Illegal

Fourteen-year-old Nora clings to the hope that her father will return from America, where he's raising money for their family, in time for her quincea%C3%B1era. But when he stops corresponding with them, Nora and her mother decide to go to Texas to find him. Restrepo starkly highlights the family's dire circumstances%E2%80%94their farm is ailing, and they have no means to survive%E2%80%94that spur their decision to leave Nora's grandmother behind and take the dangerous journey across the border, crouched in back of a mango truck. Though Nora is hopeful%E2%80%94"Why would so many people come this way if it weren't worth the risk?"%E2%80%94their trials don't end once they arrive in the United States. In her first novel, picture book author Restrepo (Moose and Magpie) conveys Nora and her mother's day-to-day struggles in Texas as they commission fake papers, search for employment (and for Nora's father), and fight to maintain dignity while keeping their illegal status hidden. Though a subplot involving the missing niece of Nora's employers (most likely the victim of violence) feels extraneous, it serves to further demonstrate the dehumanization, dangers, and sobering limitations that illegal immigrants face today. Ages 12%E2%80%93up. (Mar.)