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Living Beyond Borders: Growing Up Mexican in America Hardcover – 17 Aug. 2021
*"Superlative . . . A memorable collection." --Booklist, starred review
*"Voices reach out from the pages of this anthology . . . It will make a lasting impression on all readers." --SLJ, starred review
Twenty stand-alone short stories, essays, poems, and more from celebrated and award-winning authors make up this YA anthology that explores the Mexican American experience.
With works by Francisco X. Stork, Guadalupe Garcia McCall, David Bowles, Rubén Degollado, e.E. Charlton-Trujillo, Diana López, Xavier Garza, Trinidad Gonzales, Alex Temblador, Aida Salazar, Guadalupe Ruiz-Flores, Sylvia Sánchez Garza, Dominic Carrillo, Angela Cervantes, Carolyn Dee Flores, René Saldaña Jr., Justine Narro, Daniel García Ordáz, and Anna Meriano.
In this mixed-media collection of short stories, personal essays, poetry, and comics, this celebrated group of authors share the borders they have crossed, the struggles they have pushed through, and the two cultures they continue to navigate as Mexican Americans. Living Beyond Borders is at once an eye-opening, heart-wrenching, and hopeful love letter from the Mexican American community to today's young readers.
A powerful exploration of what it means to be Mexican American.
- Print length224 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherViking Books for Young Readers
- Publication date17 Aug. 2021
- Grade level2 - 9
- Reading age13 - 17 years
- Dimensions14.61 x 2.16 x 21.74 cm
- ISBN-100593204972
- ISBN-13978-0593204979
- Lexile measure880L
Product description
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Justine Narro
I want to go home.
I can still see it, still feel it
The cuts and bruises on my knees,
the dirt under my fingernails,
and the sweat in my hair
from countless days and nights
of picking naranjas from my backyard tree
BBQs where I would go outside
to pick the chile piquín for the pico de gallo
and my tíos sat outside drinking Tecate and Modelo
while my dad cooked the fajita
of chasing light bugs
fireflies
lightning bugs
o luciérnagas, como dice mi abuelo
I want to go home.
A place you have never stepped foot on
but call it your land
A place you know nothing about
but say you have more right to
A piece of paper
And it is yours?
Because it is now “technically” legal
The gringos trick us
Promise us better
All for what?
To kill mi abuelo’s abuelo
For a price
Because it is fair
Because it is now yours?
I want to go home.
The barrio where I was raised
A stucco home
with three bedrooms and one bath
Chickens and cabritos in the back
Our own natural lawn mowers
At five years old
when I helped place the now cracked tiles
in our new house
Where I swept the dirt off the concrete porch
not two inches above the ground
and played in the six-inch puddle of water on the edge of the house,
where the land indented from years of our makeshift driveway
I want to go home.
You say it is yours
because it is America’s land
because it is on dirt
that is exactly the same on the other side of the river
with a different name
The cactus plants that housed the tortoises
The aloe vera that I would cut for sunburns
The leaves from the Mexican olive trees that I would collect
None of which you know how to use
I want to go home.
The place where I met every friend
My first day of school
and the boy next to me gave me a toothy grin
and ten years later asked me to prom
You say I don’t belong
because it is your choice to make
where every memory is
where all my love is
where my life waits
I want to go home.
Product details
- Publisher : Viking Books for Young Readers; Bilingual edition (17 Aug. 2021)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 224 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0593204972
- ISBN-13 : 978-0593204979
- Reading age : 13 - 17 years
- Dimensions : 14.61 x 2.16 x 21.74 cm
- Best Sellers Rank: 2,864,638 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- Customer reviews:
About the authors
Lupe Ruiz-Flores, who is bilingual, has always been a writer at heart. Born and raised in southwest Texas, she’s also lived in Thailand and Japan. She comes from a large close-knit family where her grandmother and father were great storytellers. That’s where she gets her love for storytelling.
The author has written six award-winning bilingual picture books. Her books have the Spanish translation on the same page as the English, which makes it easier to follow the text in either English or Spanish. Her latest poem, "Shoes, Shoes, Shoes," has been published in the anthology, THANKU: POEMS OF GRATITUDE by Lerner. Her essays, Peinate: Hair Battles Between Latina Mothers & Daughters, and Latina Authors & their Muses, have been published in anthologies.
Her most recent historical picture book coming out in September 2023 is Piece by Piece: Ernestine's Gift for President Roosevelt.
Her short story, "My Name is Dolores" is published in the 2021 book, Living Beyond Borders: Growing Up Mexican in America.. She has been a featured author at the Texas Book Festival and Reading Rock Stars. She's been inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters. Visit her website at www.luperuiz-flores.com .
