Efrén Divided by Ernesto Cisneros

I work in education with many children who come from a similar background as the main character of this book and who also face similar challenges. In my school it is not uncommon for students to leave school in the middle of the school year to visit Mexico. Some of these trips may be in order to reconnect with family but others may be due to a family member being deported.

Efrén is a great big brother who takes care of his sometimes pesky younger siblings. His mom and dad (whom he calls amá and apá respectively) work hard to take care of the family. They have a secret however, they are in the country illegally and the specter of deportation always hangs over them.

One day however, amá goes missing and Efrén's worst fears come true. His father must scramble to fix things and Efrén has to pick up the slack at home with the little ones while also keeping things going at school.  As if this isn't enough, David is running for school president and needs Efrén's help but Efrén isn’t 100% sure he wants to help his pal

It is a basic human desire for parents to want better for their children. Although it may not be the right thing to do legally, all throughout history people have left their country whenever things go awry due to war, conflict or disease.

Cisneros provides a comprehensive glossary of terms in the back of the book as well which is good for those who don't speak Spanish or don't understand it that well (there is much Spanish used in the book).  Books like these are good ways to introduce topics to younger readers who may see topics on the news or on social media but don't understand. A few read alikes to this book are Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan, Return to Sender by Julia Alvarez and The Crossroads by Alexandra Diaz.

Dark Sky Rising: Reconstruction and the Dawn of Jim Crow

I hesitated for a long time before reading this book and it sat on my nightstand for a few days. If you've read many of this blog's posts, you will notice that I read a lot of fiction books. Some, like Courage by Barbara Binns and Front Desk by Kelly Yang deal with weighty issues but others are pretty light. I know that in order to encourage kids to read, oftentimes you must lead with light books that catch their interest.

Dark Sky Rising: Reconstruction and the Dawn of Jim Crow by Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Tonya Bolden is not by any stretch of the imagination, a light book. It deals with heavy, weighty issues that many, even people like myself who are of African descent, sometimes struggle to read. The weight of history, of the struggles of the ancestors and of the cruel and inhumane treatment suffered during slavery is sometimes too hard to process.

But, in the year 2020 when so many things concerning civil rights are in the public consciousness, I decided to read this book not least because I wanted to delve into some of the things that shaped the nation. Things that occur today are as a result of centuries of oppression, state policies and outright bigotry.

Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr and his co-author create a very readable account of a little studied period in American history between 1865 and 1877 called Reconstruction.  It is important to remember that not everyone was happy to see former slaves now given rights such as the right to vote through amendments to the Constitution.

I finished this book and felt a sense of pride for the enduring spirit of those who resisted and fought for the rights to live and prosper and so that their children could have a better future.  This book is, in my humble opinion, a must read for teens and adults.  We must learn from history or be doomed to repeat it.