All the Stars Denied

Shame the Stars Series #2

by Guadalupe Garcia McCall

In a companion novel to her critically acclaimed Shame the Stars, Guadalupe Garcia McCall tackles the hidden history of the United States and its first mass deportation event that swept up hundreds of thousands of Mexican American citizens during the Great Depression.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Fiction, Historical, Middle Grade, Latinx, Teen

400 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2018

About the author

I was born in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico. My family immigrated into the U.S. when I was six years old. I grew up in Eagle Pass, a small, border town in South Texas. Eagle Pass is the setting of both, my debut novel in verse, UNDER THE MESQUITE, and my 2nd novel, SUMMER OF THE MARIPOSAS, fall of 2012 from TU Books. After high school, I went off to Alpine in West Texas to study to become a teacher. I have a BA in Theatre Arts and English from Sul Ross State University. In Alpine, I met my husband, Jim. We have 3 grown sons. Currently, I am an Assistant Professor of English at George Fox University in Newberg, OR and live with my husband in the Pacific Northwest.

Reviews

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not too long ago, I wrote about casually scrolling through thirteen or so online English syllabi, the first thirteen google results. I wanted to write about and address the point that erasure of culture happens in public and private educations. The pronounced absence, the purposeful omission of Latinxs from American curriculum, is a political choice that has devastating consequences. (More on those consequences later). I then expanded my English literature syllabi search by tenaciously scrolling through the first one hundred syllabi. Lamentably, I only found nine syllabi out of the hundred that had works by or about Latinxs on their English literature syllabi. Hundreds of works to teach American students, and only nine different syllabi offered either token poems, (seriously -- one was a haiku!), excerpts of novels, one or two short stories from larger anthologies, and then the go-to-staple, House on Mango Street as reflections of our presence within America's literary canon and within America itself. So pathetic and disheartening!

Guadalupe Garcia McCall fills in the yawning cultural gap in American curriculum, that political and literary erasure, that school curricula perpetuate. Her novels, Shame the Stars and All the Stars Denied, are timely and necessary! Readers can't help but have a visceral reaction to all of the trauma done to more than half a million American families in the 1930s and to the del Toro family in this novel. (See G.G. McCall's Resources for more details). Americans of Mexican descent were rounded up, maliciously separated so as to purposefully stymie a family's reunification and to purposefully stymie the families' return to their home states. American citizens were deported to a nation they didn't know. Beaten, mistreated, falsely accused of not being U.S. Citizens, having their land stolen, and then having to further endure the indignity of injustice by pleading one's case to the very people who committed the wrongs against them in the first place...the events of this historic period and their fictional presentation on the pages of this book split my heart in two. McCall knows how to make her readers suffer.

Years of malicious prosecution of undocumented immigrants disappear from the pages of America's newspapers. So the timing of G.G. McCall's work may seem serendipitous, but her research reveals that the past one hundred years of America's history has been repeating itself time and time again.

As a former English Literature teacher, I can't help but believe that flooding our students with a more inclusive curriculum produces a student population that is more politically efficacious. The wealth of knowledge that McCall weaves into this text is a boon for American students. And the book is just a pleasure to read. Who doesn't want to cheer for Estrella? Her growth from privileged brat to tough as nails advocate make readers cheer.

What G.G. McCall does here in this book is pretty inspiring. I know I will read this book again and again.

[Skip · Rating 3 out of 5]

During the Great Depression, times were bleak for most people, but especially for Mexican-Americans living near the border, as they were often used a scapegoat. More than 1 million Mexican-Americans, including 600,000 citizens were "repatriated" to Mexico, Author McCall tells the story of fifteen year-old Estrella del Toro and her family who are doing better than many on their ranch in southern Texas. However, racism is mounting in the local town, and some neighbors have "disappeared" (i.e., been deported to Mexico.) At a local town meeting, her father and Estrella speak out. When their home is burned to the ground, her father is taken by the police and Estrella, her mother, and sickly younger brother are taken first to Ciudad and then to Mexico City. They become refugees, barely surviving on meager rations, hoping for the kindness of strangers while they search for Estrella's father. I would have given 4 stars, but was annoyed with the author's frequent unnecessary use of Spanish words I do not know.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harrowing and important, All the Stars Denied explores a bleak moment when the US turned against Mexican-Americans as scapegoats for its social and economic woes. Through Estrella’s journey first toward activism and then back home after deportation, Guadalupe García McCall sketches with deft and poignant strokes a model of courage for our own darkling times.

