Efren lives with his mom, dad, and little twin sister and brother in a small studio apartment. Sometimes he feels embarrassed that his family has so little while others have so much more. Then one day his mother doesn't come home from work. Her factory was raided by ICE and she was deported. Suddenly Efren realizes, all too painfully, how much he had and how much he has lost. Now he and his father must push themselves to the limit to take care of Efren's little siblings and try to find a way to get enough money to hire a coyote to get Efren's mother back home.
This is a book that is receiving a lot of starred reviews this year. It is well written and Cisneros doesn't pull any punches. The book is obviously motivated by current political issues, and it is not unbiased. There is no discussion about the fact that Efren's parents have, in fact, been breaking the law for 11 years by working and living in the United States without permission. But it is honest in portraying how a 11 year old boy would feel about a beloved parent being treated like a criminal and the troubles it would cause a family to have one of the parents deported. I think it is a good choice to help kids feel empathetic with the whole question of immigration, but I think a wise parent/teacher, would add a little balance by discussing why a Government might put immigration laws into affect. (2020, 263 p.)
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