Thirteen-year-old Manuelito is a gentle boy who lives with his family in a tiny village in the Guatemalan countryside. But life is far from idyllic: PACsarmed civil patrolare a constant presence in the streets, and terrifying memories of the countrys war linger in the villagers collective conscience. Things deteriorate further when government-backed drug gangs arrive and take control of the village. Fearing their son will be forced to join a gang, Manuelitos parents make the desperate decision to send him to live with his aunt in America. With just a bus ticket and a small amount of cash in hand, Manuelito begins his hazardous journey to Mexico, then the U.S., in search of asylum. But in the end, dangers such as the crooked coyoteor human smugglerhis parents have entrusted their sons life to may be nothing compared to the risks Manuelito faces when he finally reaches America. Manuelitos titular character is just one of the staggering one hundred thousand children from the Northern Triangle of Central AmericaGuatemala, El Salvador, and Honduraswho have made this perilous journey to escape their war-torn countries. Many are now detained in Mexico, separated from their parents and without access to lawyers, facing the unthinkable prospect of being sent back to the homes and danger they risked so much to escape. Drawing on years of experience working with child refugees like Manuelito, Elisa Amados powerful story, illustrated with striking poignancy by Abraham Urias, brings to light the dire circumstances of so many children, so close to home.

 

 

This book is the winner of numerous awards

This book is aimed at children at US 7th grade+.

This book has been graded for interest at 12 years.

There are 104 pages in this book.

It is aimed at Young Adult readers. The term Young Adult (YA) is used for books which have the following characteristics: (1) aimed at ages 12-18 years, US grades 7-12, UK school years 8-15, (2) around 50-75k words long, (3) main character is aged 12-18 years, (4) topics include self-reflection, internal conflict vs external, analyzing life and its meaning, (5) point of view is often in the first person, and (6) swearing, violence, romance and sexuality are allowed.

This book was published in 2019 by Annick Press Ltd .

Elisa Amado was born in Guatemala and now lives in Toronto. Amado's other children's books include What Are You Doing? and Why Are You Doing That? Abraham Urias was born in El Salvador and immigrated to America during the civil war. He works as a designer at Warner Bros in Los Angeles.