Overview
Annabel first sees him playing soccer near her house. His name is Esteban—she sees it on the back of his team shirt. He notices her, smiles, then looks back over his shoulder at her again.
It is the beginning of summer in the resort town of Seaview. It is also the start of a romance between a young Colombian who came to town to work and the daughter of a local contractor whose crews are entirely Latino—new immigrants who are changing the face of Seaview.
This is the summer of war in Iraq, and of Hurricane Katrina. But in Seaview there are other concerns. In Annabel's house her new boyfriend is at the top of the list. And Esteban's sister has harsh words for his choice of a girlfriend.
M. E. Kerr weaves a compelling story of star-crossed love and a small-town problem of nationwide significance.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly
Kerr (Your Eyes in Stars) gives a sensitive rendering of a biracial romance in this timely novel about a white teen's infatuation with an illegal immigrant. Understated yet emotionally charged prose expresses 17-year-old Annabel Brown's initial attraction to Esteban Santiago as she watches him play soccer and listens to him sing at a local night club. Their first few encounters are blissful, but complications soon arise due to their families' mutual disapproval. Esteban's older sister, Gioconda, calls Annabel a "white whore" and Annabel's father, who runs a construction company, views Esteban with as little regard as he does other "muchacho" laborers, especially when Esteban bungles a roofing job when substituting for one of Mr. Brown's workers. Forbidden to date Esteban or even talk to him on the phone, Annabel meets him secretly, but as with most Romeo and Juliet-type tales, their relationship cannot withstand social pressures and prejudice. Showcasing the tension created by resentments and fear of that which is different, the author pointedly conveys the plight of immigrants and the ineffectiveness of government policies. Although Annabel is heartbroken when Esteban joins the army as a means to obtain a green card, she gains deep respect and affection for another culture and for new immigrants striving to attain the American dream. Ages 12-up. (July)
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The field of YA literature has been enriched for decades by the fine work of M.E. Kerr, who has never hesitated to tackle controversial topics. Immigration is much in the news these days, as are undocumented workers, and these are the themes of this love story. Annabel, the narrator, is 17 years old, recovering from a romance with a rich white boy in her Long Island hometown. She meets Esteban, a Latino immigrant who is part of an ever-growing community of Latinos in Annabel's town. Her father is a contractor and hires immigrant workers; in fact, he couldn't run his business without them. He admires their skills, but, he isn't so happy to find out his daughter is falling in love with Esteban, who lives with other workers in a makeshift situation and is trying hard to send money home to his family. Esteban is a gifted musician as well as a conscientious construction worker. That is the situation. M.E. Kerr masterfully tells the story of the love between Annabel and Esteban and in the process covers the realities of the undocumented worker's dilemma.School Library Journal
Gr 8 Up Annabel and Esteban fall in love at first sight. She's a coddled, Anglo teen living on Long Island, NY, and he's an illegal alien who sometimes does construction work for her father. Their mutual attraction is powerful, sweet, and impossible. The bar's been set pretty high for retellings of Romeo and Juliet , and Kerr's book-weighed down with the freight of contemporary politics-is not entirely successful. An indication that the author has tried to cram too much material into too little space is the five-page letter from Esteban revealing multitudes about his background and his decision to join the U.S. Army, which Kerr saves for the final tenth of the book. And, if imagining Esteban's future military exploits doesn't fill readers with enough foreboding, on the final page, Annabel hears a radio newscaster reporting about a hurricane named Katrina that's expected to strike New Orleans the next day. Kerr's social commentary takes over her plot and characterization.-Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Public Library, NY