Alexandra Diaz

"Twelve-year-old Jaime makes the treacherous journey from his home in Guatemala to his older brother in New Mexico after his cousin is murdered by a drug cartel"--

The Only Road

Winner of the International Latino Book Award “An incredibly heartfelt depiction of immigrants and refugees in a land full of uncertainty.” —Kirkus Reviews “Insightful, realistic picture...especially important reading for today’s children.” —Booklist “Fans of The Only Road will appreciate...while teachers and librarians may find the text useful to counter unsubstantiated myths about Central Americans fleeing to the US.” —School Library Journal Jaime and Ángela discover what it means to be living as undocumented immigrants in the United States in this timely sequel to the Pura Belpré Honor Book The Only Road. After crossing Mexico into the United States, Jaime Rivera thinks the worst is over. Starting a new school can’t be that bad. Except it is, and not just because he can barely speak English. While his cousin Ángela fits in quickly, with new friends and after-school activities, Jaime struggles with even the idea of calling this strange place “home.” His real home is with his parents, abuela, and the rest of the family; not here where cacti and cattle outnumber people, where he can no longer be himself—a boy from Guatemala. When bad news arrives from his parents back home, feelings of helplessness and guilt gnaw at Jaime. Gang violence in Guatemala means he can’t return home, but he’s not sure if he wants to stay either. The US is not the great place everyone said it would be, especially if you’re sin papeles—undocumented—like Jaime. When things look bleak, hope arrives from unexpected places: a quiet boy on the bus, a music teacher, an old ranch hand. With his sketchbook always close by, Jaime uses his drawings to show what it means to be a true citizen. Powerful and moving, this touching sequel to The Only Road explores overcoming homesickness, finding ways to connect despite a language barrier, and discovering what it means to start over in a new place that alternates between being wonderful and completely unwelcoming.

The Crossroads

“With every chapter, readers will be further immersed in Santiago’s story as they root for his triumph over injustice.” —Booklist (starred review) “With unflinching conviction, Diaz sketches a frank, brief account of refugee youth in an uncaring bureaucratic system.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “Harrowing but deeply illuminating.” —School Library Journal “Diaz’s crucial narrative shines a disconcerting light on the plight of children in US detention centers along the southern border.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) A young boy gets detained by ICE while crossing the border from Mexico to the United States in this timely and unflinching novel by award-winning author Alexandra Diaz. The bed creaks under Santiago’s shivering body. They say a person’s life flashes by before dying. But it’s not his whole life. Just the events that led to this. The important ones, and the ones Santiago would rather forget. The coins in Santiago’s hand are meant for the bus fare back to his abusive abuela’s house. Except he refuses to return; he won’t be missed. His future is uncertain until he meets the kind, maternal María Dolores and her young daughter, Alegría, who help Santiago decide what comes next: He will accompany them to el otro lado, the United States of America. They embark with little, just backpacks with water and a bit of food. To travel together will require trust from all parties, and Santiago is used to going it alone. None of the three travelers realizes that the journey through Mexico to the border is just the beginning of their story.

Santiago's Road Home

Told from their differing viewpoints, high schoolers Tara, an athlete, Whitney Blaire, a beauty, and Pinkie, a mother hen, face problems in various relationships but the most devastating occurs when Tara finds herself attracted to a girl Whitney Blaire hates.

Of all the stupid things

Leaving Cuba

Basada en las experiencias reales de la madre de Alexandra Diaz como una refugiada cubana en los Estados Unidos, una historia oportuna y conmovedora de la familia, la amistad, y la lucha por un futuro mejor. A Victoria le encanta su hogar en Cuba con la tierra hermosa, la deliciosa comida, su mejor amiga y prima, Jackie, y toda su amorosa y numerosa familia. Pero es el año 1960 y la situación política se está volviendo cada vez más peligrosa. Victoria, sus padres y sus dos hermanos menores tienen que salir como refugiados a los Estados Unidos. Lo peor es que tienen que dejar atrás al resto de su familia, incluyendo a Jackie. Todo es muy diferente en Miami, Florida. Victoria ayuda a su familia a establecerse en esta nueva vida con la esperanza de que no van a estar ahí por mucho tiempo. Pero en Cuba, nada sigue igual. Jackie ve como sus compañeros y los vecinos huyen y desaparecen. Cuando su familia se entera de un programa que está sacando a los menores de Cuba, los padres de Jackie deciden mandarla para Miami. Una vez que Victoria y Jackie se vuelven a reunir, ellas esperan que el resto de su familia pueda salir de Cuba sana y salva. Solo el tiempo lo dirá.

