I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: The stakes in this story could not possibly be higher. Two men, friends who have that certain connection that feels more like family, are set onto a collision course by the Large External Force that is Law.

You don't get more universal than that.

What makes this read stand out is the way it happens...the way Author Bardenwerper created it. He was Pat, he knows Pat's job...he knows what it means to be bound by Law to go against convictions you simply can't ignore. And, as is ever and always the case, no good deed goes unpunished.

Multiple times and in innumerable ways. There can only be so much good luck in the world, it seems, and some people burn through their tiny bit in no time at all. This story is about many of those people; this read is for those myriads of us who know, love, are those people. The decisions of people we'll never meet cost us precious resources, time or money or access. And we'll often never know how those souls are responsible for the landscape we are required to walk. And I think, as lessons I've been forced to learn myownself go, this one's the best one to revisit. As I read Pat's story, I felt so clearly the pitfalls, the disasters to come. The secret of the read is that I kept reading, kept my eyeballs on the page, as it unfolded. I cared about Galán, and Gabriela. I wanted them to be reunited, despite the many, many burdens that meant Galán would be shouldering. And Gabriela, well, we need our families, we need our people near us more when it's hardest for them to be there.

The main story here, though, is about the Wrongness of the World. It's so simple on a personal level...so very complicated as soon as higher authority gets hold of the narrative. It shows that Author Bardenwerper knows Pat's job...it shows that he's got the keys to a roman à clef in this novel. But most of all, it shows that he really, truly wrote from his heart, gave his full and complete self to creating this novel. It was a surprise to me to care this much about his characters. They weren't particularly well drawn, though that is not for want of trying. Whatever craft lacunae there are, are not there because the author is not working hard to fill them. It takes time and luck to fill out the weak spots in one's writing, and the world gives little of either to anyone.

Happily, Syracuse University Press has given Author Bardenwerper a leg up through their Veterans Writing Award, a program instituted to bring us the often-impossible-to-locate words of the actual people who do the hard, thankless work that being in the military requires. It is not a group of people we can afford to ignore. Our various military branches have many jobs, and some leave more traces behind than others. We're better able to learn about their world, and the world we all live in, now that this series exists.

This particular novel, Mona Passage, is a good way to enter that world and be present, be attentive, as its costs become prices paid by real people. ( )

I got an early copy of this from @bookishfirst and @syracuseupress for an early copy of this, I thought this was really interesting with a really exciting ending!

Synopsis: A friendship between Galan, a Cuban emigrant in Puerto Rico, and Pat, a Coast Guard officer, comes to a head when Galan desperately needs to get his sister to join him in Puerto Rico.

I wasn't sure about this at first. It was fine, but nothing amazing, and I thought a lot of it was rather predictable. I also thought the way the flashbacks (which came up frequently in the first half or so) were handled in a kind of clunky way.

But the last 100 pages are really exciting, and I got so much more into it! There were some side stories that seemed unnecessary at first, but ended up mattering so much by the end. The whole book ended up having some strong messages on family, loyalty, and honor.

I plan to look for thoughts by Cuban reviewers. The author is a former Coastie, so obviously has good background for Pat's perspective, but I'm very curious about how #ownvoice reviewers interpreted Galan's perspective. But I definitely enjoyed this! ( )

Mona Passage is about two neighbors in San Juan, Puerto Rico who strike up a good friendship. Galan Betances is a Cuban immigrant whose sister and mother were left behind in Cuba when he and his father sailed on a rickety raft to Florida. Pat McAllister is an officer in the Coast Guard, trusted with catching drug traffickers and intercepting migrants before they reach the shores of Puerto Rico.
When Galan's mother dies, he learns that his sister, who is mentally handicapped, is going to be sent to a mental health facility in Cuba. He learns that his only option to bring her to the US is by paying some unsavory criminals to smuggle her in by boat from the Dominican Republic. Pat wants Galan to reunite with his sister but faces a conflict between helping his friend and meeting his professional obligations.
I learned a lot about the arduous and dangerous journey migrants and refugees make to reach American shores and how desperate they must be to take such risks. I appreciated seeing border enforcement through the eyes of a Coast Guard officer. Members of the Coast Guard are put in some very distressing situations in terms of the human anguish they witness and how they must repeatedly put duty before compassion. Mona Passage provides a window into the complex immigration issue, so relevant right now. A good debut from a veteran Coast Guard officer. ( )

From the opening map showing Cuba gazing up to the Florida Keys. then facing east toward Haiti and the Dominican Republic, then finally across the MONA PASSAGE to tiny Puerto Rico, the author draws readers into a compelling tale.

Galen and his father, Gustavo, endure a horrific departure from their family in Cuba and for a life in The Florida Keys. After his father's death, Galen moves to Puerto Rico where he opens a small and successful diner. For some reason, he waits twenty years to return to see his mother, now deceased, and his sister.

He and Pat, a young Coast Guard officer who regularly patrols the Mona Passage, become so close that Galen asks him for a smuggling favor of information for his disabled sister still in Cuba. Galen does not handle the information well and so endangers both the career and future decent life of his friend.

That was the only part of the lengthy story that felt contrived.
How Pat can take this so lightly and why he thinks Galen will now ever be happy is a real mystery., ( )