“Barrios Veléz offers a heartfelt and deeply personal debut novel… The Waves Take You Home is a beautiful homage to the values, traditions, and way of life of a small town and its families in Colombia.” –Booklist

“Foodies will delight in the mouthwatering details of paella, pineapple upside-down rum cake, caramel flan, and sweet red wine in a charming novel.” – Library Journal

“This debut novel is immersive, deeply descriptive, and entirely transportive…if you want hope and self-empowerment in the face of familial pressure to revive a crumbling family restaurant (including from the ghost of your late grandmother), this one will feel like a gasp followed by a hug. It’s an ode to choosing yourself, honoring who came before you, and glorious, healing food. For fans of Vida and Gabriel Garcia Marquez.” – Chicago Review of Books

In this heartfelt story about how the places we run from hold the answers to our deepest challenges, the death of her grandmother brings a young woman home. There she must face the past in order to become the heir of not just the family restaurant, but her own destiny.

Ten years after she immigrated to the United States, twenty-eight-year-old Violeta Sanoguera goes home to Barranquilla, Colombia at the news of her grandmother’s death. Her grandmother was the one who insisted Violeta leave in the first place – to escape a love she didn’t approve, to avoid making the same mistakes she did, and to pursue a better life. But now Violeta learns she’s inherited Caminito, their failing family restaurant.

Violeta resolves to honor these final wishes and stay—long enough, at least, to save Caminito. Accompanied at all times by the ghost of her grandmother who reminds her of the choices she’s made and the ones that lie ahead, Violeta embarks on a journey that leads her to rediscover her home, her mother and grandmother, and the flame of an old love. She tastes food and experiences sensations not felt in years and uncovers deeply kept family secrets written in the pages of her grandmother’s journal and begins to question everything.

THE WAVES TAKE YOU HOME is a novel from an exciting new voice that sheds light on how our ancestors shape our lives, food as memory, and facing the past in order to build a life that’s truly your own. A novel that will dare you to choose boldly, all while making you crave a slice of pineapple rum-upside down cake or a steaming plate of paella.

Here’s the outstanding list of bloggers who will post reviews, features, and giveaways as part of our virtual tour. We hope you will follow along:

Monday, March 18 – We Love Big Books And We Cannot Lie

Tuesday, March 19 – Kera’s Always Reading

Wednesday, March 20 – Tomes and Textiles

Thursday, March 21 – We Break For Books

Friday, March 22 – Reading with Nicole

Saturday, March 23 – Books Arevida

Saturday, March 23 – What Is That Book About

Sunday, March 24 – Joyful Reader

Monday, March 25 – Steph on a Shelf

Tuesday, March 26 – Mel’s Shelf

Wednesday, March 27 – Love My Books 2020

Thursday, March 28 – Lilacs and Literature

Friday, March 29 – Purrfect Pages

Monday, April 1 – Mabel Journals

Tuesday, April 2 – Lauren’s Book Vibes

Wednesday, April 3 – Secret Reading Life

Thursday, April 4 – Totahly Booked

Friday, April 5 – Well Read Traveler

Saturday, April 6 – This Browne Girl Reads

Sunday, April 7 – Marisol Reads Books

Monday, April 8 – Books on my Mind

Tuesday, April 9 – Bookphile Belle

Wednesday, April 10 – Linda’s Book Obsession

Thursday, April 11 – Gloriana Wong

Thursday, April 11 – Read Review Coffee

Friday, April 12 – Lexijava

Sunday, April 14 – Pretty Little Bookshelf

Monday, April 15 – Danish Mustard Reads

Tuesday, April 16 – Dive Into A Good Book