When I was a preteen and teenager I thoroughly enjoyed reading books by Gary Paulsen and while I think I must have read this book I didn't really remember it. It was on a list at my library of 'thin' recommended summer readings for children. I am still a child at heart, so I figured I could read it again.

This book is about a small teenage boy, Manny, who lives in Jaurez on the streets without a family. He tries to get charity from the tourists who visit from the United States, and he survives on scraps of food he can get from a local restaurant and from the market. And one day he has made the decision he is going to cross to America to make a better life for himself.

At the same time a sergeant, Robert, lives in El Paso and he crosses the border to drink away the memories he has from Vietnam and the bad thoughts that come when he is alone and doesn't have alcohol in him.

When the two meet it is with Robert puking behind a club and Manny trying to pick-pocket his wallet, and from there they have several more encounters. The book is mostly told from Manny's understanding so some of the things Robert does we just see the actions and not the thoughts behind them all. I think part of this that the book is written for readers near Manny's age, 15, who will relate more with Manny's thoughts than the older sergeant's feelings. But there is good enough description to know what is going on while still leaving enough out there for readers to make their own interpretations about why it is happening. Plus I couldn't always guess what Robert would do next. His character was developed, but hard to read at certain times, while Manny was more focused with few, but strong goals.

Will Robert help Manny cross? Will Manny cross at all with or without Robert's help? You'll have to read. The ending is a little disturbing and not where I expected it to go, but a plausible one.

The book was a fast read for me. It is 114 pages and divided into 12 untitled chapters. While Manny's situation is not one most readers would ever be in, it is still one we can sympathize with, especially with things like dealing with the stealing to survive attitude that Manny feels he must resort to.

I read this book over two evenings and while it's hard to say I thoroughly enjoyed it I did find myself thinking a lot while reading it. It is not a happy book by any means, but it is one where, while still fiction, we get insight into what someone's life could be like in a real and rough environment, which is what Paulsen excels at. I do recommend this book for any reader over about age 11.

Recommended: Yes