This loose sequel to Shame the Stars is arguably the most important YA novel of 2018.

[Stephanie Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plot: During the Great Depression, 15-year-old Estrella and her family are “repatriated” to Mexico, despite the fact that they are all American citizens.
(Opening line)-“I’ve been thinking a lot about the desparecidos in Montesco.”
My Reflections: As an avid reader of history, I have read many books about the unjust incarceration of Japanese- American citizens during WW2. I was unaware until I read this book tha a full decade earlier, U.S. citizens of Hispanic descent were being forceably removed and hauled away to Mexico because of racism and fear. This is a little-known event in American history, and I think this book would be an excellent tool for students ( and adults) to use to learn more about it.
Memorable Quotes:(pg.101)-“Fear roared and crackled and burst into flames in our ears, and we knew the future was burning down, collapsing before us, devouring our home and livelihood. Worst of all, there was nothing we could do to stop it.”

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review was originally posted on As Told By TinaI received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.








Content/Trigger Warnings for: Racism and racial slurs, Kidnapping and abduction, Abuse, Violence.


I hardly ever read historical fiction. There’s no real reason why just that it is not a genre that I personally find myself picking up. When it came time to pick a book for Multicultural Children’s Book Day, I wanted to read All The Stars Denied. Why?

Well for starters, it is really hard to find books with Mexican Americans main characters in them. I also felt like I needed to read this because it felt like I could connect to the story in many ways. And third of all, I have been dying to read a Garcia-McCall book for a long time.

My Review
All The Stars Denied was everything I was expecting and more. It is a companion novel to Garcia McCall’s novel Shame The Stars. Personally, I didn’t read Shame The Stars and I feel like I didn’t miss anything by not reading it first. This can definitely be read as a standalone.

All The Stars Denied takes place during the Great Depression. It was during a time that Mexican Americans were being deported to Mexico illegally. I personally don’t remember learning about this time in any of my classes so this was truly fascinating.

Estrella Del Toro is our fifteen-year-old main character and the story is told through her perspective. She is the oldest and most importantly to this story, she was born in the USA and had only lived in Texas. She has aspirations of being a writer much like her father and her mother. Very strong parents who taught her to fight for what she believed in raised her. That is one thing that is prevalent in the story. She goes from a regular fifteen year old to standing up for her friends and her community.

What I Liked

The story! I loved it. Goodreads says this book is about 400 pages long and honestly it didn’t feel like it was. I was sucked in from the beginning and before I knew it the story was ending.

I was able to connect to Estrella being a Mexican American who also lives by the southern border.

I also loved that I learned something. Mexican American history is not taught in New Mexico and if it is, it is very brief. I never heard of these deportations. My great grandparents didn’t migrate (and by that I mean literally cross the same river that is mentioned in All The Stars Denied until about 1940).

I also loved the brief mention of El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juarez. I live in El Paso and have walked to Ciudad Juarez many times. Even though this story does take place in during The Great Depression. I can assure you that Juarez does have a certain smell to it. It feels completely different when you cross over from El Paso.

I loved the fact that the story had a mix of English and Spanish. It felt authentic to me because that’s honestly how I speak and pretty much how my brain works. I flow between English and Spanish every single day. I also liked that Garcia McCall pointed out the different dialects of Spanish. When I have customers from different parts of Mexico speak to me, they tell me I speak what they call Border Spanish. And honestly I do. (also there is a glossary at the end so this can help you if you don't speak Spanish).




What I didn’t like:


Being that this was the very first time hearing of these injustices towards Mexican Americans. I was outrage! It also made me sad because this was during the time that at least as far as I know my great grandparents were trying to come to the US from Guadalajara. So I tried to picture my great grandma and great grandpa through this story and it was heartbreaking to say the least.

