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    The Only Road
    The Only Road
    The Only Road
    Audiobook6 hours

    The Only Road

    Written by Alexandra Diaz

    Narrated by Ramón de Ocampo

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    Twelve-year-old Jaime makes the treacherous and life-changing journey from his home in Guatemala to live with his older brother in the United States in this gripping and realistic middle grade novel.

    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. It is a story of fear and bravery, love and loss, strangers becoming family, and one boy's treacherous and life-changing journey.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateNov 12, 2019
    ISBN9781541431393
    Author

    Alexandra Diaz

    Alexandra Diaz is the award-winning author of The Only Road, The Crossroads, Santiago’s Road Home, and Farewell Cuba, Mi Isla. The Only Road was a Pura Belpré Honor Book and won the Américas Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature, as well as numerous other accolades. Santiago’s Road Home was an International Latino Book Award gold medalist and an ALA Notable Children’s Book. Farewell Cuba, Mi Isla was a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year, was selected as a Children’s Book Council Teacher’s Favorite title, and received two starred reviews. Alexandra is the daughter of Cuban refugees and a native Spanish speaker. She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, but got her master’s in writing for young people at Bath Spa University in England. Visit her at Alexandra-Diaz.com.

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    Reviews for The Only Road

    4.5/5

    26 ratings3 reviews

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    • 4/5
      When Miguel's cousin is murdered by a local gang, his family scrounges together enough money to send Miguel and another cousin, Angela, to the United States where they will join his brother Tomas. Unfortunately, due to the family's desperate situation, this journey is not done through legal routes, forcing the children to make difficult and dangerous decisions as they pass through their home of Guatemala and into Mexico towards the United States.This book starts with a shocking death and quickly moves to the children fleeing their hometown. Other books on this topic mean well but often sound rather didactic. This title walks that fine line between teaching about current events and having a thrilling story with compelling characters. While I generally had faith that Miguel and Angela would be alright, there were certainly moments that tested my belief. In addition, I knew that other characters might not fare as easily. In short, the tension was there to keep the reader engaged, flipping pages to see what will happen next.That being said, the book doesn't get too into the gory details about the violence and desperation, although they are certainly frequent topics. There are several oblique mentions to sexual violence without naming it. I suppose this is all in keeping with a book designed for a young audience; the author doesn't necessarily shy away from the issues but she doesn't choose to grotesquely wallow in them either.
    • 4/5
      Jaime and his cousin are sent to try to make it from Guatemala to el norte after their cousin is murdered by a local gang who tries to recruit them as well. A harrowing journey, they try to travel the 4000 miles to make it New Mexico to Jamie's brother. Faced with dangerous encounters and the need to raise money, the two are successful where many of the other characters with whom their paths cross have not been. A look at the motivations for some to leave home and risk life and limb to get to America.
    • 5/5
      According to the description of the book from the publisher: 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. It is a story of fear and bravery, love and loss, strangers becoming family, and one boy’s treacherous and life-changing journey.

      I had so many emotions run through me as I read this book. Right now as we are dealing with the Syrian refugee crisis in Canada, reading this book at this time made it seem so much more real. The dangers many refugees and illegal immigrants face trying to come to a country where they can feel safe are mind boggling.

      In this story it is two children (12 and 15) travelling alone with only names, maps, information and money sewn into their clothes that take the treacherous journey from Guatemala to the U.S. When Angela's brother and Jamie's cousin Miguel is killed by the local gang because he refused to join them, the family believes the only way to keep Angela and Jamie safe is to get them away from Guatemala. Tomas, Jaimie's brother, lives in New Mexico, so that is their destination. The journey is dangerous, but they go anyway. They meet other children on the way and they become friends. They rescue a dog, near death from the dog fights and nurse her back to life. They work sewing and drawing portraits to earn even more money to get safe passage across the border. Unfortunately, out of the small group of five children travelling together, they are the only ones to make it. We so not find out exactly what happens to the others, but from what is happening in the story, we can imagine. This journey took courage, guts, a little naivite and luck to get to their final destination. Many try and do not make it, many try multiple times, many disappear or are killed. A very hard story to read.

      This book should be read by all students to help them understand the plight of refugees and immigrants. It should also give them an appreciation of what they have and how they live. Thank-you to Paula Wiseman Books / Simon & Schuster for generously providing me a copy of this book to read. It is one that will be with me for a while.