"Recalls the works of John Steinbeck..." --Library Journal
"Michel Stone has written a stirring novel of love and courage under the most daunting of conditions.
The Iguana Tree is an impressive debut by a very talented author." -- Ron Rash, New York Times bestselling author
"Stone writes with care and compassion, with close attention to the ambiguities built into U.S. Policy toward undocumented workers from south of the border. Her story is powerful, its melancholy truths hard to ignore or forget." --C. Michael Curtis, fiction editor of The Atlantic
"Stone's palpable, skillful prose prevails as its principal achievement. With a precise rendering of place and character and a genuine, emotional poignancy,
The Iguana Tree is noteworthy storytelling." --Foreword Reviews
"
The Iguana Tree is a triumph--an enjoyable and informative story on an important topic. Ms. Stone has found a compelling realistic fiction voice and established herself as an author to watch." --NY Journal of Books
"Stone has done exceptional work in making real the struggles and despair, the resolute discipline and hope, driving the desire to find a better life while also illuminating unexpected connections of near-familial love among people of difference cultures who live and work together. A haunting tale of hope and heartbreak." --Kirkus Reviews
"In her marvelously perceptive and revelatory debut novel, Stone explores the raw, personal side of U.S. immigration policy--one far removed from the political rhetoric in which the issue is often ensconced. ... Stone turns a highly politicized subject into a deeply human predicament by homing in with piercing clarity on her characters inner struggles to create a hard-to-forget story of the devastation brought about by a simple wish for a better life." --Booklist
"A story told with tremendous grace. . . humanity courses through
The Iguana Tree. --The Atlanta Journal Constitution
"... tightly written and wildfire-paced plot... In an utterly unsentimental and non-exploitative manner, the author manages to dramatize a sensational topic in a way that seems utterly relatable and peculiarly normal." --The Texas Observer
"The Iguana Tree is poignant, powerful, graceful and witty, beautiful and brave. Like John Steinbeck's The Pearl, this novel is a gem." --Charleston Post and Courier
"...beautiful debut novel ... poignant and honest ... Well-written, expertly paced, and timely." --Publishers Weekly (starred)
Michel Stone has published more than a dozen stories and essays in journals, magazines, and books. Her work has appeared numerous times in the
Raleigh News & Observer's Emerging Southern Writers series. She is a 2011 recipient of the South Carolina Fiction Project Award. Raised on the South Carolina coast, Stone now lives in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
