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A review by cgj13
We Are Not from Here by Jenny Torres Sanchez
5.0
A book has not wrecked me like that in a long while.
The fear and terror of survival in the main characters is palpable on every page. But also the hope that drives them.
The story is of 3 teens, told in alternating viewpoints of two of them, who grew up in Guatemala. In a place where violence is a common occurrence. Both Pequena and Pulga have planned for eventually fleeing to the United States but never put those plans in action, mostly due to the love for their families.
Until a series if events happens that truly make it life or death for them and Chico. And we follow them on their "stay here and die or die trying for a future" trek across Mexico on a series of trains called La Bestia "The Beast"
The book covers how this route used to be a route for migrants but it now seems its more for refugees. It seems like such a fine line between the two. The train series spanned over 1450 miles through Mexico, and then you would have to hire a "coyote" to guide you as you trek several days through the desert to finally cross the US border.
Along the way there are shelters and people who help. But there are also patrols, gangs, kidnappers. And also the risks of riding the train itself. It is not a romantic scene of rising the rails. Its perilous. First you have to get on the train, running and grabbing for the ladders. If you survive that without death or loosing any body parts ( which was a common occurrence) then you climb to the top of the train ans hold on the entire time. Exposed to the elements, the beating sun, wind, rain. You can't fall asleep, or you risk falling off. This book does not shy away from showing these dangers.
Its a journey that tears apart your body, both physically and mentally. I cant imagine what horrors happen in people lives that drive them to take on this journey in an effort for a better life. And when the reach the States, they endure more. Often being locked up in detention centers, where they might never get out. Families are separated. And so much worse.
Thank you Jenny Torres Sanchez for this story.
The fear and terror of survival in the main characters is palpable on every page. But also the hope that drives them.
The story is of 3 teens, told in alternating viewpoints of two of them, who grew up in Guatemala. In a place where violence is a common occurrence. Both Pequena and Pulga have planned for eventually fleeing to the United States but never put those plans in action, mostly due to the love for their families.
Until a series if events happens that truly make it life or death for them and Chico. And we follow them on their "stay here and die or die trying for a future" trek across Mexico on a series of trains called La Bestia "The Beast"
The book covers how this route used to be a route for migrants but it now seems its more for refugees. It seems like such a fine line between the two. The train series spanned over 1450 miles through Mexico, and then you would have to hire a "coyote" to guide you as you trek several days through the desert to finally cross the US border.
Along the way there are shelters and people who help. But there are also patrols, gangs, kidnappers. And also the risks of riding the train itself. It is not a romantic scene of rising the rails. Its perilous. First you have to get on the train, running and grabbing for the ladders. If you survive that without death or loosing any body parts ( which was a common occurrence) then you climb to the top of the train ans hold on the entire time. Exposed to the elements, the beating sun, wind, rain. You can't fall asleep, or you risk falling off. This book does not shy away from showing these dangers.
Its a journey that tears apart your body, both physically and mentally. I cant imagine what horrors happen in people lives that drive them to take on this journey in an effort for a better life. And when the reach the States, they endure more. Often being locked up in detention centers, where they might never get out. Families are separated. And so much worse.
Thank you Jenny Torres Sanchez for this story.