The story features Estrella’s journal entries but because I had the eARC the formatting was weird and it was mostly blank. It made me a little sad because I felt like that definitely added a “personal” touch to the story.




Overall
All The Stars Denied was my first five star read of the year. And I highly recommend that you read it. For me, it gave me a piece of myself because I could very much relate to the characters. It also made me want to learn more about our history because I’m honestly truly ignorant when it comes to the treat of Mexican Americans throughout history. And like I said in the beginning of this review you don’t have to read the first book to read this one, this can be a standalone. I truly hope you love it as much as I did.

[Laura Gardner · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5 for ALL THE STARS DENIED by @guadalupemccall .
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Stunning cover alert!! Captures the book perfectly. @leeandlow WTG!
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I love how historical fiction can both teach us about the past and help us better understand the present. This stunning middle grade book about family separation, wrongful deportation and dehumanization of people of color is captures a forgotten part of history that is even more relevant today. .
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Estrella loves to daydream and write poems about nature. It is 1931, the Great Depression is in full swing and Estrella's Mexican American family lives in Texas in a border town. Mexican Americans are discriminated against by the local Anglos, but when Estrella and her family speak up, her home is raided in the night and her family is "repatriated" to Mexico without their documents. She, her brother and parents are American citizens and yet they are treated worse than animals. In Mexico they are kept in an outdoor pen and given far too little food. Even worse, her family has been separated. Can Estrella and her mother withstand the challenges, keep her little brother healthy, find her father and get back home?
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This powerful story will illuminate a forgotten chapter of our history in which over 1 million Mexicans, 600,000 of whom were American citizens, were deported to Mexico. Although this is historical fiction, this story is all too familiar in today's climate. The narrative is interspersed with Estrella's poetry, as well as lyrical, emotional letters to her Abuelita who fought her own struggle in a companion novel, Shame the Stars. My only gripe is that at time the story felt too plot-driven. I wouldn’t have minded a longer book with more space for reflection (and Estrella’s stunning poetry!)
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Parts of the book are in Spanish, which lends authenticity and engagement. A glossary is provided in the back, but many words can be figured out in context. The author's note, as well as information for further reading is helpful, as well.
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#librariansofinstagram #librariesofinstagram #allthestarsdenied #mglit #mgbooks #ilovemg #guadalupegarciamccall #bookreview

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the Stars Denied by Guadalupe Garcia McCall, 322 pages. TU Books (Lee & Low), 2018. $20. 9781620142813.


Content: Language: PG (8 swears, 0 'F'); Mature Content: PG (racism, racial slurs); Violence: PG (off-page beating, forced/illegal deportations)

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - ESSENTIAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Teenage Estrella and her family live in rural Texas at the height of the Great Depression. The white community has begun to turn on the Mexican Americans and Mexicanos who live in the area, and one night Estrella's family is abruptly dragged from their home and forcefully "repatriated" (deported) across the Mexican border--despite being American citizens. Now Estrella faces a truly daunting challenge of caring for her mother and little brother in a country not her own, reuniting with her missing father, and finding a way home to the actual land of her birth.

This is a fantastic piece of historical fiction that I hated reading for the horror of its true story. Estrella and her family are great characters and the story is hard to put down once you get into it. I appreciated the Spanish words that are sprinkled throughout the novel without any translation--it made Estrella and her experiences seem even more real. This would be an especially good pick for communities that have a large Latinx population but is a book that should be read and appreciated by everyone who seeks to better understand the long history of race discrimination in America's history.

Reviewer: TC
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2019...

[bjneary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not wait to read this stunner after I finished the tough read, Shame the Stars, by G.G. McCall. This historical read covers the horrendous repatriation of US citizens from the US. Estrella is a Mexican American teen is living in Texas during the Great Depression on her family farm but during a time when many whites want the Mexican Americans out- despite their citizenship-- the awfulness of their treatment as they are burned out of their home, the reader learns of how dark this time of history was in its treatment of Mexican Americans, how evil was the intent, treatment, and injustice to citizens and classes of people trying to make a living while living in their home, the United States. A must read for students to learn about a dark part of our history.

