The Only Road by Alexandra Diaz

I’ve been more fiction lately. I usually read self-improvement books and memoirs but lately I have been reading youth fiction with great vigor. The stories are innocent and they just make me happy. I usually borrow my books from my local library, more so now than in the past. I’ve checked out a few youth fiction books that were a little too simple for me but I have also been taken by surprise by others.The Only Road by Alexandra Diaz is one of those books.

I am not exaggerating when I say that this books captured me from the first page to the very last. The Only Road is one of the best youth fiction books I’ve read...ever. I can be hard read but this book, the story really is superbly written.

The story is about two young people, cousins from Guatemala who are forced to leave their village for the USA. Diaz brings her readers to the sobering realization that the journey to North America is dangerous for ALL who attempt the journey. The story doesn’t at skip the physical and mental trials one must face on their journey to a new life. The two main characters had to leave their family, their culture, everything they knew, to start a new life.

I think this book is important to read, because it humanizes the immigrant story. Too often we hear, the negatives and the political viewpoints and we miss that these immigrants are also human beings.