"A stunning, sweeping, emotionally resonant novel that delves into the complexities of identity, belonging, and the enduring bonds of family."

Spanning three generations of Puerto Rican women - Rafaela, her daughter Ruth, and granddaughter Daisy - Speak To Me of Home had me hooked from the start. The narrative traverses time and geography, from the opulent halls of 1960s San Juan to the suburban landscapes of Missouri and the storm-lashed streets of present-day Puerto Rico.

At its core, the novel explores the multifaceted concept of "home". Rafaela's privileged upbringing in San Juan is upended by scandal, leading her to a life of displacement and longing in the American Midwest. Ruth grapples with her cultural identity and the challenges of raising her own children, while Daisy's journey brings her back to Puerto Rico, seeking connection and purpose. Their stories intertwine, revealing the enduring impact of heritage and the personal quests for belonging.

Cummins' prose is rich and evocative, painting vivid scenes that immerse the reader in the characters' worlds whilst highlighting the complexities of familial and cultural ties. I love the way she writes, so eloquently, so poignantly, so beautifully.

Speak to Me of Home is an immersive and sweeping multi-generational tale...a book to savour, one to linger over, one to absorb slowly. And I certainly did that: a strong stamp of approval from me.

What a fantastic read So involving following the entwined life of three women with varying ties to Puerto Rica. I learned also along the way the role of Puerto Rica in US politics. Love, loyalty, family values,history, racism were all so well explored in this moving story. I will be buying this for lots of people

was deeply moved by this beautifully written, multigenerational story that intricately connects three women to their family's homeland.

Spanning decades and unfolding in a non-linear fashion, the narrative centers on Rafaela, born into privilege in Puerto Rico, her daughter Ruth, and her granddaughter Daisy, exploring their individual relationships with each other and with Puerto Rico itself.

Each of these women is richly developed, possessing significant depth. Throughout their lives, loves, relocations, and educations, all three grapple with the meaning of homeland and their own ethnic and cultural self-identification.

The book's accessible and engaging prose belies its profound impact, leaving me to contemplate its themes of familial connection and homeland identity for days afterwards. Despite moments of drama, the story maintains a refreshing lack of sentimentality. I highly recommend this book!

Jeanine Cummins’ latest book focuses on three generations of a family living in Puerto Rico and the USA. Telling the story from multiple points of view, the stories unfold separately at first before becoming woven together in the final third. I really enjoyed American Dirt, but was disappointed by this latest effort. The characters felt flat, relying on cultural cliches at times, and the constant POV switching was more confusing than illuminating. For me, it lacked the engaging plot of American Dirt to help it through the fact that the characters were just not particularly interesting and the pacing was off - there were long sections where I had to really power through to get past. Not for me.

A multigenerational family story told from the perspective of three woman.
Rafaela leaves Puerto Rico with her American husband and young children in the 1970s to move to the Midwest, her daughter Ruth quickly adapts to American life and when we meet her in 2023, her life is firmly that of an American woman. Her daughter Daisy is currently living in Puerto Rico and the central theme of the book is what does it mean to call a place home?
There is no doubt Cummins is an excellent storyteller and she creates wonderful characters. I got a sense she drew on more personal experience than her previous novel which caused so much drama, American Dirt. However the brilliant storytelling in both, remains. I was quickly pulled into this story from the opening chapter and found it very easy to read . I found one of the plot points unnecessary to the point I had forgotten about it by the time the "reveal" occurs at the of the book but this is down to how well these characters were developed and how much they grew on me. There are a couple of incidences where the plot felt a little clunky but the characters and overall story shine through. A great book to get lost in this Summer. Tragedy, lost loves, great female characters, belonging, love and family, every ingredient needed for a family sage. Recommend.