[Rich in Color is now on StoryGraph]

Review copy: E-ARC via Edelweiss/Publisher with final copy via library

Estrella is a fifteen year-old with an appreciation of nature and poetry. She loves sitting outside observing and reflecting on the world around her. That world is beginning to turn upside-down though. People are disappearing. Restrictive laws and violence targeting Mexicans are both increasing. Estrella’s family had kept her feeling safe and secure, but things were changng rapidly.

Guadalupe Garcia McCall allows readers to get a glimpse of Texas in the depression era and the picture is not a pretty one. Most history books skip over the details. The depression was a difficult time yes, but there was an added challenge if you were Mexican or even seemed to be Mexican. Families were being separated and repatriated. Of course, repatriation is just another word for deportation and this was even happening to US citizens who had never lived in Mexico.

Estrella and her family don’t sit by and just watch all of these things happening. They speak out and work for change. This makes them a target. Even Estrella’s parents don’t fully realize how vulnerable they are. They still believe that their citizenship means something. That papers and lawyers actually carry weight.

Unfortunately, this story has many parallels to what we see happening in our country in the present time. Some of the policies put into place back then are eerily familiar. It was impossible to read this story without thinking of current news stories.

Readers will feel the frustrations of Estrella and her mother as they push up against one roadblock after another. The injustices just keep piling up over time. There are racist systems in place, but Estrella and her mother are also disadvantaged by their gender. They keep fighting though. When they are frustrated and face setbacks, they look for things that are within their control and move forward. Estrella is full of hope and determination.

As in her previous novel, Shame the Stars, McCall combines narrative text with poems, snippets from newspapers, telegrams, and other bits of realia that add to the feeling of looking back into the past.

The resolution is a bit rushed, but otherwise, the pacing worked well. Overall, the book is a page turner and will stick with me for a long time.

Recommendation: Get it now especially if you enjoyed Shame the Stars. It’s a fantastic work of historical fiction that fills in some of the history that may be missing from textbooks and classrooms.

Original review posted here: http://richincolor.com/2019/01/all-th...

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this libro with my Lindsay mujeres because we were studying about the Repatriations of Mexican@s in the 1930s. Collectively we enjoyed the author's descriptive writing and centering of a chingona mujer as the protagonist of the book - Estrella never wavers in her confrontations of white supremacy, the border, police/ICE, the system throughout the text - her intelligence and courage are inspiring throughout in her quest to reclaim the power that has been stolen/denied her family. That said, we also thought the end of the book was not historically accurate, as most gente who were unjustly deported were never able to return and/or separated from familia for life. However, as one of my students (Ramalda) pointed out, perhaps the author did this to leave us with a sense of hope - that the we can challenge the system, AND WIN!

[Emily Dia]

I finally finished this book after months and months of reading a few pages here and there. For me, the writing style fell a little flat and clunky. AND YET, I believe that every one of my middle school students should read this because it tackles the hidden history of the first mass deportation event in the U.S., sending hundreds of thousands Mexican Americans out of the country during the Great Depression.

As I was reading this book, I was aware once again about my ignorance around so much of the true history of this country and am grateful to Guadalupe Garcia McCall for opening my eyes and telling Estrella's story. Sadly, her story persists today. The day I finished the book, I read about Francisco Erwin Galicia, a U.S. Citizen who was detained in Mexico for 23 days after a "mistaken immigration arrest." McCall's book is a reminder that we must always be willing to see more clearly, fight for justice, and give voice to the voiceless.

[Gina Lynn A · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 10 year old son and I listened to this book. It’s a wonderful historical fiction that has relevance and important lessons in today’s world. We both enjoyed listening to it.

[Sara Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed following Estrella's journey.

P.s I met the author a few years ago!

[Hilary Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young adult book on a very important topic. Most Americans don't know this history of Mexican American repatriation during the Great Depression, and this is a good place to start.

