The Only Road by Alexandra Diaz (review)

The Alphas, the gang that terrorizes Jaime’s Guatemalan town, have threatened twelve-year old Jaime and his fifteen-year-old cousin, Ángela, with death if they do not join the drug-running business. Now the kids’ only way to safety is to travel to the United States, where Jaime’s older brother Tomás works legally on a New Mexico ranch. After favors and contributions are called in and an initial network of smugglers and safe houses is identified, the pair is given bags of food, blue jeans altered to conceal cash, and the prayers of their desperate, grieving parents. Readers then follow the cousins on a breathless journey. Their bus is waylaid just past the Guatemala–Mexico border by corrupt officials bribed into letting emigrants pass; then they find a safe church run by a priest who facilitates meetings between runaways and coyotes in return for supplies for the refugees in his care. Then there’s a suffocating ride in a locked freight car, a late-night crossing of the Rio Bravo/Grande, and finally, reunion with Tomás. Diaz acknowledges in a closing note that “Jaime and Ángela are very lucky on their trip; most people do not have it that easy.” The fate of significant secondary characters is left undetermined while others certainly die, and Jaime and Ángela must constantly weigh their immediate suffering and fear against taking their chances back home. The book buffers elements, such as the very real threat of sexual predation along the route, for the young audience, but it’s still clear that this is a dangerous journey. The tween audience will doubtless sigh in relief at the pair’s arrival, but many will also be aware that the cousins’ illegal status means their story is far from over. A bilingual glossary and list of children’s and adult resources are included.