This is a true story about a teenager, Enrique, who leaves his home in Honduras to find his mother in the United States. His mother had left him and his older sister when they were 5 and 7 years old respectively. He was left with his biological father & grandmother; his sister, Belky, was left with her aunt. His mother left because they were all starving. She saved up money to pay a smuggler to get her to the US illegally. She was abandoned by the smuggler as soon as she arrived in the US however, so her life was not an easy one. She left Honduras so that she could find a job to send money back home so that her children would have more than she did. She kept telling Enrique that they would be together again "soon", but she never returns to Honduras. So, by the time he was 16 years old, he had spent years feeling abandoned by his mother. His dad didn't really care for him, so he bounced around, spending most of his childhood with his grandmother. He got involved with drugs, alcohol and sniffing glue. He had a girlfriend, Maria Isabel, who was pregnant when Enrique decided to follow his mother to the US.
This book was extremely informative. I had no idea that so many parents, mostly mothers, left their families to find employment in the US so they could send money back home. Often times it was the grandmothers that raised these children. They also survived on the money sent home from their daughters. Enrique attempted to reach the US 8 different times - only being successful the 8th time. It was super dangerous because leaving Honduras meant they had to travel all the way through Mexico, just to get to the Rio Grande. Then they had to find a way to cross the Rio Grande without being caught. These kids were beaten, raped, robbed, killed. They traveled by hopping on trains and riding on the top of them. They had nothing and had to find food along the way. Once they are caught, they are deported back to Honduras. Enrique was caught and deported 7 times - and just kept trying. Enrique believed that finding his mother would solve all his problems.
As educational as this book was for me (the author did years of research, including first hand experience) while writing this book, I found myself getting really frustrated at the level of hypocrisy shown by Enrique! I just couldn't seem to work through it, even though I know he was emotionally damaged by his mother leaving him. When he finally reaches his mother in the US, he treats her horribly after their "honeymoon period" of being together again is over. He goes back to alcohol and drugs. AND not only does he leave his pregnant girlfriend back in Honduras, he tries to convince her to leave their baby daughter in Honduras with her mother so that she can come to him in the US. WHAT??
This is not a heartwarming story. It's a story of perseverance. It's a story of hardship. It's a story of endurance. It's a story of resilience. I am impressed that the author spent the time and effort to literally retrace Enrique's journey from Honduras to the United States. Very, very brave.
Wendy's Rating: ****
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