Summary

The novel begins with a title “Camino” bolded with an airplane pointed with the nose towards Camino and “Yahaira” in gray to the right of the plane (1). This signifies that this section will be told from Camino’s point of view. The novel is written in verse.

The novel starts as Camino tells the reader repeatedly, “I know too much of mud” (1). Camino’s perspective has three short lines per stanza. She describes her home and how much she loves it even if it is “third-world smacked” and might be “a sinkhole” (2). She explains how she longs for “stable ground” [paragraph break] “somewhere else” and somewhere else is written on the other side of the page (2).

Camino wakes up and describes a woman with cancer who needs her and Tia’s care. They eat breakfast and Tia packs her bag and machete. Vira...