I chose to read this book by Jeanine Cummins because I was deeply impressed by American Dirt, and this novel did not disappoint. I thoroughly enjoyed this multigenerational saga, which focuses on Rafaela, Ruth, and Daisy. The different narratives flowed seamlessly, exploring themes of cultural identity, displacement, heritage, and the desire to belong. Beautifully written, this book is one I highly recommend. I received a free advanced of this book from NetGalley and this is my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. A beautifully written multigenerational story of three women, Rafaela, Ruth and Daisy, their relationships with each other and to their homeland Puerto Rico. A story about family, identity, belonging, struggles, race and love.
It’s easy to read, heartfelt and moving. Told in multiple timelines and different POV’s which makes the story more engaging. I couldn’t put it down. I was totally captivated. The characters felt so real, with great depth and warmth.
Overall a brilliant read. Definitely recommend if you like historical family saga/drama, you’ll enjoy this book.
Thanks to #NetGallery @headlinebooks for an arc of #SpeakToMeOfHome in exchange for a honest review.
Book publishes 13 May 2025.

Speak to me of home is an epic family saga interweaving the tumultuous stories of three women, three generations of a family of Puerto Rican descent.

The novel explores displacement and cultural identity in depth and for me, was a real eye-opener and gave a deep insight into life for immigrants and their descendants. A multitude of other themes are touched on, grief is heavily laced throughout each story with a heavy emphasis on family and love.

The way the novel switches between timelines is somehow not at all confusing and works exceedingly well to keep you reading, there are so many things mentioned in the later years that I couldn't wait to read more about in the earlier accounts. Tension remains high throughout due to the returning snippets of modern-day Daisy battling for her life and her family racing to reach her in hospital.

I enjoyed this book thoroughly and will be highly recommending as a heart-warming and exhilaring family saga with elements of a beautiful love story.

Thanks to net galley and the publishers for an advanced ecopy in exchange for a review.
The book begins with us meeting Ruth who gets a call that something has happened to her daughter Daisy. The book is told from 3 generations of the same family originally from Pueto Rico. I loved the character building and atmosphere of the book throughout the decades and what it was like to live and then leave your home country. The book looks at difference in cultures and also the relationships built throughout their lives. Core themes are family and home. I enjoyed this book and will be recommending

One of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read. A three generation exploration of identity and what it feels like to belong, whether genetics truly matter or whether a place is truly where a heart can live. I just loved all the main characters, each in their own unique way. They were flawed, they were wonderful and I grew with them. I had high expectations from the author of American Dirt and this exceeded them.

4.5 stars

I absolutely loved every page of ‘Speak to Me of Home’, and I was hooked from the first pages with its brilliant storytelling and wonderfully rich characters.

This is a multi-generational tale set within two very distinctive and contrasting places, the ‘homes’ of our main characters - Puerto Rico and the contrasting mid-west of America. It’s a richly woven story which examines many themes, such as race, identity, heritage, prejudice, true love, family and so much more.

I equally adored the strong and powerful female voices of Rafaela, her daughter Ruth and granddaughter Daisy and we hear about their lives, spanning many decades and the consequences of their choices and actions affecting the family that follow.

This is not a book to be missed, and I highly recommend it as an entirely engrossing summer read.

Speak to me of Home by Jeanine Cummins

Daisy is in a critical state in hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Her mother Ruth and grandmother Rafaela travel from New York to be by her bedside. Three generations of women try to reconcile their life experiences and what home truly means, taking us from Rafaela's childhood in San Jan to the present day.

