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“Marisol
holds the picture against her chest. She looks out the window of the bus that
is taking her away from everything and everyone she knows. Through tears veiling
her eyes, she stares at her grandmother and her tía Filomena, who are still
crying and waving at her from the street.”
She is on
the long journey from Mexico
to Fort Worth, Texas, to be reunited with the parents she
has not seen in years. She has spent ten of her almost thirteen years living with
her grandmother, and Marisol would just as soon continue living with her family
in Mexico.
Instead,
Marisol finds herself living with strangers: a mother and father she barely
remembers and certainly doesn’t know, and a younger brother who resents her
intrusion in their lives.
Adjusting to a
new life isn’t easy. Aside from the difficulties in learning English, making
new friends and dealing with her brother’s jealousy, Marisol must come to terms
with feelings of rejection and self-worth. How could her parents have left her
in Mexico while making a new
life for themselves in the United
States? And why was her brother Eddy allowed
to stay with them?
This
intriguing novel for young adults explores an all-too-common contemporary issue—children
separated from their parents, who are searching for better lives and more
opportunities.
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