We Are Not From Here

 By: Janny Torres Sanchez

Location: FIC SAN

Genre: Young Adult, Social Justice

I feel like I've been saying this for a lot of books, BUT 2020 is really coming through this year with the books. I was completely and totally heartbroken by this book, but I can't emphasize how important it is

A ripped-from-the-headlines novel of desperation, escape, and survival across the U.S.-Mexico border.

Pulga, Chico, and Pequeña have no false illusions about the town they've grown up in and the dangers that surround them. Though their families--both biological and found--create a warm community for them, threats lurk around every corner. And when those threats become all too real, the three teens know they have no choice but to run: for the border, for the hope of freedom, and for their very lives.

Crossing from Guatemala through Mexico with their eyes on the U.S. border, they follow the route of La Bestia, a system of trains that promise the hope of freedom--if they are lucky enough to survive the harrowing journey. With nothing but the bags on their backs and the desperation that courses through their very veins, Pulga, Chico, and Pequeña know that there's no turning back, dangerous though the road ahead might be.

In this story inspired by real--and current--events, the plight at our southern border is brought to life

"There is also a discussion of how these children are treated once they make it into US borders. The recklessness and disgusting behavior that we see in our daily headlines about immigrant children being kept in horrendous situations like cages isn't glossed over in this book. To have made such a perilous journey to escape the abuses of your own country to then be abused by another country broke my spirit. I hope that in reading this book more people become aware of the dire situations that are being faced by immigrant children and how it's imperative that we develop a more humane method of helping those that are seeking asylum. I think for a lot of people in the United States it's easy to ignore issues that aren't directly affecting you; however, I couldn't imagine my child or any child going through what these characters went through and yet I know it happens. This is probably one of the saddest books that I have read in my lifetime and I hope that more people pick it up and share a willingness to learn more about the experiences of others. "

 By Bookishrealm on Goodreads.