University panel to discuss One City novel

(THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Oct. 9, 2015) A panel of experts from California Lutheran University will discuss this year’s selection for the One City, One Book series sponsored by the Thousand Oaks Library on Thursday, Oct. 29.

“Perspectives on ‘The Book of Unknown Americans’ by Cristina Henriquez” will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Lundring Events Center located in the Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center on the Thousand Oaks campus.

At the center of the 2014 novel are a boy and girl who fall in love. The girl has suffered a traumatic brain injury, and her family has left behind a comfortable life in Mexico to move to the United States so that she can get the care she needs. The boy, whose family is from Panama, is relentlessly bullied by his father and classmates. Henriquez interweaves the stories of these families with testimonials of immigrants from all over Latin America, exploring their hopes, dreams, guilt and love, and offering a new definition of what it means to be American.

The panel will consist of Rachel Casas, Sergio Galvez and Claire Ihlendorf Burke. Casas is an assistant professor of graduate psychology who provides clinical neuropsychological services to patients with brain injuries and is an expert in neuropsychological assessment of cultural and linguistic minorities. Galvez is the senior director of TRIO Upward Bound Programs that prepare low-income and potential first-generation college students to continue their education beyond high school. Ihlendorf Burke is an adjunct faculty member in Spanish who has researched Latin American literature and 20th-century Mexico. Professor Michaela Reaves, an expert on the sociocultural history of America, will moderate the discussion.

The novel was a New York Times and Washington Post notable book, one of Amazon’s Top 10 Books of the Year, the Daily Beast Novel of the Year and an NPR Great Read. It was chosen one of the best books of the year by BookPage, Oprah.com and School Library Journal, and was one of 24 fiction titles on the 2015 Carnegie Medals for Excellence Longlist.

Thousand Oaks Reads: One City, One Book is an annual event encouraging community members to read and discuss the same book. The four-week celebration will also include discussions of bullying by professionals from Cal Lutheran’s Community Counseling Centers at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15, at Grant R. Brimhall Library and 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4, at the Newbury Park Branch Library. “Why Are They So Mean?” will delve into identifying and preventing bullying and understanding its damaging effects on individuals and communities.

Admission to both events is free. Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center is located north of Olsen Road between Campus Drive and Mountclef Boulevard. For more information, call the Grant R. Brimhall Library at 805-449-2660, option 5, or go to thousandoaksreads.org.