Visit Jen at Teach MentorTexts and Kellee and Ricki at UnleashingReaders to see what they've been reading, along with everyone else who link up. I'm still reading for the Cybils poetry, round one. I didn't post last week, but today will share some books of those I read that I enjoyed very much. They're about surviving, wishing a better life, kindness, empathy and celebrating, all important things to us, right?
A local drug gang threatens a 12-year-old boy and his 15-year-old cousin who are forced to flee their Guatemalan village and seek refuge in the United States. The Alphas murder his cousin Miguel for refusing to join, and Jaime Rivera receives an ultimatum: join the Alphas or else suffer the same fate. Ángela, Miguel’s older sister, also falls prey to the violent gang’s demands. There are horrors on this journey, and the first one to me is the fact that they must leave home, the only place and people they know. Diaz has kept some of the terrible scenes less vivid, perhaps for the middle grades, but imagining this journey taken by young kids is hard to do.
I liked that the story, told in third person, involves other kids met along the way, their stories and heartbreak, and mostly their kindnesses even while surviving. There are a few others at some "safe" houses, like a Padre in a broken-down church, a woman far into the desert who chooses to help, but most of the time there is hunger and thirst, and terror. Jaime's story is also deepened by his talent as an artist. His sketchbook, the valued possession, takes his thoughts back to family, to Miguel whom he feels is watching over them, and to making a little money in order to survive. Angela takes the role of mother or leader until she is injured, and then Jaime must take charge. Their changes through the trip mirror thoughts of children at first, but sadly one soon realizes they are growing up in order to survive and cross that border. An author's note about her own immigrant background, a glossary, and further resources add to the importance of this story.