La Línea by Ann Jaramillo

ISBN: 978-1596431546
Publisher: Roaring Book Press (2006)
144 p.

Reading Level: 8^th grade and up.

Summary:

Fifteen-year-old Miguel, who lives in Mexico, has been waiting for his father, who lives in the United States, to send for him for many years. Each time the voyage doesn’t work out, Miguel thinks it will never happen, but finally, on his birthday, he receives a letter saying that he should get ready to emigrate to the United States. Everyone says it’s easy. Jump aboard a train and cross the vast desert. Easy, except for not hearing back from family members and friends who get lost and die in the vast land between the United States and Mexico. Miguel’s plans are derailed when he finds out that his younger sister, Elena, has followed him. Together with friends they pick up on the way, they must persevere in order to reach their mother, father, and the sisters they’ve never met. Through all their trials and tribulations, they are unsure if the voyage is worth it, but they never stop believing in the “promised land” at the end of the road.

Critical Evaluation:

The mix of English and Spanish used to write this novel will surely draw in readers with Hispanic backgrounds and those who wish to improve their Spanish skills. The realistic portrayal of the path that Elena and Miguel must take to make a better life for themselves is hard and devastating. Their companion, Javi, is trying to get to his brother so that he can save up and send for his family. Even though he keeps getting caught and sent back, he courageously tries again and again to make something happen in order to provide for his loved ones. The raw imagery of what their trail looks like is captured in fine prose when they tragically get caught in a snowstorm, pass a mother and a child who are dehydrated and dead, and then lose Javi, all of which takes a toll on the hero. As Miguel thought, “I wanted to believe Elena was right. Javi left with a purpose, and left his water behind with a purpose . . . He knew we wouldn’t be able to follow him” (p. 118). Javi sacrificed himself to give the teens water when he knew he wouldn’t make it, even though he had family waiting for him at home. Readers of this book should come to empathize with the hardships that immigrants face as they try to make a life for themselves in the United States.

Reader’s Annotation:

Will Miguel and Elena get past the “mata gente” in order to reach their parents?

Will they survive the unforgiving land they must travel?

Author Biography:

Ann Jarmillo, lives in Salinas, California, and teaches English as a Second Language to Mexican-American seventh and eighth graders. This is her first book and, as is written on the back of the book jacket, she wrote this because of a conversation she had with one of her students.

After speaking to her students, Jarmillo learned that many were raised by grandparents while their parents voyaged to America in order to work and send home money and eventually send for their children. As a result, many of them ended up not knowing their parents for years of their lives. As Jarmillo says, "My students find very few books that reflect their lives and experiences. I was determined to write one that did." (Hult, 2006, p. 1). There are indeed too few books on the lives of Mexican immigrant children. Readers can only hope to expect more books from Jarmillo and others on this specific topic.

Genre: Multicultural Fiction & Adventure.

Curriculum Ties:

This book could be read in an ESL English class or in a regular English class. One activity students could engage in would be to design what Jarmillo calls a “Student Ambassador Program” which is a program that combines a native-born student with an immigrant student to help them with their adjustment to school. Some issues that the students would deal with is what the immigrants need to know, what would be helpful to know, and how to go about teaching this to their partners. Such mentoring would be invaluable on all educational levels.

Booktalking Ideas:

-What is your family heritage? Do you know anyone who has immigrated?
Was their story similar to this one?

-Discuss the stories told at Miguel’s going-away party.

-Discuss how Javi, Elena, and Miguel worked together on their voyage.

-Was the ending surprising?

Read-Alikes:

-Journey of the Sparrows by Fran Leeper Buss.

-A Step from Heaven by An Na.

-The Circuit: Stories From the Life of a Migrant Child by Francisco Jimenez

Challenge Issue:

Mexican Immigration is a big issue today with many activists and protesters on both sides. This novel serves to lend a voice to those on the immigrant side who are hoping for a better life for them and their families. What many go through to be able to find some sort of a life in the United States is a hard and heavy road. Too many Anglo-Saxons complain and protest the immigration of Mexicans, a point of view which I have never understood. After all, unless you are Native American, you, too, came from immigrant stock, since the first people who were here were certainly not Caucasians.

Reason to include in blog:

Because I live in California and there are so many Mexican immigrants who start school as an ESL student, I wanted to find a book that was for the most part in English, but that had Spanish sprinkled throughout. This title could also be aimed at reluctant readers. Not only does the story give Mexican-American immigrant children a chance to see their own story reflected in fiction, but it also gives their classmates an idea of what so many have gone through to be given a chance to live in the United States.

References:

Hult, B. (2006). La Línea Historical Fiction by Ann Jarmillo. Retrieved from

www.lesliepreddy.com/yhba/08-09/Middle/LaLinea-Hult.pdf

Jaramillo, Ann. (2008). La Linea. Paw Prints.