Border Crossing

by M. Colleen Cruz

In Border Crossing, when Ceci Alvarez decides to spend time thinking about who she is — and avoid taking yoga or reading books out of the “Self-Help” section when she grows up — she knows certain things about herself. She is twelve going on thirteen. She is four feet and nine inches tall. She is named Cecilia Maryann Alvarez after her grandmothers, one name English and one name Spanish, which “made sense, since one of my grandmas spoke English and one spoke Spanish.” But the things the teenager does not know will send her riding the rails from Los Angeles to Tijuana, Mexico to learn a little something about her father’s family.
One day while in her Nana’s room, Ceci discovers a table brimming with old photographs of people she does not know and places she has never been. “Those pictures were probably the first things in the whole house which had ever interested me.” This extraordinary find and the rapid Spanish of her grandmother’s accusation that her father is embarrassed to be Mexican, propel Ceci on an odyssey that leads her from the trail of photographs to a new discovery.
Tony, a lively young teen Ceci meets on the train, leads her from one country to the next, and challenges her to see Mexico as “green and brown. It’s little villages with big farms, and lots of grass, and towns where electricity is something not everyone has. It’s spicy chilies, juicy tomatoes, and light tortillas. It’s music, and laughter and pride.”
In this debut novel, Maria Colleen Cruz creates the vibrant voice of a girl just on the brink of understanding. With her journal at her side, this thoughtful and creative character tackles complicated issues of identity and self-empowerment.

Genres: Young Adult

144 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2003

About the author

In addition to being the author of The Unstoppable Writing Teacher, M. Colleen Cruz is the author of several other titles for teachers, including Independent Writing and A Quick Guide to Helping Struggling Writers, as well as the author of the young adult novel Border Crossing, a Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award Finalist. Colleen was a classroom teacher in general education and inclusive settings before joining the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project where she is Director of Innovation. Colleen presently supports schools, teachers and their students nationally and internationally as a literacy consultant.

Reviews

[Fisher M · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is about a girl named Cesi (short for Cecelia).She is trying to get out of her house to cross the border to see what Mexico is like,but she is having trouble getting out of her house.she is also having trouble keeping it secret from her family,so she lied and said she was going to a friends house.I think Cesi has a great imagination,but isnt making a great decision to cross the border.I like that there are a lot of secrets in it,for Ex. she told her family she was going to a friends house.I would recommend this book to people who like action and realistic fiction books.

[Kaitlin Kline · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved reading this book with my 6th grade class! We had so many great discussions about really important topics, and we all really enjoyed the story.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has been sitting on my bookshelves for a year now. It was given by the district but I'd never read it.

It's a sweet book, quite character-driven. I can totally see kids of mixed heritage being interested in it. It's about discovering your roots.

I like it.

[Joy Kirr · Rating 3 out of 5]

At chapter 26, I was happy I'd started reading this book. (My fault - for thinking I could pair this with CROSSING THE WIRE by Hobbs.) I'm also glad M. Colleen Cruz decided to write a book with a character just like her in it. ;) I hope ALL young readers will find themselves in books, or write them themselves! (Note to self: Chapter 27 is one to share with students and talk about bias.)

[Salsabrarian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not exactly the border crossing I expected. Thirteen-year-old Cesi Alvarez is on a self-seeking mission to understand the Mexican side of herself and her family and she believes she can do this by traveling by herself to Tijuana. She meets Tony on the train ride and he becomes her guide and eyes through which she sees the “real†Mexico. From Tony’s Aunt Delfina who turns out to be an old friend of Cesi’s father, Cesi learns about her father’s difficult childhood dealing with prejudice. She understands why her father pulled away from his Mexican heritage and didn’t teach her Spanish; her father realizes by doing so he only hurt his kids. Together they decide to share more about family history and culture. Not as fleshed out or satisfying as I hoped.

[Jocelyn Galindo]

I this many people can relate to this because many people have the same thoughts just like the main character Cesi.