Mañana Means Heaven

September 1, 2013

In the hardscrabble tent camps of 1940s Northern California, a woman lives a small and confining life within an abusive marriage. She meets a man, a traveler who is thoughtful and intelligent, and after a few weeks together she begins to imagine a future with him. It's a familiar story of a woman with stars in her eyes and a man who won't be tied down, but what makes this novel exceptional is that the man is Jack Kerouac and the woman is Bea Franco, or "The Mexican Girl," a character in Kerouac's classic semiautobiographical novel On the Road. Debut novelist Hernandez dug deeply into the story of Jack and Bea's relationship, and the book is framed by myriad details of his search, both archival and personal. During Hernandez's true-life conversations with an elderly Bea, he is unable to gain a sense of her feelings about the past, which prompts him to ask questions regarding the interplay of memory, reality, and time. VERDICT There is a very thin line between fact and fiction in this thoroughly researched novel, which will likely be added to the book list for students of Kerouac's life and works.--Susanne Wells, Indianapolis

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2013
As Bea flees on a bus from her abusive bully of a husband, she meets a disarmingly handsome American named Jack. He is a single guy traveling from city to city, probably not much of an anomaly in the late 1940s when jobs were hard to come by. The pair shack up at a cheap hotel in L.A. and fantasize about a future that includes Bea retrieving her two kids from her angry husband. The story of Bea Francon'e Bea Renteria, aka Jack Kerouac's Mexican girl, or Terry, from his novel-cum-Beat-generation manifesto, On the Roadis a mesmeric tale born of Hernandez's passionate curiosity. Based on extensive research and investigation, part fact, mostly fiction, and years in the making, this novel will thrill the millions of readers who have read Kerouac's book and/or seen the movie adaptation. But no prior knowledge of Kerouac or his works is required: this is an entirely fascinating, stand-alone story in its own right. Read. Enjoy. Recommend.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)