[Tonja Drecker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not read the companion novel, Shame of Stars, before reading this book. However, it was also not necessary, and I had no trouble diving into this story. In other words, it can be read as a stand alone.

It's 1931, and Estrella is fifteen years old and the daughter of a Mexican/American rancher. While the story begins with her irritation at having to help out around the ranch and take care of her younger brother more than she'd like to, it quickly shifts gears and rotates into a little known historical event: the repatriation, or large deportation of Mexicans, including American citizens with Mexican heritage, during the Great Depression. Determined to stand up to the unfair handlings of her neighbors and friends, Estrella finds herself captured in one of the 'round-ups' and deported to Mexico. Not only is she determined to survive and return to their home, but her entire family is caught up in the horrible battle.

History holds many 'secret' moments, which aren't spoken of or are played down. This is one, which although I'd briefly learned about during school, never heard or knew what was really behind it. Reality is often more powerful than fiction, and that is proven in these pages.

Estrella is a bright girl with tons of gusto. She tends to speak her mind very freely, one of the things which gets her into trouble, but it's also one of her more inspiring traits. The author allows her to gain a natural setting as a teen with usual struggles of independence before allowing the problems to unfold. This gives the reader a chance to get to know Estrella and connect with her, which makes the later events in the book hit that much harder. The characters and emotions are well done, and it's a message which hits home. The fear, struggles, desperation, and hope pull at the heart-strings and leave a vivid lasting impression...exactly that which is needed to make the reader breath it in and think.

Copies of Estrella's journal and news articles sprinkle the pages and give a more true feel to the happenings. It also allows the reader to take a pause and consider the events up to those moments. I found this pacing well done and enjoyed the change from the same printed text.

While the story grabs and gives Estrella life, especially in the first pages, the dialogue and writing didn't hold the realistic atmosphere of the 1930's. I found myself checking several times to see if the characters were really placed in the 1930's or if it was a more modern version. This, however, didn't hurt the main tale and definitely was soon forgotten once the story got going.

At the end of the book, the author leaves her thoughts and provides a glossary of many of the Spanish words and phrases sprinkled in the pages. It's a thought-evoking read and will touch the hearts of older readers as much as young adults.

I received a complimentary copy and found it so grabbing that I wanted to leave my honest thoughts.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm so grateful to Guadalupe Garcia McCall for writing this book and more than a little ashamed to admit that I knew absolutely nothing about the particular events that occurred during the Great Depression. There are those who consider history to be dry and boring, but certainly, it is not in the hands of this masterful storyteller. Since the book is a companion to the author's earlier Shame the Stars, readers will be familiar with the community of Monteseco and the family at the heart of this story. Tough times often bring out the worst in some humans, and in this case, poverty and drought have caused some of the white residents to lash out the Mexican Americans living in the community. Ninth grader Estrella del Toro is troubled what she sees and starts her own small protest against the unfair treatment and the unexplained disappearances of many of the families she knows. Before she knows it and with no warning, she and her family--American citizens--are kidnapped and driven across the border to be repatriated in the land she has only visited. The fact that her father has spoken out against the injustices he sees and that he and her mother have businesses--a bookstore and a newspaper--lets readers know that education and money may not always insulate someone from unfair practices. With little money and no legal documents, she and her mother and little brother try desperately to return home, enduring hunger, thirst, mistreatment, and cruelty and uncaring officials. While the story is set in late 1931, its similarities to recent events cannot be ignored as 600,000 of the 1 million Mexicanos who were deported during that time were American citizens. Although the characters in this book are fictional, the experiences seem very real, and I was swept up the challenges Estrella and her mother faced as they were nearly helpless once they had been deported. The country was unable to feed or house all those individuals who had been rounded up and treated so unjustly. The scenes in which the detainees or prisoners--because that is how they were treated--escaped at night in order to look for food in the garbage cans of nearby restaurants were heartbreaking. During parts of the journey, Estrella comforts herself by writing poems and letters to her deceased grandmother. Not only is it important to be aware of the actual historical events that inspired this story, but it is critical that young readers discuss civil rights and justice and consider some of the mistakes our country has made in order to prevent similar mistakes and actions from happening again. We can learn from our mistakes as the author clearly hopes. I know I won't be alone in wondering what happens next for this heroic family.

