8/10 It's a really good juvenile fiction. I've never read a story about crossing the border from Mexico especially from the viewpoint of a street orphan. Really enlightening.

I read it aloud to my kids. Because of the writing style maybe not the best read aloud but a good story. I thought Manny would die but it turned out Robert dies. Deals with adult themes - drinking to forget, war, starvation, child selling, etc. but still good. Because of adult themes perhaps a good read aloud even if the words aren't read aloud style. Allowed us to discuss sensitive topics.

The English department at my middle school is considering teaching this book in eighth grade next year. I was tasked with reading it and reporting back my insights to the them.

Most people know Gary Paulsen from The Hatchet and the subsequent novels in the series. He’s like Hemingway for kids. He writes realistic fiction that romanticizes ruggedness, violence, and survival. The Crossing is a 1987 novella by Paulsen (very much in the same style) about an alcoholic U.S. Army sergeant and a young Mexican refugee. Their paths cross in Juarez. In a way, they both are trying to save each other.

There’s not a lot of character development here. Both protagonists are pretty flat. The plot is pretty simple. No spoilers but it was quite obvious where the book was going thanks to the heavy-handed symbolism.

I’m glad that my school wants to teach a book with non-white, non-American characters that highlights the struggles of refugees, but the problem is that this book is a textbook example of the white messiah complex. The haunted white man is the only salvation for a (mostly) passive Mexican boy.

Possible red flags for young readers (and I’m thinking of parents of my students who are easily offended): descriptions of a strip club, alcoholism (a LOT of alcoholism), suggestions of homosexual pedophilia, and a lot of violence.

Gary Paulsen never disappoints.

For the renouned author of Hatchet, 1987 was apparent a banner vintage year, in which both this and that. With 200 books, I guess many years had many books.

This one is simple: a boy, a man, both trying to escape, in a broken border town.

Masterful character building tells the whole tight story. I specially enjoyed how naturally their thoughts drifted, as the author shared everything with us. “Strange way to put it, he thought, and wondered why so many things in the army were strange and seem to be without meeting. […] Call everything what it wasn’t and change what it was…” (P 70) “He was back to normal lies, and Robert had heard those and done those himself. He had become so good at them now that he could tell normal lies to himself, and while he did not always believe the lies he told himself they often made him pause to be certain he was lying. The boy could tell him nothing about lying.” (P 86)

The troubles and villains don’t satisfy me, but maybe okay for teens, content with this synthetic veneered danger. Few plot surprises, except the exceptional one at the end, that made it great. The people, the bull, even the extras all felt real. The cleverness of how the stories tall is worth the hour or two to digest it.

The border has changed so much since 1987. And Pepsi was still in cans. Sadly 30 years on, not much in Juarez is now better for anyone.

The book was ok. The story-line was weak and was not fun to read.

Young Manny Bustos is trying to stay alive on the streets. He’s an orphaned, homeless and society is not kind to him. Manny has to rely on begging and pick-pocketing tourist. One day Manny sergeant Robert S. Locke and “befriends” him. Locke is a cold man struggling with the trauma of war but he still treats Manny well. Soon Locke becomes the only one Manny can rely on.

The Crossing teaches us that there will be one person you can rely one. Manny was able to rely on Locke when no one helped him. Just like Manny there will be one person you can rely on and who that person is can surprise. I don’t agree with this lesson. Sometimes you have to rely on only yourself and no one else.

I didn’t like the main character at all. The main character seems like a brat to me. He acts like he’s better than everyone. He annoys me and reminds me of my younger cousin. Manny tricks people by acting innocent so he can get their money. My cousin is also like that. She pretends to be nice to get her way. A side from that, the book was generally boring. It focused too much on describing pointless thing.

This felt like Paulsen was channeling Hemingway here. This is one of his shorter books that might seem like it should be for younger readers, but it's definitely not. This is straight up YA. It's a story of a boy in Juarez, Mexico hoping to illegally cross into the United States and an alcoholic soldier haunted by his past. Their two lives unexpectedly intertwine through chance encounters in a gritty and dangerous border town. It's one of Paulsen's books that I'd never gotten around to reading before now, but with the current debate surrounding immigration policy, I decided now was as good a time as any. It wasn't what I expected, but for the right reader, I can see the appeal. It certainly paints a rather bleak picture for the protagonist, the boy from Juarez. The ending is certainly nontraditional. I don't think this one will be found in my elementary library any time soon.

Chance meetings with grand meaning imperceptible at the day, hour, or minute level prod readers to contemplate bravery and generosity. Robert is fascinating, rigid vice keeping his mind from imploding. The street experiences nurture Manny's resourcefulness and innocent vulgarity. I fret about the book's tomorrow - the how and if. Reading fiction cultivates empathy, yet empathy doesn't respond to the how and if at scale. I want to know more about the socioeconomic solutions that reduce reliance on the luck of "gold-in-the-gutter" people, like Robert, meeting motivated, impoverished people like Manny.

This book was about an orphan in Juarez, Mexico. This young boys name is Manny Bustos. Manny is tired of being broke in Mexico so he wants to cross the border into the United States. Once into the U.S. he plans to find work so he won't live in poverty. It is a pretty good plan but the question is whether or not it will work. He plans to sneak across on one quiet night but before he can he needs to get money to buy food do that he doesn't starve to death. What happens next is very interesting, but you will have to read the story yourself to find out.
I would absolutely recommend this book. If you are looking for a realistic yet made up book, this book is for you. I liked this book because I know that there are a lot of kids in Manny's position, so I thought it was cool to read about it. This is definitely a book worth reading. It is a very intriguing and thrilling book. I would give this book a rating of 4 stars.

Decent book about Mexican boy and an American sergant. Their encounters, their lives and the drama of it. I would say it's a light book that is easy to read and get into. Not anything groundbreaking but not bad either.

Not Paulsen’s best. Manny’s character is fantastic but Robert is left underdeveloped. My tears weren’t jerked (as was promised).