Return to Sender by Julia Alvarez

"Return to Sender" may focus on the plight of migrant workers, but it is also more than that. Tyler Paquette is grieving the loss of his beloved grandfather, and to top it off, his father is recovering from a horrific accident, one which has left him incapable of running the family farm on his own. Tyler fears losing his family farm and the way of life that is so important to him. Then he discovers that his parents have hired new migrant workers from Mexico (by way of North Carolina), and he wonders why his parents are being so secretive, telling him not to tell his friends and classmates about the new workers. Later, Tyler finds out that these workers are undocumented, and feels conflicted - why would his parents risk so much to hire these people? What if they get into trouble for harboring illegal immigrants? Yet Tyler realizes this may be the only option available to his parents in order to keep the farm going, and the migrant workers appear to be decent, hardworking folk.

Tyler also finds that the eldest daughter of the migrant family, i.e. Mari, is about his age and shares a common interest in astronomy. Over time, Tyler comes to care about Mari, her two younger sisters and the others, and does not wish to see them deported. However, others in the community are not so benevolent and are bent on seeing these migrants sent back to Mexico. Mari, meanwhile, struggles with her own conflicts - her mother has been missing for a while, and as the days pass by, the family's hopes of seeing Mama grow dim.

There is no real happy ending in this story, so it does credibly address some of the real issues having to do with the uncertain life of migrant workers, who literally live from day to day in the hopes that la migra will not arrest them and send them back to a life of poverty, with no means of supporting their families. There is an obvious political message here, but I felt it was well-integrated into the story without a happily ever after ending that would have diluted the story's message. The reality in today's United States is that there are many immigrant students in school without legal status, and it is time that other students, both citizens and legal aliens learn to understand how their peers might feel, living in constant fear. It is not a pleasant subject, but I felt the author did a credible job in weaving a compelling human interest story of friendship, immigrants, and life.