ACCESS DIGITIZED EDITION
Guide/Reviews Database
OLDER FICTION
Anta, Julio

Frontera

240 pp. | HarperCollins/HarperAlley | July, 2023 | Trade ISBN 9780063054950 $26.99 | Paper ISBN 9780063054943 $18.99 | Ebook ISBN 9780063054967 $11.99
(2) YA Illustrated by Jacoby Salcedo. In this graphic novel with supernatural elements, high-achieving teenager Mateo has grown up in Phoenix, Arizona, and only learned recently that his family was undocumented. After the family's deportation to Mexico, Mateo's parents arrange for him to attempt a border crossing through the Sonoran Desert so he can finish high school in the U.S. and achieve his goal of going to college. Mateo's stubbornness leads him to trek out alone, disregarding the warnings of the guide hired to help him cross. A ghost who died on his own crossing, a jaguar, and a Tohono O'odham nurse help Mateo to have a chance of survival. His experience provides a powerful glimpse into the physical and emotional burdens some young people carry with regard to legal status and their sense of home. Armstrong crafts symnpathetic characters whose stories (which include candid depictions of the violence of border crossings) thoughtfully introduce readers to the complexities and inequities surrounding immigration. Salcedo's propulsive sequential art sets the scene for Mateo's dangerous voyage, combining with the text to convey the range of perils that migrants face from the elements, border patrol, and vigilantes. Mateo finds strength by helping others and honoring the sacrifices of the millions of migrants who trod the sand before him.
Reviewer: Nicholas A. Brown | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2023

RELATED 

OLDER FICTION

What Beauty There Is
by Anderson, Cory
OLDER FICTION

Between Perfect and Real
by Stoeve, Ray
OLDER FICTION

Zoe Rosenthal Is Not Lawful Good
by Werlin, Nancy
OLDER FICTION

Home Is Not a Country
by Elhillo, Safia
OLDER FICTION

All Our Hidden Gifts
by O'Donoghue, Caroline
More

Get connected. Join our global community of more than 200,000 librarians and educators.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing.

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?