CW: Sex Slaves ( )

teen fiction (kidnapping/human trafficking Mexico>US, mystery/organized crime)

I liked Stork's The Memory of Light but couldn't get into this one (though it is another very current, very urgent topic). Maybe another time? ( )

Four Months Ago
Sara Zapata's best friend disappeared, kidnapped by the web of criminals who terrorize Juarez.

Four Hours Ago
Sara received a death threat -- and with it, a clue to the place where her friend is locked away.

Four Weeks Ago
Emiliano Zapata fell in love with Perla Rubi, who will never be his so long as he's poor.

Four Minutes Ago
Emiliano got the chance to make more money than he ever dreamed -- just by joining the web.

In the next four days, Sara and Emiliano will each face impossible choices, between life and justice, friends and family, truth and love. But when the web closes in on Sara, only one path remains for the siblings: the way across the desert to the United States. ( )

While I enjoyed reading about the danger of being a reporter crossing the wishes of some powerful bad people, and I appreciated the desperation of Sara needing to get out of Mexico... I wanted more.
I also wanted to smack Emiliano for his obsession with Perla Rubi and how easily he seemed to forget Linda. I’m not clear why he also wasn’t more upset by her disappearance. He also seemed quite ready to abandon his principals and while I understand that the author wanted to help us understand the attractiveness of money and a nice life... at the same time I wanted Emiliano to hold out just a bit more than he did. Overall... I just wanted something more than this book contained. The escape seemed too rushed and the rescue too sudden. I still enjoyed the story, disturbing though it was, but not enough to rank it higher. ( )

This story is about two siblings who live in Juarez and are caught up in the drug trade. Sara's best friend was kidnapped, and she is hoping she is still alive. Her brother, a star soccer player, is in love with a rich girl and tries to find a way into her world. Sara works at a newspaper writing about the girls who have disappeared. When she receives a death threat, her family's lives all change. This is a interesting story about crime and fear in Mexico. The novel deals with the topics of immigration, sex trafficking and drugs. This book will be interesting for students because this book addresses social issues that are very applicable today.