Hasta siempre Cuba, mi isla (Farewell Cuba, Mi Isla)

Alan Gratz’s Refugee meets Pam Muñoz Ryan’s Esperanza Rising in this “evocative and transportive” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) middle grade novel about two girls fleeing 1960 Cuba with their family inspired by award-winning author Alexandra Diaz’s family’s history. Victoria loves everything about her home in Cuba. The beautiful land, the delicious food, her best friend and cousin, Jackie, and her big, loving family. But it’s 1960 in Cuba, and as the political situation grows more and more dangerous, Victoria, her parents, and her two younger siblings are forced to seek refuge in America with nothing more than two changes of clothes and five dollars. Worse, they’re forced to leave the rest of their family, including Jackie, behind. In Miami, everything is different. And it’s up to Victoria to step up and help her family settle into this new world—even though she hopes they won’t be there for long. Back in Cuba, everything feels different, too. Jackie watches as friends and family flee, or worse, disappear. So, when she’s given a chance to escape to America, she takes it—even though she has to go alone. Reunited in Miami, can Victoria and Jackie find a way to bring the rest of their family to safety? Based on Alexandra Diaz’s mother’s real experiences as a Cuban refugee in America, this is a moving and timely story about family, friendship, and fighting for your future.

Farewell Cuba, Mi Isla

When a rumor starts circulating that Tara's boyfriend Brent has been sleeping with one of the guy cheerleaders, the innuendo doesn't just hurt Tara. It marks the beginning of the end for an inseparable trio of friends. Tara's training for a marathon, but also running from her fear of abandonment after being deserted by her father. Whitney Blaire seems to have everything, but an empty mansion and absentee parents leave this beauty to look for meaning in all the wrong places. And Pinkie has a compulsive need to mother everyone to make up for the mom she's never stopped missing. This friendship that promised to last forever is starting to break under the pressure of the girls' differences. And then new-girl Riley arrives in school with her long black hair, athletic body, and her blasé attitude, and suddenly Tara starts to feel things she's never felt before for a girl--and to reassess her feelings about Brent and what he may/may not have done. Is Tara gay--or does she just love Riley? And can her deepest friendships survive when all of the rules have changed?

Of All the Stupid Things

Jaime y Ángela descubren lo que es vivir como inmigrantes indocumentados en los Estados Unidos en la continuación de El único destino, libro ganador del premio Pura Belpré Honor. Jaime Rivera pensó que después de cruzar México y entrar en Estados Unidos, lo peor había quedado atrás. No podía ser muy dificil comenzar en una escuela nueva. Pero lo es. Y no solamente porque casi no habla inglés. Mientras que su prima hermana Ángela se adaptó rapidamente e hizo nuevos amigos y se envolvió en actividades después de clases, Jaime siente que este lugar extraño no es su “hogar.” Su hogar de verdad es con sus padres, con abuela y con el resto de su familia y no en este lugar donde hay más cactus y ganado que personas y donde él siente que no puede ser él mismo—un muchacho de Guatemala. Cuando llegan malas noticias de sus padres en Guatemala sentimientos de impotencia y culpa atormentan a Jaime. La violencia de las pandillas en Guatemala significa que no puede regresar. Pero tampoco está seguro de que se quiera quedar. Los Estados Unidos no son la maravilla que todos le habían dicho que era, especialmente si no tienes papeles, si estás indocumentado. Pero cuando las cosas lucen sombrias la esperanza llega de lugares inesperados: un muchacho callado en el autobús, una maestra de música, un viejo que trabaja en el rancho. Con su cuaderno de dibujar siempre en sus manos Jaime comienza a usar sus dibujos para demostrar lo que significa ser un ciudadano de verdad.

