{"product_id":"country-of-under","title":"Country of Under","description":"\u003cp\u003eBy: Brooke Shaffner\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWinner of the 1729 Book Prize \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWinner of the First Novel over 90,000 Words Award, Next Generation Indie Book Awards \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSecond place Fiction Grand Prize, Next Generation Indie Book Awards\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"This luminous novel of big heart and span is a wonder. I am changed for having read it. The story has become part of my soul.\"\u003cbr\u003e-Diane Zinna, author of \u003ci\u003eThe All-Night Sun\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"At its core, \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eCountry of Under\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e is about time: The time it takes to understand oneself, others, the family you have-and the family you make. And, the time it takes to develop the patience to wait, as self-revelation unfolds.\"\u003cbr\u003e-Barbara Fischkin, author of \u003ci\u003eMuddy Cup: A Dominican Family Comes of Age in a New America\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Brooke Shaffner's \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eCountry of Under\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e is a novel about the pain and wonder of being between identities. Between male and female. Citizen and immigrant. Fulfilled and empty. Outsider and insider. A novel of our time, told with deep compassion and striking beauty.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e-Helen Benedict, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Good Deed\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eWolf Season\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eCountry of Under\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e, part of the Lost\/Found imprint at Split\/Lip Press and winner of the 1729 Book Prize at Mason Jar Press, revolves around the transformative friendship of Pilar Salomé Reinfeld, raised by her undocumented father, a descendent of Bolivian Mennonites, in a Mexican-American community; and Carlos\/Carla\/Río Gomez, a gender-fluid DREAMer raised by their grandmother in the same Texican bordertown.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter years away, tragedy calls them back to the Rio Grande Valley- their lives changed but still bound. Still mourning, Pilar returns to New York City with Río. As Río finds love and Pilar struggles to find a way forward, they drift apart. When Pilar's decision to engage in a dangerous artivist act finally threatens to tear them apart, they struggle to do what they have done in their best moments: see the beauty in each other, even when the world does not.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Sister's Books","offers":[{"title":"Paperback New","offer_id":44536754405487,"sku":"68493","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0657\/2608\/7279\/files\/Screenshot2026-02-14114210.png?v=1771087341","url":"https:\/\/www.mysistersbooks.com\/products\/country-of-under","provider":"My Sister's Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}