Customer Comments

This book was such a surprise! A fun, witty page-turner that illuminates life from the point of view of a strong-willed Mexican teenage girl with more than her share of charisma, energy and moxie, who looks around her little south-Mexico hometown one day and is shocked to see that over the past couple of years nearly all the men have vanished into the north. She and a couple of intrepid pals decide to embark upon an epic quest to cross the border and bring back an army of strong, courageous Mexicans to fend off the encroaching drug lords. You'll find no forlorn, illiterate farmworkers here. These girls are educated, tough -- and have the same insecurities and challanges as teens anywhere. A great read for anyone from age 12 to 112, this puts a human face on the immigrant controversy. I think it worthy of inclusion on high school reading lists everywhere. I received it as part of Powell's "Indie" series, and it was a real stand-out. As much as I loved Jonathan Franzen's amazing Freedom, and the Story of Edgar Sawtelle, I chose this book because it changed the way I think and feel about our neighbors to the south. It gave me hope that we might be able to get along as a species -- if only we could see each other as author Albert Urea, who lives with a foot in each country, does.

I just have to have this book. That's right. I'm writing a review based on the Google preview. I actually had tears running down my face just reading the PREVIEW! Any book that can bring me to tears reading the introduction has to be pretty damned good. And probably has to be bought and given to several friends as well. Hey, laughter is good medicine! JeannieJayne, RN

This book is a gem, pure and simple. William Winchester's classic diary of a life sustained, body and soul, almost entirely by the work of a young man's own hands. Anyone looking for an in-depth how-to farm book should look elsewhere. This is a quiet meditation on the joys of being intimately acquainted with a piece of one's world, and of examining it in loving (some may say excruciating!) detail, from the insects and animals sharing his space to the cheeses and breads he produces from his own grains and his Jersey cow's rich milk. Recipes included! A comforting and nourishing book to be savored and re-read many times.