Book Review: Citizenship: Notes on an American Myth by Daisy Hernandez-Immigration Studies

Hello, dear Readers,

Below is my book review of Citizenship: Notes on an American Myth by Daisy Hernandez.

Title: Citizenship

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Genre: Non-Fiction

Author: Daisy Hernandez

Publisher: Hogarth
Publication Date: February 17, 2026

Language: English

Hardcover: 304 Pages

Meet the Author: Daisy Hernandez

Buy Me: Amazon

Book Description

A provocative, personal, blazingly intelligent examination of one of the most vexing questions facing the United States today: Who is, and should be, a citizen?

“[A] fascinating, urgently needed new book.”—Chicago Tribune

“How did ‘Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free’ turn upside down to where we are today? Everyone needs to read this book, citizens and non-citizens alike. Brilliant!”—Sandra Cisneros

“The most comprehensive book on citizenship/immigration I’ve ever read. A must-read!”—Javier Zamora

“The book I have always wanted to read.”—Jose Antonio Vargas

“Personal, profound, engaging, and comprehensive . . . this is an essential book for these contentious times.”—Booklist (starred review)

In this one-of-a-kind book, Daisy Hernández fiercely interrogates one of the most complicated subjects of contemporary life and politics: citizenship. Braiding memoir, history, and cultural criticism, she exposes the truths and lies of how we define ourselves as a country and a people. Turning to her own family’s stories—her mother arrived from Colombia, while her father was a political refugee from Castro’s Cuba—Hernández shows how the very idea of citizenship is a myth, one of the stories we tell ourselves about the American soul and psyche.

Reframing our understanding of what it means to be an American, Citizenship is an urgent and necessary account of the laws, customs, and language we use to include and exclude, especially those who come from Latin America. With her scholar’s mind and memoirist’s gift for narrative, Hernández weaves a story both personal and national, while reckoning with our country’s ongoing debate about who belongs and providing fresh ways of thinking about citizenship. At once bracing, fearless, and tender, Citizenship is a powerful portrait of one family’s experiences in the borderlands of citizenship and an honest illumination of the country we live in.

My Thoughts

If you are lucky enough, you come across books like Citizenship, and I feel so fortunate right now.

I didn't want it to end. I was so immersed in the story, and I also felt validated about many things I had been thinking about regarding immigration and citizenship in general. Sometimes we question ourselves, and what we believe or how we see the things going on around us, and when you have is a book like Citizenship, when another person puts into words a well-researched, well-told story, it can be a pretty powerful tool for the rest of us who are trying to educate ourselves and understand. I loved how the author goes into the story putting her personal touch in a memoir sense, but also adding all the references, facts, and dates, without making it too technical, boring, or difficult to understand.

Thank you, Hogarth and NetGalley, for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. 

Wendy