[WutheringReader Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

A family separated, buried in unfeeling burocracy.
Children forced into human corrals with limited protection from the elements.
People forced to fight tooth and nail for basic human rights.
This is just a small portion on my list of the reasons why I had to put this book down several times to rage clean. This is Guadalupe Garcia McCall's "All the Stars Denied" .
This historical fiction starts in southern Texas with the del Toro family. Our narrator, Estrella, is fifteen and deals with injustice in her daily life. The discrimination for her Mexican heritage and the unconstitutional allowances of "roundups" of suspected illegal immigrants leaves her neighborhood in constant fear. Worse comes to worst whenever her community tries to peacefully protest and ends up being illegally deported. From there on, there is constant struggle as she, her mother, and her two year old brother are separated from her father and thrown into a world of confusion.
From this, their situation gets worse and worse as they try to fight their way back to their home while trying to find those that they were separated from.
While being rich in a lesser known portion of history, the biggest standout in this novel was the character development . Before the story fully starts, we are able to spend time with and fall in love with the del Toro family. They are written realistically as they are written noble. I have had a lot of problems in the past with how teenagers are sometimes written, but in this case, Estrella is believable as she was raised to be headstrong from her activist parents, but is still able to self criticize and know when she is wrong. Being a eco-poet, her voice is rich with detail, being almost lyrical.
The mother, however, shined the most throughout the story. Already owning her own business and being a writer in the name of justice, she is the pillar of strength for her children during these hard times. Written with a fierce determination, she is not afraid to reach new heights and sink to new lows while protecting her children.
Though a heartbreaking tale of struggle and loss, "All the Stars Denied" still manages to bring with it the spirit of hope and renewal. It's focus on family and the importance of taking care of those you love drives the reader along with as much fervor and dedication as the characters in the book. I can easily see this becoming a new classic, taking it's place next to "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "The Grapes of Wrath"

[Mary Louise Sanchez · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this sequel to Shame the Stars, fifteen-year-old Estrella del Toro and her family still have a good life on their southern Texas ranch, Rancho Las Moras, during the Great Depression.But other Mexican Americans are not so fortunate. Many of these families have left Monteseco of their own accord, while others have been repatriated back to Mexico.

Estrella then organizes a protest against the treatment of their friends and neighbors, many of whom are also United States citizens. Soon her own family, who have means, becomes the target of extreme discrimination. Their house is burned down; Estrella's father is taken away; and Estrella, her mother, and two-year-old brother Wicho are basically kidnapped and dumped in Mexico without money and any means to fight the justice system.

The conditions they find themselves in are deplorable. To survive they look for any scraps of food in garbage bins and they sleep outside in corrals in bad weather conditions, all of which affect little Wicho who already was a sickly child. Estrella and her mother climb a steep bureaucracy ladder to find Estrella's dad, and Estrella then devises a clever plan for the family to reenter the United States.

The author brings to light this history of repatriation which is being repeated in our times. In terms of history, repatriation didn't just happen along the border states during the Great Depression. It also touched my home state, Wyoming, where sugar beet workers in the town of Worland were targeted. In fact, by the 1940s, two-thirds of Wyoming's foreign born Mexican population departed. One has to wonder how many of those were by deportation means, and how many were United States citizens whose families lived here for many generations? I briefly allude to this in my middle grade novel, The Wind Called My Name.

[Raul M · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm glad to see this novel is aimed for Young Adults. I had to reach middle-age to finally have this tale shake me out of my ignorance. I must now acknowledge my fortune not having been born in a stage of Texas history when, due to my Spanish surname (or not appearing White enough), lawmen could've hauled me off my property in the middle of the night without my U.S. citizenship proofs, expelling me south of the Rio Grande.

