We Are Not From Here by Jenny Torres Sanchez

Synopsis:

A ripped-from-the-headlines novel of desperation, escape, and survival across the U.S.-Mexico border.

Pulga, Chico, and Pequeña have no false illusions about the town they've grown up in and the dangers that surround them. Though their families--both biological and found--create a warm community for them, threats lurk around every corner. And when those threats become all too real, the three teens know they have no choice but to run: for the border, for the hope of freedom, and for their very lives.

Crossing from Guatemala through Mexico with their eyes on the U.S. border, they follow the route of La Bestia, a system of trains that promise the hope of freedom--if they are lucky enough to survive the harrowing journey. With nothing but the bags on their backs and the desperation that courses through their very veins, Pulga, Chico, and Pequeña know that there's no turning back, dangerous though the road ahead might be. In this story inspired by real--and current--events, the plight at our southern border is brought to life.

I loved this book so much. It kept me up at night. I worried about Pulga, Pequeña and Chico while in Guatemala and while on their journey through Mexico, on La Bestia to the US. I cried with them. I screamed with them. My heart broke into a million pieces for them. It wasn't the perfect happy ending I wanted, how could it be? This happens in real life and there is never a perfect happy ending. Life is hard and scary and unfair. Even now as I write this review, my heart hurts for them. It hurts because I know that this is what people, young children have to go through everyday to get to a safer life. They risk their life for a better life. I feel like everyone should read this. Such a powerful, eye-opening read.

Painting depicting figures sitting atop a yellow block representing a train

(USC Photo/Gus Ruelas)

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