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4.21 AVERAGE
4.21 AVERAGE
Digital audiobook performed by Ramon de Ocampo.
5***** and a ❤
Twelve-year-old Jaime and his fifteen-year-old cousin, Angela, are forced to flee their Guatemalan village due to the Alpha gang’s terrorizing families in their area. Their families make the heart-wrenching decision to send the youngsters to America to live with Jaime’s older brother after Angela’s brother is killed by the gang for refusing to join. The novel details their harrowing journey through Mexico, where they encounter other gangs, as well as officials who do not want the refugees in their country.
It’s a powerful story and very well told. I loved these characters! The dangers they face include robbery, beatings, incarceration, hunger, lack of shelter, and various threats from both fellow refugees and local inhabitants they encounter on this 1,500-mile long journey. Having little more than a small bag of provisions, a sewing kit, some money sewn into the seams of their clothes, a crude map with some information on safe houses along the way, and Jaime’s sketchbook, they find in themselves courage, inventiveness, tenacity and compassion. A few of their fellow refugees have made the attempt before and they learn quickly from them a few tricks to be able to pass as Mexicans. Other fellow refugees turn out to be almost as dangerous as the gangs that control various territories they pass through. Despite the many dangers they face, they cling to hope and to the telephone number they’ve memorized – so they can call Jaime’s older brother if / when they make it across the border to the USA.
Because this is for the young adult market the book is probably less horrific that the realities, though it still alludes to the many dangers such refuges face. Threats of injury, dismemberment or death when boarding a moving train, for example. The possibility of assault and rape from gangs that “patrol” the tracks. The lack of food, water or shelter as they make their way through a desert landscape.
Ramon de Ocampo does a marvelous job of narrating the audiobook. He sets a good pace and gives the young characters reasonably “young” voices. Diaz includes a number of Spanish words / phrases in the text (there is a glossary / dictionary at the back), and Ocampo’s pronunciation of Spanish is spot on. (Though I can’t really speak to whether he sounds Guatemalan vs Mexican.)
5***** and a ❤
Twelve-year-old Jaime and his fifteen-year-old cousin, Angela, are forced to flee their Guatemalan village due to the Alpha gang’s terrorizing families in their area. Their families make the heart-wrenching decision to send the youngsters to America to live with Jaime’s older brother after Angela’s brother is killed by the gang for refusing to join. The novel details their harrowing journey through Mexico, where they encounter other gangs, as well as officials who do not want the refugees in their country.
It’s a powerful story and very well told. I loved these characters! The dangers they face include robbery, beatings, incarceration, hunger, lack of shelter, and various threats from both fellow refugees and local inhabitants they encounter on this 1,500-mile long journey. Having little more than a small bag of provisions, a sewing kit, some money sewn into the seams of their clothes, a crude map with some information on safe houses along the way, and Jaime’s sketchbook, they find in themselves courage, inventiveness, tenacity and compassion. A few of their fellow refugees have made the attempt before and they learn quickly from them a few tricks to be able to pass as Mexicans. Other fellow refugees turn out to be almost as dangerous as the gangs that control various territories they pass through. Despite the many dangers they face, they cling to hope and to the telephone number they’ve memorized – so they can call Jaime’s older brother if / when they make it across the border to the USA.
Because this is for the young adult market the book is probably less horrific that the realities, though it still alludes to the many dangers such refuges face. Threats of injury, dismemberment or death when boarding a moving train, for example. The possibility of assault and rape from gangs that “patrol” the tracks. The lack of food, water or shelter as they make their way through a desert landscape.
Ramon de Ocampo does a marvelous job of narrating the audiobook. He sets a good pace and gives the young characters reasonably “young” voices. Diaz includes a number of Spanish words / phrases in the text (there is a glossary / dictionary at the back), and Ocampo’s pronunciation of Spanish is spot on. (Though I can’t really speak to whether he sounds Guatemalan vs Mexican.)
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Fue una historia muy real que todavía muchos migrantes viven.
Pre-reading this one for J's 8th grade year. The subject matter (kids coming on their own from Guatemala into the US to escape gang violence) will be very personal and difficult for her but I think the book handles it in a good way by focusing on the support the kids and other travelers give each other.
Over the last decade or so, there have been a rising number of children crossing the southern border without their parents, particularly from Central American countries, often fleeing gang violence. Here Jaime and his 15-year-old cousin Angela leave Guatemala before being pressed into gang service after the local gang murders Angela's younger brother/Jaime's cousin. Their hope is to be reunited with Jaime's older brother who is already in the United States. Like all good middle grade authors, Diaz does a really good job of getting across the horrors of their journey and the heartbreak of leaving everything they know, including their parents, behind while keeping it at a level that I think most middle grade readers will be able to handle. Honestly, I'd like to make a lot of adults read this book. Parents must be so incredibly scared and desperate to ask their children to do something like this. There's a glossary at the end of the book that defines every Spanish word/phrase that appears in the story, and there's a good list of further reader that includes picture books, middle grade books, young adult books, and grown up stuff.
After Jaime’s cousin and best friend, Miguel, is murdered by The Alphas, an infamous gang in Guatemala, for refusing to join them, the Alphas recruit Jaime and his cousin, Angela, to join next. Jaime and Angela have two choices: join the Alphas or escape to the United States to live with Jaime’s brother in New Mexico. They decide that their best chance of living the life they want is to cross the border illegally to the US. Their families gather all the money they can and sew it in Jaime’s waistband, and the two bid their families farewell in the middle of the night, praying that it’s not the last time they see each other.
This was a really powerful perspective that I’ve never read or heard before. It’s hard to believe that so many immigrants are faced with the impossible choice of leaving their families or being killed in their own home countries. I had no idea that some of the obstacles Jaime and Angela faced were so common. I loved that this novel was close to home for the author, and I think it’s an important story about hope, family, and perseverance.
This was a really powerful perspective that I’ve never read or heard before. It’s hard to believe that so many immigrants are faced with the impossible choice of leaving their families or being killed in their own home countries. I had no idea that some of the obstacles Jaime and Angela faced were so common. I loved that this novel was close to home for the author, and I think it’s an important story about hope, family, and perseverance.
I give this book a 3.5, but rounded up my stars since it is an important topic. It has a very suspenseful plot. I just wish there was some more character development, as well as some more detail in parts.
This book was hard to read, given that it is the story of so many who try to escape from the terrible circumstances of their homes and attempt to make the dangerous and often deadly trip north to the US. It was especially difficult to consider that these were children doing this on their own, relying mostly upon their own instincts, intelligence and luck to keep them alive and moving forward. It was stressful enough to simply read about such precarious circumstances, and yet to think that this is the reality of these refugees is hard to comprehend. Diaz does well with showing the stark truth of the situation and balancing despair with hope throughout. Jaime and Ángela, as well as the friends they meet along the way, are characters you desperately want to succeed.
So good. Following our sweet 12 year old protagonist and his 15 year old cousin, this book draws a clear picture of the horrors facing unaccompanied Central American youth making their way to the US, yet the depiction of actual violence stays at enough of a remove that the book is never totally grim. Strong portrayal of resilience and community togetherness.