Admittedly, for me to see the heroes of this author's prior novel survive being terrorized by Texas Rangers, only to have the next generation suffer forced (and illegal) repatriation in this sequel, felt discouraging. I was rattled to learn of Mexican-Americans corralled and disinfected at the level of cattle, left in hunger to the point of begging and fighting, and denied U.S. contact on foreign soil -- many ironically fluent only in English.

The narrator, a teen named Estrella, journals the massive change in her life circumstances, from the hardships of chores to the seeming hopelessness of women and children left to fend for themselves abroad. Due to the many trials described, I was grateful for how the tale ended, albeit it's more on the bittersweet side. The English text is repeatedly injected with Spanish (true to the borderlands), with a glossary at the end to assist.

[Nina Herrera · Rating 1 out of 5]

Personally, I hated this book.
Now, don’t get me wrong, it is about a very serious topic that deserves kore attention and action. I think the problem with the novel is that the author had too much to say and didn’t take enough time to say it. Her writing style was comparable to that of a third grader with access to a thesaurus, and her characters are incredibly weak. Estrella is so loud and brash, that her character just becomes incredibly tiring very quickly. She’s laughably predictable, and often makes bad decisions. She attacked a lady over the head with trash can lid because they tried to steal her food! There is no buildup to this story, and had details I wrote in third grade, which all contributed to a weak story. I was forced to read this book in school, and it was painful. The author also used unnecessary words, making for clunky writing, and she used Spanish words that were not needed and confused readers. Personally, I understood them, but wouldn’t want to try and read a book only to have to run to google translate page. The author had the right idea, but executed it in the wrong way.

[Susana · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book where you see a young adolescent with a strong attitude, strong in her decisions, and willingness to help people in her little community. A sad but true story that we still see now a days. People suffering, children with no parents, no jobs, and fearing they may be deported. A very strong message to those who think this should be something we should do in America. It can be very controversial, but definitely an awesome book for other students who don't know anything about this. Some students may see themselves reflected in the book, while others could learn and agree to the pain their colleagues are going through.

[Marie Sontag · Rating 5 out of 5]

McCall does a great job bringing to light the shameful behavior of some Americans toward Mexican Americans in border states during the depression. This historical fiction book personalizes the drama and trauma experienced by many forcibly displaced Mexican Americans during this time period. It's a fitting sequel to McCall's previous novel, "Shame the Stars."

[Leah Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

All the Stars Denied is a powerful historical novel that brings light to a part of American history that isn’t often talked about in classrooms, the Mexican Repatriation during the Great Depression. The story follows Estrella del Toro, a brave and outspoken young girl who speaks up about the unfair treatment of Mexican American families in her Texas town. But when she and her family become targets, things take a heartbreaking turn. They’re forced from their home, deported, and left to survive in Mexico, a place Estrella has never even been. What makes this book so moving is Estrella’s strength and her refusal to stay silent, even when everything around her seems to be falling apart.

I chose this book because it gives students a window into a time and experience that still echoes today. It’s best suited for grades 6–7, as it deals with heavy themes like racism, injustice, and identity, but in a way that’s deeply personal and relatable. Estrella is a character that so many students, especially those from immigrant or bicultural backgrounds will connect with. Even for those who haven’t shared her experience, her story builds empathy and awareness. This book is especially useful for helping kids understand how history shapes people’s lives, and how courage and voice can push back against cruelty. It’s a great fit for anyone who’s ever wondered what it means to truly belong, and how to fight for the dignity of yourself and others.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Teenage Estrella and her family live in rural Texas at the height of the Great Depression. The white community has begun to turn on the Mexican Americans and Mexicanos who live in the area, and one night Estrella's family is abruptly dragged from their home and forcefully "repatriated" (deported) across the Mexican border--despite being American citizens. Now Estrella faces a truly daunting challenge of caring for her mother and little brother in a country not her own, reuniting with her missing father, and finding a way home to the actual land of her birth.

This is a fantastic piece of historical fiction that I hated reading for the horror of its true story. Estrella and her family are great characters and the story is hard to put down once you get into it. I appreciated the Spanish words that are sprinkled throughout the novel without any translation--it made Estrella and her experiences seem even more real. This would be an especially good pick for communities that have a large Latinx population but is a book that should be read and appreciated by everyone who seeks to better understand the long history of race discrimination in America's history.

