All the Wind in the World is a touching, dystopian(ish), magical realism (ish) novel about two main characters – Sarah Jac and James. The two of them have been working fields for years now harvesting the plant used to make tequila, trying to save up some money. They run from the last farm where they worked, only to come to another one, and while there, Sarah Jac makes a mistake that could cause them to be killed, so they jump on a train and run – to another farm.
Sarah Jac and James are in love with each other, but they dare not let anyone know. Not after what they’ve seen happen to other couples who work the fields. So they tell everyone they are cousins, and do what they can to keep their love a secret while working to earn money to get away from all that, someone beautiful and happy, somewhere that will allow them to live together, wrapped in their love for one another, without ever having to stand out in a hot sun and work in a field ever again.
As they go about their days, trying to make things livable for themselves for the time, new obstacles arise -Sarah Jac is told that instead of doing the harvesting, she will be giving riding lessons to the daughter of the owner of the farm. At first, she doesn’t want to, but when she realizes that if she takes the job, it will mean less farming time and maybe even spending more time with James (who is looking into trying to get a job inside the house as well), she decides it might not be so bad.
However, when James starts spending more time with the sickly daughter of the owner, Sarah Jac is left to fend for herself…and it makes her wish they had decided not to keep their love a secret.
Filled with beautiful desert descriptions, full-bodied characters, and a complex sense of what is right and wrong in this world make for a wonderful (and unusual) story.
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