Santuario

Gr 8 Up–Paillié offers a powerful translation of human rights activist Mendoza’s 2021 YA debut novel Sanctuary, coauthored by Sher. In the book’s dystopian 2032, all American citizens must wear an identification chip that is used for everything, from boarding the bus to buying groceries, which makes it impossible for undocumented immigrants to survive without one. When the mother of 16-year-old, Colombia-born Vali gets caught with a fake chip, her family must flee their home state of Vermont for the sanctuary Nation of California in order to escape the United States’ Deportation Forces. This mission becomes the crux of Mendoza and Sher’s borderland tale. As Vali and her family trek across the country, the fake ID chips in their wrists make them targets. Vali is especially worried that she is endangering the safety of her California-born seven-year-old brother, Ernesto. The frightening near-future world of Mendoza and Sher’s gripping novel doesn’t feel too distant from the present-day United States, and the book is not for the faint of heart. However, readers will be captivated by Vali’s journey as they get a well-crafted insight into the plight of undocumented immigrants and might be inspired to take action by story’s end.