Los Angeles Times Review of Books

“Hernandez combines his skills as a poet and some dogged research to imagine and re-create the couple’s (Bea Franco & Jack Kerouac) brief relationship with intimate and engrossing detail…a skillfully crafted novel that convincingly places us inside the California that was — and that makes us feel like voyeurs allowed a glimpse inside the inner workings of another novel that remains an American classic.”

Booklist

“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.”

Michelle Serros

Author of How to be a Chicana Role Model

“Not since The Bridges of Madison County has a love story been more forbidden and compelling. Bea Franco and Jack Kerouac’s fifteen day tryst, dependent on tequila, compromise and hope, has been held captive, nearly forgotten, for over 60  years. Only now are we fortunate to have a writer as gifted as T.Z. Hernandez tell it with such corazon and poignancy.”

Paul Maher Jr.

Author of Jack Kerouac’s American Journey

“Tim Z. Hernandez’s groundbreaking book has shed light on the near-mythical Mexican Girl of Jack Kerouac’s 1957 novel, On the Road. The story of the real-life Mexican Girl, Bea Franco, Mañana Means Heaven, is by turns tender and rewarding, offering a dazzling offshoot from the oft-explored road story that is Kerouac’s.”

Zyzzyva

“Hernandez’s portrayal offers a telling counterpoint to Kerouac’s rendering, reclaiming Franco’s agency and offering a depth and insight into her circumstances and the life of women like her who, both on the page and in everyday life, are too often consigned to anonymity.”

Susan Straight

Author of Take One Candle Light a Room

“There is no other novel like this in American publishing…this unknown story of a key literary female figure is the kind no one notices until written about by a lyrical and poetic voice such as Tim Z. Hernandez, who knows this landscape so well.”

Associated Press

“Hernandez’s intimate knowledge of life amid the agricultural fields of central California and his ability to conjure the thoughts and emotions of the young Bea Franco make for a graceful and melancholy tale.”

Alex Espinoza

author of Sons of El Rey

“Mañana Means Heaven provides an important counter-narrative to the establishment of the ‘Beat Generation’ writers.”