Lost Children ArchiveLost Children Archive
Score Modern
What it's about
An artist couple set out with their two children on a summer road trip from New York to Arizona. As a fracture grows between the parents, the children try to make sense of their family's crisis and the larger one in the news: thousands of kids trying to cross the border.
Why it's worth reading
It was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and was longlisted for the Booker Prize.
You'll love it if you liked
Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions
The Story of My Teeth
The SympathizerGood to know
It weaves in songs, maps and Polaroids.
By the numbers
- Readers19 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics37 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller11 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz10 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #297 of the 325 literary novels we rank
- #1423 of the 1,647 modern books we rank
- #2682 of the 3,056 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Moving
More by Valeria Luiselli
Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in Forty QuestionsThe Story of My TeethIf you like this, read next
All the Light We Cannot See
Americanah
A Little Life
Pachinko
The Help
The Kite RunnerExplore the best-of lists
All 47 best-of lists →
Literary novelsTop 25 · 325 ranked
Modern booksTop 25 · 1,647 ranked
Books of the 2010sTop 25 · 751 ranked
Fantasy booksTop 25 · 504 ranked
Mysteries and thrillersTop 25 · 623 ranked
Pulitzer Prize-winning novelsTop 25 · 63 ranked
Memoirs and biographiesTop 25 · 290 ranked
Science fiction booksTop 25 · 333 rankedQuick answers
Is Lost Children Archive worth reading?
Yes. It was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and was longlisted for the Booker Prize. It ranks #2,682 of the 3,056 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 58.4 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Lost Children Archive about?
An artist couple set out with their two children on a summer road trip from New York to Arizona. As a fracture grows between the parents, the children try to make sense of their family's crisis and the larger one in the news: thousands of kids trying to cross the border.
How long does it take to read Lost Children Archive?
About 10 hours (385 pages), or about 3 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after Lost Children Archive?
If you liked it, try Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions by Valeria Luiselli, The Story of My Teeth by Valeria Luiselli or The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen.