read that flows quickly, but may be better appreciated if savored slowly.
Goes well with: tacos with a squeeze of lime juice, mangos with tajín, and Mexican beer like Indio or Bohemia.
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“Discharged from a hospital just means you’re not dead.” These words of Ralph B. Lilly, M.D., describe his early struggle to recover from a traumatic brain injury. Lilly was a forty-four-year-old practicing neurologist sitting on his motorcycle at a red light when a drunk driver rear-ended him in 1980. In the ICU, after regaining consciousness and being told what happened, he asked, “What’s a hospital? What’s a motorcycle?” This tragic experience transformed his life and his approach to his neurology practice: doctors treat those with brain injury; but loved ones heal them.
Diane F. Kramer