Return to Sender

Julia Alvarez's story of illegal immigration comes alive for young listeners and adults alike through the agreeable voices of two capable narrators. Ozzie Rodriguez matches the tone of the author's beautiful language as he portrays the young, questioning Tyler, the son of an injured dairy farmer who hires undocumented workers to keep his family on the farm. Olivia Preciado narrates in perfect preteen cadence the letters and journal entries of Mari, Tyler's new friend who is the Mexican-born daughter of one of the hired workers. Listening to this engrossing story together will offer conversation starters for parent and child to discuss one of the hottest political issues in our nation today. R.Z.R. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

November 10, 2008
After Tyler’s father’s accident, his family hires undocumented Mexican workers in a last-ditch effort to keep their Vermont farm. Despite his reservations, Tyler soon bonds with a worker’s daughter, who is in his sixth-grade class. His problems seem small compared to Mari’s: her family fears deportation, and her mother has been missing since re-entering the States months ago. While this novel is certainly issue-driven, Alvarez (Before We Were Free
) focuses on her main characters, mixing in Mexican customs and the touching letters that Mari writes to her mother, grandmother and even the U.S. president. Readers get a strong sense of Tyler’s growing maturity, too, as he navigates complicated moral choices. Plot developments can be intense: Mari’s uncle lands in jail, and her mother turns out to have been kidnapped and enslaved during her crossing. Some characters and sentiments are over-the-top, but readers will be moved by small moments, as when Tyler sneaks Mari’s letter to her imprisoned uncle, watching as the man puts his palm on the glass while Tyler holds up the letter from the other side. A tender, well-constructed book. Ages 8–12.