Review also published at kissthebook.blogspot.com

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully told story from the perspective of a brave and compassionate young protagonist, Estrella. She should be the new voice of American Literature following a history of young protagonists who challenge the norms of society and culture from Huck Finn to Scout to Holden. Only this time we get the perspective of a young Mexicana, the perspective in the own voice of the citizens who experienced injustice, not the sympathetic white character trying to make sense of injustice. Though I resist the idea of a canon, if we keep them in our schools, this should be added as we revise the canon to include #ownvoices and diverse books. Sharing this story in all schools is important in our responsibility to educate all students about the history of repatriation in the US. In addition to the importance of this history, Garcia McCall's writing is poetic and beautiful. The story is crafted to bring us through the horrific journey (while still being accessible for upper middle grade / lower grade young adult readers) with insight, compassion, and anticipation as we feel the pain and victories of the characters. This is definitely a must have for high school libraries and recommended for mature readers for middle school libraries.

[Elli · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the Stars Denied is written by Guadalupe Garcia McCall about a 15 year old Mexican-American girl named Estrella who lived in the 1930’s. Estrella lived in Rancho Las Moras, Texas with her mother, father and two-year old brother. During this time, Mexicans were treated poorly and unfairly whether they were US citizens or not. They would be rounded up off the streets and deported back to Mexico without even having their papers checked. Estrella’s parents were activists fighting against this. Watching them fight for their rights inspired her to take action herself. Sadly, she and her family became targets of law enforcement and were deported to Mexico despite none of them being born in Mexico. Estrella, her brother and her mom were separated from her dad and had to stay together to find their way back to him and to their home. I would rate this book 5 out of 5 stars and would definitely recommend.

[Alex Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book tells an important piece of history: the repatriation (read: deportation) of Mexican-Americans in the 1930s. Over million people, six hundred thousand actual American citizens, were forced across the border to Mexico. It was chilling to read this account through the eyes of the last couple years.

However, and maybe this is my white fragility talking, as a story, I didn't enjoy it. The main character switched from whiny brat to shining activist to dutiful daughter over the span of days. It felt deeply hopeless throughout the novel until the last twenty or so pages. It was exhausting to read—I'd find myself actively avoiding reading so I won't have to hear about how this family was knocked down another peg. There was some really phenomenal writing—particularly the poems the main character would write—and then action would be written so heavy-handedly.

It was good for me overall, but I think I would have preferred to learn about this during history class.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Estrella lives with her parents and baby brother in Texas during the great depression, although her family is actually fairly well off. However, the Mexican-Americans are despised and being denied access to certain stores and restaurants. Estrella and some of her friends organize a non-violent protest. Then a massive deportation results in her home getting burned down, her family being split up and being forcefully removed to Mexico.
A rarely heard story from our history, yet so relevant to what is happening in our political situation right now. Companion novel to Shame the Stars but stands completely on it's own. Grades 6th-10th

[Sandra Sy]

"All the Stars Denied" by Guadalupe Garcia McCall was published in 2018. This is a great choice book for 8th graders. This book is about a young girl named Estrella and her family's journey that they involuntarily embark on. This story takes place during the Great Depression where Mexican Americans are being treated poorly and are being singled out as targets of "repatriation". By reading this book in a middle school classroom, students will be able to have conversations centered on individuals whose story is not always brought into the light. I could assign a project to go along with this book in order to enhance learning and understanding of the author's purpose.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this companion book to Shame the Stars (2016), which takes place fifteen years later, fifteen-year-old Estrella del Toro, her family, and many in their community, whether citizens or not, have been brutally deported from their Texas homes to Mexico through mass Mexican repatriation during the Great Depression (the first “repatriation” deportation in U.S. history). Estrella and her family must overcome horrific obstacles to be reunited in Texas. Back matter for this timely, thought-provoking historical novel includes an author’s note, further reading, and glossary.