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azuki_mom's review
5.0
“To leave is to die a little/ To arrive is never to arrive.”
This book was a very good introductory book to know about refugee children from Central America. I refuse to call them “undocumented alien” or “illegal immigrants” because I know calling them with these terms will victimize us, Americans instead of recognizing the true victims in the current situations.
It’s very short book and I hope everyone reads it to have better understanding about children whom the US government keeps in cages in the U.S....which is inhumane and reflects complete disregard of basic human rights.
This book was a very good introductory book to know about refugee children from Central America. I refuse to call them “undocumented alien” or “illegal immigrants” because I know calling them with these terms will victimize us, Americans instead of recognizing the true victims in the current situations.
It’s very short book and I hope everyone reads it to have better understanding about children whom the US government keeps in cages in the U.S....which is inhumane and reflects complete disregard of basic human rights.
paintchips1003's review
5.0
All of my people, who are allies, don't need to read this. We already know the horrors. It is a stark depiction of our worst fears for immigrants from Central America.
veeste's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.25
ridgewaygirl's review
5.0
This is an account of the time Valeria Luiselli spent serving as a translator for unaccompanied child asylum seekers in 2016. Moving between the history of why children are forced into taking a dangerous journey alone, one that, at best, ends with an uncertain welcome at the end of it, the facts about the migration and with the stories of the children Luiselli interviewed, this very short book is powerful and effective. Highly recommended. I'll be thinking about this one for some time.
When causes are discussed, the general consensus and underlying assumption seem to be that the origins are circumscribed to "sending" countries and their many local problems. No one suggests that the causes are deeply embedded in our shared hemispheric history and are therefore not some distant problem in a foreign country no one can locate on a map, but in fact a transnational problem that includes the United States--not as a distant observer or passive victim that must now deal with thousands of unwanted children arriving at the southern border, but rather as an active historical participant in the circumstances that generated that problem.
When causes are discussed, the general consensus and underlying assumption seem to be that the origins are circumscribed to "sending" countries and their many local problems. No one suggests that the causes are deeply embedded in our shared hemispheric history and are therefore not some distant problem in a foreign country no one can locate on a map, but in fact a transnational problem that includes the United States--not as a distant observer or passive victim that must now deal with thousands of unwanted children arriving at the southern border, but rather as an active historical participant in the circumstances that generated that problem.
chrisb0905's review
4.0
well written and thoughtful. opened my eyes more to a very current and urgent issue.
sujuv's review
4.0
A compact, intelligent exploration of the crisis of unaccompanied minors from Central America entering the US. The author and her niece volunteered as translators for these children so that their cases could progress and as she unfolds details about their lives and hers as a Mexican in the US in the process of getting her green card, she convincingly lays out why she believes that this crisis lies at the feet of the entire Western hemisphere, not just one country or one group. Well worth the short time it takes to read.