What a master storyteller the author is! This sweeping tale of three generations of women across many years and multiple locations was epic in every sense of the word - I absolutely loved it! And such an intelligent meditation on what is home - race, ethnicity, nationality, family, belonging, a feeling, acceptance.... BRILLIANT! Very VERY highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

American Dirt was such a fabulous read that I started this with some apprehension as often the next books aren’t as good. But I need not have worried, this is fabulous. It follows 3 generations of Puerto Rican women, Rafaela, her daughter Ruth and her granddaughter Daisy. The story weaves back and forth through the three lives, spanning decades and following each as they face loves, losses and prejudice in their lives. From the 1960s to the 2020s the prejudices remain and the lives of the three women are similar despite the social differences. While Rafaela ended up living in America, Daisy wants to discover her ethic identity and moves to San Juan, Ruth also lives in the USA and is desperate to fit in and being light skinned has turned her back on her childhood in San Juan and embraces the American ideology.
When Daisy has a serious accident (how the book starts) Rafaela and Ruth return to San Juan to be with Daisy. Here they relive their lives, the loves and heartbreaks and also uncover a hidden secret.
It so well written and I connected with all three women as they strive to belong in this world that can be judgmental and harsh.

#SpeakToMeOfHome #NetGalley

Wonderful family saga, from Puerto Rico to the States and back. The immigrant experience, intergenerational trauma, sense of belonging are just some of the themes in this fantastic piece of historical fiction.

I loved American Dirt and I think I enjoyed this one even more.

Brilliant emotional multi-generational story which I would recommend to all.

What a cracking read - I was hooked from the beginning!

Speak to Me of Home is the story of three generations of women from the same family Daisy, Ruth and Rafaela. Each woman has a story to tell and I loved how the narrative flowed between each story and across time as the tales unfold.

With their origins in Puerto Rico and their move to America, themes of nationality, heritage, belonging and home are central to each story and the collective family tale.

The author writes characters very well and I felt really connected to each woman's story and felt I had a clear insight into their feelings and motivations.

I really enjoyed learning more about Puerto Rico too and it gave me a fresh understanding of the country and its relationship with America.

Beautifully written, this is an easy 5 stars for me and and I cannot recommend it enough

I love a multigenerational story and this one didn't disappoint. We love the lives of three women, each of them with their own dreams, frustrations and hope to live a better life. The writing style is very descriptive and could almost feel the vibe of Puerto Rico through the pages. I loved this book and I am sure is in my top 10 for 2025.

I loved American Dirt, and so when I discovered that Jeanine Cummins had written a new book I was very excited! She is a very talented writer, able to paint a scene so vividly, and conjure emotion so deftly. I was immediately gripped, as we follow, at first, Daisy, who is left critically injured after a hurricane ravages the island of Puerto Rico, Daisy's mother and grandmother, Rafaela and Ruth, return to the city to be with Daisy, and as they gather at Daisy’s bedside, they’re confronted by their collective and separate pasts.

The story then follows these women over the years, as they grow, fall in love, make mistakes and so much more. The novel's themes of family, race, belonging, are brilliantly woven into the fabric of the characters' lives, and I was so impressed with the depth of emotion Cummins was able to create, Great stuff.

I thoroughly enjoyed ‘American Dirt’ and so was looking forward to the new novel from Jeanine Cummins. I was not disappointed. This was a story told over three generations of a family that emigrated to America from Puerto Rico. The story is fascinating as it looks at the affect racism has had on the family amongst other factors.

‘Speak to Me of Home’ is a multigenerational tale that explores the connection between three generations of the same family.
Rafaela who leaves Puerto Rico for the Midwest of America, where she experiences racism and begins to resent her husband for his lack of understanding.
Their daughter Ruth, desperate to fit in, who denies her maternal heritage and Daisy the granddaughter who returns to Puerto Rico much to the annoyance of her mother.
We follow each woman’s life and their individual struggle to adapt and find their own way even if it leads to rifts within the family.
The book moves back and forth between Puerto Rico and the Midwest of America as gradually each woman’s story is revealed
During a hurricane Daisy is hit by a car and critically injured, the family come together around her bedside and long buried secrets that explain some of the past come to light.
Jeanine Cummins is an outstanding storyteller and this book, with themes of belonging, heritage, identity and what is meant by home, is a joy to read and is sure to be a best seller.

Many thanks to NetGalley & Headline for an ARC