La encrucijada (The Crossroads)

PURA BELPRÉ HONOR BOOK ALA NOTABLE BOOK “An important, must-have addition to the growing body of literature with immigrant themes.” —School Library Journal (starred review) Twelve-year-old Jaime makes the treacherous and life-changing journey from his home in Guatemala to live with his older brother in the United States in this “powerful and timely” (Booklist, starred review) middle grade novel. Jaime is sitting on his bed drawing when he hears a scream. Instantly, he knows: Miguel, his cousin and best friend, is dead. Everyone in Jaime’s small town in Guatemala knows someone who has been killed by the Alphas, a powerful gang that’s known for violence and drug trafficking. Anyone who refuses to work for them is hurt or killed—like Miguel. With Miguel gone, Jaime fears that he is next. There’s only one choice: accompanied by his cousin Ángela, Jaime must flee his home to live with his older brother in New Mexico. Inspired by true events, The Only Road is an individual story of a boy who feels that leaving his home and risking everything is his only chance for a better life. The story is “told with heartbreaking honesty,” Booklist raved, and “will bring readers face to face with the harsh realities immigrants go through in the hope of finding a better, safer life, and it will likely cause them to reflect on what it means to be human.”

Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt

Nicolas Dickner

Alexandre Jardin

Kathy Reichs

Michel Tremblay

Kim Thúy

Marc Levy

Michel Rabagliati

Patrick Senécal

Jean Barbe

Fanny Britt

Simon Boulerice

Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois

Jean-François Nadeau

Geneviève Jannelle

Claudia Larochelle

Stéphane Dompierre

Bruno Blanchet

Caroline Allard

Guillaume Vigneault

Matthieu Simard

Yves Beauchemin

Martin Michaud

India Desjardins

Georges-Hébert Germain

Tristan Demers

Marie Laberge

Anne Robillard

Dominique Demers

Bryan Perro

François Cardinal

Gilles Tibo

Marie-Sissi Labrèche

Micheline Duff

Marie-Claude Savard

Pierre Cayouette

Chrystine Brouillet

Pauline Gill

Marie Hélène Poitras

Isabelle Massé

André Cédilot

Alain Farah

Hugo Fontaines

Serge Chapleau

Carle Coppens

Josée di Stasio

Benoît Dutrizac

Jacques Duval

Louis Émond

Steve Galluccio

Normand Lester

François Lévesque

Philippe Meilleur

Josélito Michaud

Paul Ohl

Louise Portal

Sonia Sarfati

Solitude des premiers salons du livre, erreurs sur la personne, séances de dédicaces interminables, cadeaux des lecteurs, témoignages émouvants, insultes et humiliations, séjours à l’étranger, fêtes et durs lendemains de veille, moments décisifs et consécrations, péripéties de tout acabit... Cinquante-huit auteurs, des plus grandes stars de la littérature française et québécoise aux auteurs encore méconnus, nous racontent des anecdotes de salons du livre cocasses et touchantes, véritables fenêtres ouvertes sur leur univers. Caroline Allard – Jean Barbe – Yves Beauchemin – Biz – Bruno Blanchet – Simon Boulerice – Fanny Britt – Chrystine Brouillet – François Cardinal – Pierre Cayouette – André Cédilot – Serge Chapleau – Carle Coppens – Dominique Demers – Tristan Demers – India Desjardins – Alexandra Diaz – Nicolas Dickner – Josée di Stasio – Stéphane Dompierre – Micheline Duff – Benoît Dutrizac – Jacques Duval – Louis Émond – Alain Farah – Steve Galluccio – Georges-Hébert Germain – Pauline Gill – Geneviève Jannelle – Alexandre Jardin – Marie Laberge – Marie-Sissi Labrèche – Claudia Larochelle – Normand Lester – François Lévesque – Marc Levy – Philippe Meilleur – Josélito Michaud – Martin Michaud – Jean-François Nadeau – Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois – Paul Ohl – Bryan Perro – Marie Hélène Poitras – Louise Portal – Michel Rabagliati – Kathy Reichs – Anne Robillard – Sonia Sarfati – Marie-Claude Savard – Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt – Patrick Senécal – Matthieu Simard – Kim Thúy – Gilles Tibo – Michel Tremblay – Guillaume Vigneault

