This book is a harrowing one to read but it is also such an important story that needs to be shared. I expect this book has probably been banned in some states of the US because it takes a very unapologetic and raw honest view of ICE and the dreadful conditions in detention centres.
Here are some text quotes (note this is a verse novel but I have not set the quotes out in that format):
Six raids in the last two days, Papi chews. Where? In the factories just over the tracks. People say there will be more. This administration is out to get us. But this is a sanctuary state. A what, Mami? Papi clears his throat and almost whispers, A “sanctuary” is a place where cranes can’t get caught. Caught for doing what?
On Monday Papi must be late. It’s six p.m. and aftercare closes at six fifteen. The ticks on the clock are honey-slow tocks I try not to count. I wonder if Papi’s broken a wing on the skyscrapers he helps build with hammers and steel?
From a string of weeping words I learn someone named ICE put Papi and other hammer workers. From a string of weeping words I learn someone named ICE put Papi and other hammer workers.
We line up to be served a cardboard tray holding a burrito moldy and half-frozen. Exactly how it feels to be inside this prison.
The guard’s fist smashes into her nose which sends her back like a rag doll. Then the other guard rushes her while she is down and kicks and kicks and kicks her in the stomach and in the face until she is still crying and breathing a heavy and steady pain.
Kirus say ages 8-12 but I totally disagree. This book is one I would place in a High School library for readers aged 12+. It touches on sexual assault and has some very violent and distressing scenes.
Betita expresses her feelings through short poems and pictures:
I read an ebook version of this book for a book discussion group. It is not available to buy here in Australia but you might find a copy in a library.
From the author: I wrote Land of the Cranes with an understanding of the long and devastating history of raids, separations, deportations, incarcerations, and deaths my community has suffered. But also, I wrote from an intimate place. I, like Betita, was an undocumented child. I was born in Mexico and brought to the United States as a baby. My childhood fear of “La Migra” (immigration enforcement) and how they could easily rip our family apart hung over me until we received our green cards, though this was not necessarily a guarantee of safety. ... I wrote Land of the Cranes with an understanding of the long and devastating history of raids, separations, deportations, incarcerations, and deaths my community has suffered. But also, I wrote from an intimate place. I, like Betita, was an undocumented child. I was born in Mexico and brought to the United States as a baby. My childhood fear of “La Migra” (immigration enforcement) and how they could easily rip our family apart hung over me until we received our green cards, though this was not necessarily a guarantee of safety.
Here are three other books by Aida Salazar:
