Return to Sender

Julia Alvarez
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2009
318 p. (Grades 4-7)

When a family of migrant workers from Mexico move to Vermont to help out on the Paquette's farm, eleven-year-old Tyler doesn't know what to make of the situation: Without the extra help, his family will have to sell everything; but, the Cruz family is in the United States illegally. Dual narratives told by Tyler and Mari (Mr. Cruz's eldest daughter) authentically capture the misunderstandings and prejudices surrounding the illegal immigrant experience through the lens of youthful innocence. The choice to narrate Tyler's story in third person and Mari's through a series of first-person letters is an odd one, but it succeeds in illustrating the singular experience of each. As their friendship grows, readers, too, will breach the barrier between cultures and see illegal immigrants as people rather than problems. While the novel's agenda may seem annoyingly ever-present to older teens and adults, middle readers will be drawn in by the story of friendship and come away with a lesson in empathy, as well.