La Linea
Book Review La Linea
By Julia Hager
Summary
In her novel La Linea, Ann Jaramillo tells the story of fifteen-year-old Miguel, who leaves his home in Mexico to illegally cross the US-Mexican border. He leaves for California, where his parents and two of his sisters have lived for the past seven years. His parents left first, in order to make money for their children to cross la linea later. Miguel and his younger sister Elena thus live with their grandmother on a rancho in the small Mexican village San Jacinto. On his fifteenth birthday, Miguel receives the letter he has waited for his entire life. A letter from his father tells him to go see Don Clemente, a rich and successful immigrant smuggler. Don Clemente provides Miguel with proper instructions. Miguel’s carefully planned journey seems to fail, when Elena stows away from home and follows him. When Miguel finds out, he wants to send her back home, but Elena is determined to come with him. Elena gets them into trouble in the beginning; they are discovered by the federales and sent all the way to Guatemala. There, they are robbed during the night and lose their entire possessions. However, also thanks to Elena, they do not have to go back home, because she hid some of her money that was not found by the robbers. Through her, they meet Javier, an adult who also wants to cross the border and helps the two children to get on the Mata Gente, a dangerous freight train that goes up all the way to the border. In the north, they meet el Plomero, who was paid by Don Clemente to get the kids across the border. El Plomero even accompanies them into the desert, but is shot by the border police shortly after. Javier, who is injured and feels that he is a burden for the children, leaves them during the night and probably dies in the desert. Miguel and Elena succeed in crossing the border but the novel leaves open what happens after their arrival. In the epilogue, which takes place ten years later, we learn that Elena
By Julia Hager
Summary
In her novel La Linea, Ann Jaramillo tells the story of fifteen-year-old Miguel, who leaves his home in Mexico to illegally cross the US-Mexican border. He leaves for California, where his parents and two of his sisters have lived for the past seven years. His parents left first, in order to make money for their children to cross la linea later. Miguel and his younger sister Elena thus live with their grandmother on a rancho in the small Mexican village San Jacinto. On his fifteenth birthday, Miguel receives the letter he has waited for his entire life. A letter from his father tells him to go see Don Clemente, a rich and successful immigrant smuggler. Don Clemente provides Miguel with proper instructions. Miguel’s carefully planned journey seems to fail, when Elena stows away from home and follows him. When Miguel finds out, he wants to send her back home, but Elena is determined to come with him. Elena gets them into trouble in the beginning; they are discovered by the federales and sent all the way to Guatemala. There, they are robbed during the night and lose their entire possessions. However, also thanks to Elena, they do not have to go back home, because she hid some of her money that was not found by the robbers. Through her, they meet Javier, an adult who also wants to cross the border and helps the two children to get on the Mata Gente, a dangerous freight train that goes up all the way to the border. In the north, they meet el Plomero, who was paid by Don Clemente to get the kids across the border. El Plomero even accompanies them into the desert, but is shot by the border police shortly after. Javier, who is injured and feels that he is a burden for the children, leaves them during the night and probably dies in the desert. Miguel and Elena succeed in crossing the border but the novel leaves open what happens after their arrival. In the epilogue, which takes place ten years later, we learn that Elena