Description

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2020 Moonbeam Children's Award winner. "Sometimes people disappear into the North and are never heard from again."When her pap doesn't return, twelve year old Ixchel, a Maya from the Yucatan, resolves to leave home and make her way across the treacherous border into the United States to find him. Chel relies on an inexperienced smuggler and faces unknown dangers in a border tunnel. Frightened but resourceful, she is driven by hope, love for her father, and her dream of going to school."Ixchel's story, told with honesty and sympathy, will stir readers' hearts."-Eve Bunting, award winning author of more than 250 children's books.

About the Author

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Sylvia Patience is a long time Santa Cruz resident, mother, grandmother, nurse, and midwife. She writes poetry, professional journal articles, and short fairy tales. She currently focuses on writing middle grade novels, for eight to twelve-year-olds. She loves playing with words, imagining stories, and expressing herself through writing. Her middle grade retelling of the Wizard of Oz from Toto’s point of view, Toto’s Tale and True Chronicle of Oz, was published in 2015. Sylvia lived in Mexico for several years. She speaks fluent Spanish and works with immigrants from Mexico and Central America

Praise For…

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“Ixchel’s story, told with honesty and sympathy, will stir readers’ hearts.”
-Eve Bunting, award winning author of more than 250 children’s books.

". . . It was well written and very interesting to learn about the Mayan culture in Merida where Ixchel lived. Her life with her mother and grandmother was described in such a way that younger readers would understand, but not so simplistic that an older reader wouldn't enjoy. The adventure she embarked upon was compelling and soon I couldn't put down the book until I found out what happened. . ."
Donna Cowan on Goodreads