Middle Grade Review: The Only Road, by Alexandra Diaz

 

Title: The Only Road
Author: Alexandra Diaz
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2016. 308 pages
Source: Library

Publisher's Summary:

Jaime is sitting on his bed drawing when he hears a scream. Instantly, he knows: Miguel, his cousin and best friend, is dead.

Everyone in Jaime’s small town in Guatemala knows someone who has been killed by the Alphas, a powerful gang that’s known for violence and drug trafficking. Anyone who refuses to work for them is hurt or killed—like Miguel. With Miguel gone, Jaime fears that he is next. There’s only one choice: accompanied by his cousin Ángela, Jaime must flee his home to live with his older brother in New Mexico.

Inspired by true events, The Only Road is an individual story of a boy who feels that leaving his home and risking everything is his only chance for a better life.  


My Review:  The events that inspired this book, as suggested in the blurb, aren't necessarily the travels of one specific child, but of far, far too many children. These children are coming alone over long distances and at great risk, in hopes of finding a chance for life in the US. And therein lies both the strength and the weakness of the book. 

At times, I felt as though the author was working too hard to make clear the hardships and dangers of the route north. Clearly, she has the intention of engendering sympathy for the people who make the trip--and maybe of reminding comfortable American readers that people don't take that decision lightly. This led to some aspects of the story feeling a little contrived, as we are carefully shown each danger along the way. 

Those dangers are completely real, though, and in fact, the most unreal part of the story may be that Jaime and Ángela make it north safely, and with comparative ease. I am assuming that's no spoiler; this being a children's book we can expect that much. The author keeps the reality of the dangers at one very narrow remove, as the characters witness others along the way succumbing to thirst, violence, and la migra.  The question for me isn't if the book does a good job of conveying an important message: it does. The only remaining question is if it is an engaging read, and I found it so, despite occasional bits that felt like the author was trying too hard to win our sympathy. Just so she knows: she got it. And she created a couple of characters that I definitely cared about and rooted for.

My Recommendation:
This is a good read for older children (there is enough violence and hints at the sexual violence faced by girls and women in some places that it's not suitable for young children). But maybe it's more important for adults to read it, in today's political climate. I'll recommend it especially for anyone who thinks that people make the decision lightly to come to the US without documentation.

FTC Disclosure: I checked The Only Road out of my library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."  

R is for Mount Rainier (YA Review: The Honest Truth)

Title:The Honest Truth
Author: Dan Gemeinhart
Publisher: Scholastic Press, 2015. 229 pages.  Young Adult (?)
Source: Library

Summary:
Mark is sick, really sick, and he has just one thing he feels like he has to do. He wants to climb Mt. Rainier, if he dies trying. So he runs away to do it, taking only the bare essentials and his dog.


Review:
This book caught my eye while I was shelving at the library, first because of the cover, and then the blurb, because I'm from the Northwest and Mt. Rainier is even still (after nearly 30 years), "The Mountain."

The title is good, because this mostly first-person narrative doesn't pull any punches. Cancer sucks, and Mark isn't under any illusions about that, or his long-term chances, and he tell us what he's feeling. I don't know if the author meant it that way, but when I read the list of supplies Mark is carrying to the Mountain, I really did feel like it was deliberately a suicide journey, though it might have been more about him not having any experience (not sure if the author does, either, because it's not always clear if he sees the gaps either).

This book falls squarely into the "kids with cancer" genre which seems popular these days, and doesn't lack any of the emotional force--or manipulation--of that story line. But it was a good read, and had a few elements I really liked. For one, Mark writes his journal--and notes to his best friend--in haiku. He's a little obsessive about it, but it is a nice touch, and maybe symbolic, too, given that he must also live his life inside some very strict parameters.

It is also, of course, a rather literal "journey of self-discovery," and I think works very well at that. The Mark of the final chapter is not--exactly--the Mark of the first chapter.

Recommendation:
I'm not sure why our library put this in Young Adult. It didn't seem to be to deal with any harder issues than a lot of books in the Juvvy section, and there is no sex or sexual innuendo. Only a lot of anger and sadness. The age of the protagonist is never made clear (that I caught--though there is some backstory that would allow me to figure it out, I think). I would say The Honest Truth is suitable for  kids from maybe 11 or 12 up. The reading level isn't hard, but the subject matter (in particular the sense that the narrator has given up--though that is redeemed, too) might be too heartbreaking for the littler kids (so on reflection maybe that's why YA, since if it's in Juvvy it's apt to be picked up by kids as young as 8).

Full Disclosure: I checked The Honest Truth out of my library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher in exchange for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."


And here's Mark's mountain, on a better day than when he visited!

This is the opposite side from where Mark went.