150 anecdotes de salons du livre

Passez au salon

El único destino

PURA BELPRÉ HONOR BOOK ALA NOTABLE BOOK “Powerful and timely.” —Booklist (starred review) “An important, must-have addition to the growing body of literature with immigrant themes.” —School Library Journal (starred review) En esta absorbente y emocionante novela juvenil, Jaime de doce años emprende el peligroso y traicionero viaje que le transforma su vida de su hogar en Guatemala a Estados Unidos para vivir con su hermano mayor. Twelve-year-old Jaime makes the treacherous and life-changing journey from his home in Guatemala to live with his older brother in the United States in this gripping and realistic middle grade novel. Jaime está sentado en su cama dibujando cuando oye un grito. Sabe inmediatamente que su primo hermano y mejor amigo, Miguel, está muerto. Todos en el pequeño pueblo de Guatemala donde Jaime vive conocen a alguien que ha sido asesinado por los Alfas, una pandilla poderosa que es conocida por su violencia y por el tráfico de drogas. Aquellos que rehúsan trabajar para ellos son atacados o asesinados como Miguel. Jaime y su prima Ángela, la hermana de Miguel, temen que ellos van a ser los próximos. Solamente hay un camino para ambos. Deben de salir huyendo de su hogar en Guatemala para irse a vivir con el hermano mayor de Jaime en Nuevo México. IInspirada en hechos actuales, El único destino es la historia de un niño que siente que abandonar su hogar y emprender esta travesía es su única oportunidad para tener mejor calidad de vida. Es una historia de pánico y de valentía, de amor y de pérdida, donde personas extrañas se convierten en familia en el viaje peligroso que le cambia la vida a un niño. Jaime is sitting on his bed drawing when he hears a scream. Instantly, he knows: Miguel, his cousin and best friend, is dead. Everyone in Jaime’s small town in Guatemala knows someone who has been killed by the Alphas, a powerful gang that’s known for violence and drug trafficking. Anyone who refuses to work for them is hurt or killed—like Miguel. With Miguel gone, Jaime fears that he is next. There’s only one choice: accompanied by his cousin Ángela, Jaime must flee his home to live with his older brother in New Mexico. Inspired by true events, The Only Road is an individual story of a boy who feels that leaving his home and risking everything is his only chance for a better life. It is a story of fear and bravery, love and loss, strangers becoming family, and one boy’s treacherous and life-changing journey.

El único destino (The Only Road)

Cuando cruzaba la frontera de México con Estados Unidos un muchacho se detiene por ICE en esta novela actual e impávida escrita por la autora galardonada Alexandra Díaz. La cama cruje bajo el peso del cuerpo tembloroso de Santiago. Dicen que la vida de una persona pasa por su mente antes de morir. Pero esto no es toda su vida. Son solo los acontecimientos que lo llevaron a esta situación. Los más importantes y los que Santiago quisiera olvidar. Las monedas en la mano de Santiago son para el boleto del autobús para regresar a la casa de su abuela abusiva. Pero él rehusa regresar. No lo van a extrañar. Su futuro es incierto hasta que se encuentra con María Dolores, cariñosa y maternal y su joven hija, Alegría. Este encuentro ayuda a Santiago a decidir lo que va a hacer. Va a acompañarlas hasta el otro lado, hasta los Estados Unidos de América. Emprenden el viaje con muy pocas cosas, solo mochilas con agua y un poquito de comida. Viajar juntos requiere que confíen unos en los otros y Santiago está acostumbrado a ir solo. Ninguno de los tres viajeros se da cuenta de que la travesía a través de México hasta la frontera es solamente el comienzo de su historia.

La travesía de Santiago (Santiago's Road Home)

Jaime esta sentado en su cama dibujando cuando oye un grito. Sabe inmediatamente que su primo hermano y mejor amigo, Miguel, esta muerto. Todos en el pequeano pueblo de Guatemala donde Jaime vive conocen a alguien que ha sido asesinado por los Alfas, una pandilla poderosa que es conocida por su violencia y por el traafico de drogas. Aquellos que rehausan trabajar para ellos son atacados o asesinados como Miguel. Jaime y su prima aAngela, la hermana de Miguel, temen que ellos van a ser los praoximos. Solamente hay un camino para ambos. Deben de salir huyendo de su hogar en Guatemala para irse a vivir con el hermano mayor de Jaime en Nuevo Maexico. Inspirada en hechos actuales, El aunico destino es la historia de un niano que siente que abandonar su hogar y emprender est a travesaia es su aunica oportunidad para tener mejor calidad de vida. Es una historia de paanico y de valentaia, de amor y de paerdida, donde personas extraanas se convierten en familia en el viaje peligroso que le cambia la vida a un niano.

El Ãºnico destino

Alexandra Diaz

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