Horn Book
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Miguel and his sister attempt to cross the Mexican border illegally to rejoin their parents, who made the trip to the United States many years earlier. Facing horrible indignity and possible death on their journey, the resilient children also encounter generosity. Jaramillo's first novel is convincing and effective. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

A Mexican teen risks everything to emigrate illegally to the U.S. to join his family and find a new life. Biding his time for six years in a backwater Mexican village, Miguel, his younger sister Elena and his grandmother survive on money his parents send monthly from California. Miguel is convinced his future also lies across la l"nea in California. On Miguel's 15th birthday, his father finally sends money and instructions for Miguel to head north. But Miguel's careful plans disintegrate when he discovers Elena has followed him. After their bus is diverted south and their money stolen, they are on their own and their only option is to steal a ride on the infamous mata gente, a freight train heading north known as the "people killer." If they survive the ride, they still face a two-day desert trek across the U.S. border. Despite their brother-sister antipathy, Miguel and Elena stick together, escaping one danger after another to cross the border and discover what lies on the other side. A nail-biting real-life adventure. (author's note) (Fiction. 12+) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Gr. 5-8. When Miguel, 15, leaves San Jacinto, Mexico, to join his parents in California, his sister, Elena, 13, secretly follows him. Together with their guides they barely survive a harrowing journey through the desert and across la linea, the border. A gripping contemporary survival adventure, this spare first novel is also a heart-wrenching family story of courage, betrayal, and love. The harsh facts of the border crossing are immediate--the horrors of dehydration, the soldiers' violence, corruption, and the migrants' terrifying, often disastrous attempts to hop the trains. Miguel's first-person narrative tells it without romanticism. The young people are brave, but they are angry at each other and at their parents, who left them seven years before. They do make it, but always there is the reality of those who do not. Jaramillo teaches migrant kids in California, and in her final notes, she says her story is fiction, but it is based on real events. Spanish is a natural part of the text; there is no glossary, and no need for one. Add this to the list of books in the Core Collection: The New Immigration Story in the August 2005 issue of Booklist. --Hazel Rochman Copyright 2006 Booklist

School Library Journal
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Gr 5 Up-Six years ago, Miguel and Elena's mother and father left Mexico and crossed la l'nea into California. On the morning of Miguel's 15th birthday, he receives a note from his father telling him that it is time for him to join them. Miguel is sad to leave his grandmother and sister behind, but is excited about being reunited with his parents. Unbeknownst to Miguel, Elena, 13, disguises herself and joins him on the difficult journey. They are robbed, threatened, and almost perish in a desperate trek across the desert. The pacing of the plot is quick and driven, and the characters are realistically drawn. They interact as true siblings do, sometimes with love and sometimes not. Cultural and geographical background information is expertly woven into the novel. The author creates a mood of desperation and anxiety as the story unfolds and Miguel and Elena discover that crossing la l'nea will forever change the way they look at themselves and the world. Although the epilogue illuminates their lives as adults, the novel ends abruptly, leaving readers without the anticipated emotional release of their reunion with their parents.-Melissa Christy Buron, Epps Island Elementary, Houston, TX (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.