These lovingly told stories of life in the reimagined pueblo of "Los Cedros" weave an intricate tapestry of memorable characters who are familiar to any border dweller: a priest, a curandera, family members, and a young woman who says "yes" to an education and is forever changed. More than mere nostalgia, this depiction of a life that is no more due to the ever-growing militarization of the border reveals that Dorotea Reyna is a formidable wordsmith with a timely message to share.

Norma Elia Cantú, Murchison Distinguished Professor of the Humanities Trinity University

Dorotea Reyna's excellent book, Los Cedros: A Tejana Memoir, takes us back to the 1960s to a small border town on the banks of the Rio Grande. Incorporating elements of fiction, this unique memoir renders vivid descriptions of a series of memorable Mexican-American residents including a priest who joins the local farm workers' quest for justice, a poet whose works are known far beyond the region, and a young girl just beginning to navigate a larger world beyond the confines of her extended family. Ultimately, Reyna's book is a compelling story about the village of "Los Cedros," both its past and its complicated present, amid rampant border

militarization. Insightful and inspiring, Los Cedros: A Tejana Memoir will appeal to readers of all ages.

Velma García, Professor of Government Smith College

An inspiring addition to Texas-Mexican borderlands literature. Dorotea Reyna's "little vines" (or interconnected vignettes) wonderfully make "Los Cedros" grow new green sprouts through memory and pride. May her vines forcefully climb and conquer the physical and metaphysical walls of hatred and prejudice that presently encroach the U.S.-Mexico border.

Manuel M. Martín-Rodríguez, Professor of Literature and Language University of California-Merced

In a beautifully poetic and gently provocative memoir, Dorotea Reyna invites readers of all ages to experience the world of her childhood pueblito through loving portraits of several of its residents. Reyna juxtaposes the most tender images of her family's past with the untenable harshness of the border in the present. In so doing, she gives the reader the space to contemplate our own unique identities while feeling a part of a greater changing world, one in which we must assume our responsibility for the well-being of all.

Hilary Landorf, Assistant Vice President, Global Learning Initiatives Associate Professor, International & Intercultural Education Florida International University

Dorotea Reyna's Los Cedros: A Tejana Memoir is warm, raw, and real-it's a love letter to the author's pueblo and those who created the structure and magic within it. The vignettes that comprise Los Cedros are like beautiful secrets that show the reader what love looks like. This memoir is also an extraordinary example of character building within a historical context and would be an excellent model in a high school or college-level creative writing course. Reyna's accompanying Study Guide will help younger students to historically situate the text as well as to reflect on how the issues raised in Los Cedros personally affect them and their worldview.

Jody A. Marín, Associate Professor of English, Coordinator of Freshman and Sophomore English Department of Language and Literature Texas A&M University-Kingsville