Margarita Longoria is a lifelong bookworm, book blogger, and an award-winning high school librarian in South Texas. She is the founder of Border Book Bash: Celebrating Teens and Tweens of the Rio Grande Valley and served on state reading committees for the Texas Library Association. She is the editor of LIVING BEYOND BORDERS: GROWING UP MEXICAN IN AMERICA, a mixed-media collection of short stories, personal essays, poetry, and comics, that is a hopeful love letter from the Mexican American community to today's young readers. She holds a BA and an MA in English and an MLS in Library Science. She is passionate about diverse books, her two sons, coffee, and Mr. Darcy. She grew up in Edinburg, Texas, and lives with her family in the Rio Grande Valley. You can visit Margie online at margiesmustreads.com and follow her on Instagram at @MargiesMustReads.
TEDx Speaker and Pushcart Prize nominee, author Daniel García Ordaz is the 2023 and 2024/25 McAllen Poet Laureate. García Ordaz, a.k.a. The Poet Mariachi, teaches high school and college courses. He is the founder of the Rio Grande Valley International Poetry Festival. He is the author of a middle grades book, Read Until You Bleed, (El Zarape Press, 2023) as well as the #1 bestseller books You Know What I’m Sayin’? (El Zarape Press, 2006) and Cenzontle/Mockingbird: Songs of Empowerment (FlowerSong Books, 2018) as well as the Young Adult Cenzontle/Mockingbird (YA Edition): Songs of Empowerment (El Zarape Press, 2018). His short ebook, Pet Names, also achieved #1 bestseller status. His writing focuses is on celebrating the power of language. In April 2017, García Ordaz defended his thesis, Cenzontle/Mockingbird: Empowerment Through Mimicry, to complete his terminal degree, an MFA in Creative Writing from The University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley. Over the years, he has edited several books and anthologies, such as Twenty: In Memoriam, a response by poets across the U.S. to the Sandy Hook shootings.
García is an established voice in American, Mexican American, Chicano, and Latino poetry. His poems have appeared in numerous literary journals, academic collections, and anthologies. He was born in Houston in 1971 and raised in Mission, Texas. His publishing experience includes editing and book cover design credits.
García also a song-writer, former newspaper journalist, photographicationisticator, and word-maker-upper. He appears in the documentary, “ALTAR: Cruzando fronteras/Building bridges" itself an altar offering to the late Chicana scholar and artist Gloria E. Anzaldúa, one of his great influences for this collection. García was one of five authors and the only poet chosen to participate in the Texas Latino Voices project in 2009 by the Texas Center For The Book, the state affiliate of the Library of Congress. He has been a featured reader and guest at numerous literary events, including the Texas Book Festival, Dallas International Book Fair, McAllen Book Festival, Texas Library Association events, TAIR, TABE, and Border Book Bash, among others.
García also served in the U.S. Navy as a Hospital Corpsman. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in English from The University of Texas-Pan American and an MFA in Creative Writing from UTRGV. He lives in the Rio Grande Valley of deep South Texas with his wife, Gina, and their children and he continues to teach write, sing, and spend time in front of a crowd as often as he can. García Ordaz is listed in Poets & Writers. See videos of him on YouTube and follow him at poetmariachi.
Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read book recommendations and more.
Customer reviews
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonTop reviews from United Kingdom
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- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 September 2021So, I read this and it was good, it was very good. As far as anthologies go, it is one of the best I’ve read. From the vivid ‘Ghetto is not an adjective’ (Dominic Carrillo) to the ever so Sarcastic ‘Yoli Calderon and Principal Hayes’ (Angela Cervantes), and the cleverly crafted ‘Filberto’s final visit’ (Francisco X. Stork).
A big congratulations to Margarita Longoria and everyone else that contributed to this book, you hit this one out the park!!!
Hebru Young
Top reviews from other countries
- Michael in FriscoReviewed in the United States on 7 December 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Wife Loved it and said it was touching!
My wife read it and said it was good and she gave it 5 stars.
- Iliana VillalobosReviewed in the United States on 5 May 2022
5.0 out of 5 stars Our book club loved it!
I’m part of a local book club and we read Margie’s anthology for the month of April. Everyone loved it and we all felt like we related to one story or the other. It was refreshing reading about how many others in our shoes (as Mexican Americans) have similar feelings and experiences as we do. This book sparked a lot of great discussion. Highly recommend!
- Tala CampbellReviewed in the United States on 14 October 2023
5.0 out of 5 stars Good book, as described, thank you!
Good book, as described, thank you!
- Amazon CustomerReviewed in the United States on 25 July 2022
5.0 out of 5 stars Love love love
Love this book! I’m a first generation Latina growing up in the US, and I found myself relating to so many of these stories. They’re heartfelt, they hustle and work hard for everything they’ve accomplished. These individuals are incredibly inspiring for sharing their stories. Definitely recommend.
- Local Reader!Reviewed in the United States on 23 August 2021
5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Anthology
This entire collection is full of great work in different genres - short fiction, personal essay (narrative nonfiction), poetry, comics. The editor, Margarita Longoria, put together an excellent book that would work well in secondary educational settings and for independent reading. The range of writers, including many famous figures as well as emerging writers, is also impressive throughout all 210 pages.