Children's Fiction, People & Places

Crossing the Wire

Name: Crossing the Wire
Author: Will Hobbs
ISBN: 9780060741402

by Will Hobbs

Available on Bookshop Write a review

Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.

Overview

When falling crop prices threaten his family with starvation, fifteen-year-old Victor Flores heads north in an attempt to "cross the wire" from Mexico into the United States so he can find work and send money home. But with no coyote money to pay the smugglers who sneak illegal workers across the border, Victor must struggle to survive as he jumps trains, stows away on trucks, and hikes grueling miles through the Arizona desert.

Victor's journey is fraught with danger, freezing cold, scorching heat, hunger, and dead ends. It's a gauntlet run by millions attempting to cross the border. Through Victor's often desperate struggle, Will Hobbs brings to life one of the great human dramas of our time.

Synopsis

Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)

“Riveting...an exciting story in a vital contemporary setting”

About the Author, Will Hobbs

Will Hobbs is the award-winning author of eighteen novels, including Far North, Crossing The Wire, and Go Big Or Go Home.

Take Me To The River began with the author's week-long canoe trip through the remote Lower Canyons of the Rio Grande on the Texas/Mexico border.

Will's fondness for Texas goes back to his high school years in San Antonio. A graduate of Stanford University, Will lives with his wife, Jean, in Durango, Colorado.

Reviews

There are no reviews yet. Log in to write one.

Editorials

KLIATT - Paula Rohrlick

To quote the review of the hardcover in KLIATT, March 2006: Victor, age 15, barely scratches out a living for his widowed mother and his four younger siblings by growing corn in his central Mexican village. When crop prices drop, he realizes he must go to the US to find work so that he can send money home for his family. But without papers, or money to pay the unscrupulous "coyotes" who smuggle illegal workers across the border, Victor is forced to undertake the dangerous trip on his own. He jumps on trains and sneaks across the border with an older man who is soon caught by the police. Victor survives the cold in the mountains, but then he too is caught by the migra and returned to Mexico. Back in Nogales, he is reunited with his best friend, Rico, and together the two make another attempt—this time accompanying murderous drug smugglers. They endure terrible desert heat and even snakebite, manage to escape the smugglers, and finally make it to "the land of opportunity," where work as a migrant field laborer beckons. Hobbs, the author of gripping YA survival tales like Jason's Gold and Wild Man Island, was inspired to write this in order to "put a human face" on illegal immigration, he says in an author's note at the end. The research he did, both on site and in books, clearly shows in his detailed descriptions of both the terrain and the appalling experiences of many would-be illegal immigrants. This gritty and realistic tale will be an eye-opener for many YAs, and whatever their feelings about illegal immigration, they will be able to appreciate Victor's desperation, determination, and courage.

Children's Literature

Victor Flores is fifteen and faced with tremendous problems. His family's small farm in rural Mexico is failing. The death of his father while working in America has left the Flores family desperate. All that Victor can do is leave his family behind and head out to try to find work in "El Norte," the United States. Victor's journey will not be an easy one as he encounters gangs, greedy drug runners, coyotes bent upon sucking profit from the poor migrants, the dangers inherent in crossing the deserts and mountains, and the migra, or border patrol. Along the way Victor makes short-term acquaintances and discovers just how important friendship can be. Victor also finds the strength within himself to sacrifice nearly everything so that he can earn enough money to support his family back in Mexico. Will Hobbs' Crossing the Wire is a powerful story that helps to put a human face on the issues of illegal immigration into the United States from Mexico. In the character of Victor Flores readers will meet a youngster whose sole motivation is to support his economically strapped family. His efforts are almost universally met with exploitation, cruelty, and danger. In the end Victor discovers a great deal, not only about the way the passage north operates but also about himself. Crossing the Wire is a well told tale and a novel that readers will appreciate and learn from. 2006, HarperCollins, and Ages 10 up.
—Greg M. Romaneck

VOYA

In his many outstanding novels for teens, Hobbs has celebrated Western North America from the boreal forests of Canada, through varied regions of the Western United States, and southward into Mexico. His books involve outdoor adventure in challenging and often remote landscapes. Here fifteen-year-old Victor Flores is compelled to leave his family and the village where he has lived all his life, to "cross the wire" from Mexico into the United States. Since the death of his father, Victor has been the sole support of his mother and young siblings, and he now faces fearful challenges. First having no money to pay "coyote" guides, he must make the illegal crossing without support, evading authorities and troublemakers on both sides of the border. Then lacking English language or trade skills-let alone a green card-he must somehow avoid deportation and earn enough to support himself and to send money home to his mother. Victor's story is riveting, and the reader is immersed in striking natural landscapes while experiencing at first hand the controversial drug, labor, and immigration politics of the Arizona-Mexico border region. While obviously sympathetic to migrant workers and illegal aliens, Hobbs is unsentimental in his portrayal of the hard lives and unpleasant choices facing impoverished Mexican villagers. Fleeing starvation, Victor soon finds himself facing drugs, gang warfare, and violence. No choices are easy or safe, and mere survival presents deadly risks at every turn. It is an exciting story in a vital contemporary setting. VOYA CODES: 4Q 4P J S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, definedas grades 10 to 12). 2006, HarperCollins, 224p., and PLB Ages 12 to 18.
—Walter Hogan

School Library Journal

Gr 5 Up-Ever since his family moved to the tiny village of Los crboles, Victor has been best friends with Rico. When Rico tells him that he has enough money to pay for "a coyote" to help him cross into El Norte, Victor is unable to decide if he, too, should go along and look for work or try to feed his family with the pitiful annual corn harvest. The decision is made for him the next day when he discovers that the corn prices have bottomed out and that there is no point in even planting this year. Readers suffer with the 15-year-old as he makes his painful decision to leave his mother and younger siblings and attempts the dangerous border crossing, jumping trains, fleeing thieves and border officials, and suffering from thirst and hunger. His desperation and fear are completely believable as he faces near-death situations and must decide whom to trust. The author deftly weaves information concerning the local geography and customs into the plot. The story is well paced, sustaining readers' attention throughout. Pair this novel with Ann Jaramillo's La L'nea (Roaring Brook, 2006) for another fictional view of young people crossing the border between the U.S. and Mexico.-Melissa Christy Buron, Epps Island Elementary, Houston, TX Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Fifteen-year-old Mexican Victor Flores is the man of his family. His father died in a construction accident while working illegally in South Carolina. Victor has been making ends meet by growing corn, but governmental subsidies paid to American farmers have cut his profits to near nothing. He realizes that the only way his family will have the money they need to survive is for him to make the risky border crossing himself. He doesn't have the $1,500 to pay a "coyote" to shepherd him across, so he's on his own. Victor runs into trouble before he even gets to the border. He makes the crossing once with a "lone wolf" named Miguel and is caught and deported. He meets up with his friend Rico, who has had problems of his own getting to El Norte. Rico tricks Victor into crossing with drug smugglers. Events turn out well enough for Victor, but he's surrounded by violence and death on his journey. Hobbs has created a page-turning adventure set squarely in the real world. He offers no easy answers and readers who accompany Victor might be enlightened to some harsh political realities. (Fiction. 10-16)