howartsy

"Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario,is non-fiction, a recounting about a teenager who leaves Honduras 9 times to suffer through many thwarted attempts by train, bus, river fording and walking to emigrate to the USA. He wants to find his mother who left him at 5 years old, to live and be loved by her. For years she has been continually trying to earn money to send back to Honduras so Enrique and his sister can have food and get an education. She feels that her actions show her love. The book is also about the plight of illegal emigrees from Central America in general; the terrible hardships they face coming to the USA,the physical dangers they suffer, and the psychological upsets that occur when reality confronts their dreams of "Mother love". I took this out of a Young Adult section in a local library for a 11 year old child. It was experienced by him as: "a book that other kids in his class would not be mature enough to read." Because of this I read it. I agree with him. This will, as it was for him, be an life changing "wake up" read for any child who is a sufficiently good reader to understand the book. Reading it is to expose oneself to poverty, to prostitution, the possibilities of losing limbs, understanding that some people have no bathrooms, only one meal of bread or beans or rice a day, and an absent Mother. Probably most American children that are able to read this book at 11 years of age are living in a house with at least one loving parent, sufficient food, a bedroom and bathroom, a TV & computer, and schooling that is taken for granted. No wonder this book would be a strong dose of a culture they know nothing about.

2022-10-29 03:28