Crossing Over: A Mexican Family on the Migrant Trail by Ruben Martinez
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Book Reviews of Crossing Over: A Mexican Family on the Migrant Trail
Book Review: A Courageous Book
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a commanding book that changed the way I felt about immigration. Martinez's narrative of a Mexican family's struggle to realize the American dream is heartbreaking and realistic at the same time. There is not a single individual in all of America that is not where they are today because of an ancestor's sacrifice, albeit two generations ago or 12. It is in this light that it is impossible not to identify with these characters and their struggle to create a better life for themselves and their children.Martinez takes the forces of globalization, issues of prejudice and racism, social mobility and culture, and puts them in a time and place. He takes the ideas and idealisms of our society and gives them a face. Our world is evolving, and it's not just about free trade and People en Espanol. "Crossing Over" takes the effects of economic crisis and anti-immigration sentiment and personalizes it. This book gives a different look at textbook issues we thought we already understood.
I recommend this book to anyone who can call themselves an American. The trials and tribulations of the Chavez's family give a powerful depiction of what economic and social change look like when you attach them to an individual. No matter how you feel about U.S. Immigration Policy and the changing demographic landscape, this book will get you to re-evaluate who you are and what it means to be American.
Book Review: crossing over...then back?
Summary: 4 Stars
it seemed this book was a little to verbose because the author includes so much details and very descriptive descriptions of every person. although i enjoyed reading the book very much, if you are like me and are emotional about the suffering situations that immigrants go through, then book will not be a comforting one. my favorite part would have to be just following rosa. i am not considered a feminist, but seeing how her attitude, her self-confidence changes are amazing; how she fought to overcome the coyote dilemma and border crossing mishaps with a child mind you, is simply miraculous to me. she has the traditional family roles placed on her, and she overcomes that; even having the men acknowledge not to mess with her. what struck me was her desire to go back to cherán even after she goes through hell to get to america, which was everyone's dream basically. although it isn't surprising that they would have home-sickness, what suprises me is how they experience freedom, but it isn't really freedom for them and so they grow a desire to go back home. its depressing yes, but this book made me realize the judgements we make against the immigrants who don't feel the american "pride" as many citizens of the u.s. attack them for.
i would definitely recommmend this book to anyone who is just naive, such as me, about the immigrant issue on border-crossing especially mexican immigrants. it won't really answer any questions you may have, which wasn't the intention of the author, but probably end some stereotypes and inform just about what their lives are like.
Book Review: Crossing Over- A Description of Contemporary Immigration
Summary: 4 Stars
Have you ever wondered what it's like to desperately want to leave behind the life you've always known? Have you ever felt so desperate to enter a new world that you'd do almost anything, endure physical and emotional pain, hardships, and poverty in order to get there? Thousands of Mexicans do this everyday and Ruben Martinez tells their story in the book, Crossing Over. Martinez begins his book by examining the Mexican town of Cheran where three brothers have recently been killed by a coyote who promised to lead them to America. The coyote, the three brothers, and more than twenty others died in a truck accident while attempting to cross the border into the United States. Martinez travels to the small town to learn the story of the three brothers and eventually ends up learning much more about the town's and its inhabitants.
The first half of Crossing Over discusses such pertinent issues as current border policy between the United States and Mexico, the economic circumstances that force many to flee northward, and the realities faced by those wishing to cross the border via a "coyote." The latter half of the book follows the lives of different families after their arrival in the U.S.
I would recommend this book to teachers, doctors, librarians, politicians, and residents of U.S./Mexico border towns. The book gives a fascinating portrayal of the broader issues affecting contemporary immigration to the United States.
Book Review: Reciprocal change in culture
Summary: 4 Stars
Through rich prose and attention to the everyday details of life, Ruben Martinez is able to transport readers into the lives of Mexican migrants. Not only does he create a deeper understanding of what pulls and pushes these workers over the border, he remembers their families and their histories. Martinez's stories of migration reflect generations of communities. The history of an entire people comes together with the present of Martinez's own experiences with migrants in both Mexico and the United States, while at the same time pointing to the future.The importance of this book for people entering the field of education is evident in a brief statement by Dr. Tito, one of the doctors of Western medicine who shares patients with the Indian healers. Dr. Tito says that things are different today because of how quickly the culture is changing, because of the cultural revolution in process that encompasses everyone. Dr. Tito's statement is universal. As migrants returning to Mexico bring a bit of America back with them, so migrants bring some of Mexico with them into America. The observations Martinez writes and the questions he asks open doors into another culture. Educators can learn from his example of seeking understanding without imposes his own ideals on others. As cultural diversity in classrooms grows, teachers will need to be able to acknowledge student differences and be sensitive to the struggles they may face as they try to find their place among a mix of cultures.
Crossing Over is a window into another world for those of us who grew up as American citizens closer to the Canadian border. The book follows the Chavez family after three sons are lost in an accident while trying to cross the border illegally. Even with this pain of loss, family members still seek to make the journey north. Reading such accounts makes one truly reflect about the good, the bad, and the ugly that are part of America. Martinez's work makes one think. It is impossible to remain indifferent while reading it. For this reason, I recommend this book to anyone looking to view migration from the perspective of those crossing from the south as observed by someone who crossed from the north.
Book Review: Valuable and enlightening
Summary: 4 Stars
Along Western Avenue in downtown Seattle, I pass a block lined with men - they are there everyday, waiting for someone to stop by and offer work. At an intake for students for free ESL classes, I see a brown blanket of earnest, anxious faces of all ages and gender. Running on a local bicycle trail, I jog by a Mexican work crew, sitting down for break from working on the trail. At a noodle house in San Francisco's Japantown, I strain to understand the exchange between the Spanish-speaking bus staff. I know very little of these mostly Mexican immigrants, yet they are everywhere in our community and I encounter them almost daily in one way or another."Crossing Over: A Mexican Family on the Migrant Trail" by Ruben Martinez, provided me with an opportunity to understand more about some of these people. In his book, Martinez shares an in-depth look at the life, culture, and outlook of Mexican migrants at various stages of "crossing over." Martinez's first person account brings the reader close to the Chavezes, one migrant family's existence, while touching briefly on a myriad of other migrant experiences interwoven with the current social, political, economic, and cultural events and forces that shape the migrants' choices, actions, and fates.
The most powerful benefit to me from reading this book is a perspective and additional cultural understanding which I would not have easily gained on my own. When reviewing information on migrant working conditions, lifestyles, and risk, I've wondered what their options are and what drives them to choose this kind of life. "Crossing Over" helps to answer these questions not only with socioeconomic context, but with detailed psychological portraits of the Chavez family members and other migrant families, their rationales for coming to America, their expectations, emotions, and changes in thinking as their lives unfold in an ongoing state of transition.
A book, obviously, is not representative of all, but I feel I know a little more about some of these faces that I see everyday. I read this book for a class in education - it's clearly important for anyone in the education field to know about the backgrounds of students. Yet while this book certainly has value for future educators, it really has value for all of us, from residents to voters to policymakers, as we all have some level of say in the policies that affect these populations.