In my opinion, The Crossing by Gary Paulsen was a very interesting book that really showed the true conflict between the two main characters. The author makes you feel sympathy for the children struggling to survive on their own in Mexico. Manny Bustos is a 14 year old orphan boy who was abandoned from his parents at such a young age. Later in the book, Manny later finds a sergeant in the back of an alley, who was vomiting away all the drinks he had that night. The main story plot revolves around each of these characters. Manny dreamed of crossing the bridge into another town that has many opportunities for him to move forward in his life and later on gets help from the sergeant to attempt the crossing. Overall, this book was very well written and composed.

My favourite Gary Paulsen book. I read it once as a child, and purposely tracked a copy down for our son. Short, to the point, and beautifully told.

I'm just not a huge fan of this author for some reason, but this one was definitely a departure for him, from what I understand. The book is sad, yes, but there are also parts that a worded oddly (at least for my mind). I really struggled with the character of the soldier and his dualistic nature. I understand it, I just didn't feel any real connection to him.

The book was a little slow at the start, but as I reached the middle of the book and beyond that, it got real exciting. You all have to read about how Manny, a beggar boy who lives on the streets, keeps meeting Sergeant Locke, who is "above all things, a Sergeant". Maybe when you get to the end, you will understand why I cried.

I read this quite some time ago, but I still recall how it affected my view of why people risk crossing the border.

Teacher’s Note: Realistic and gritty descriptions of life in Juarez make this better suited for mature middle schoolers or high schoolers.

The Crossing

This book is good but it's not really that good for the children! I appreciate it because I worked as a Border Patrol Agent. It brought back memories!

This book is about a boy who is named Manny Bustos who is from Juarez, Mexico and is trying to cross the border. He's a homeless boy who suffers from starvation and tries to cross for a better life. As the story continues he meets a sergeant who at the end saves his life from los Lobos (or also known as the guys who take the children and sell them.) As he's being chased by them sergeant helps Manny by saving his life And fighting off the Lobos. At the end sergeant dies and he gives his money to Manny to cross the border. This story was an okay book. What I liked about it was that it was very detailed and very moving. What I disliked about it was that it was very violent. I would recommend this book because it would help people understand how people around the world live.

I just recently read this book and i actually enjoyed it a lot. The book is about a 14 year old ophan name Manny Bustos who lives in mexico trying to cross to the U.S. He meets an officer that works in the border and become good buds and the officer buys him lunch and protected him from theives. While protecting him from theives the officer dies and tells manny to run and make it to the other side. Its a real nice book.

When i first saw this book i knew i would like it because it takes place in Mexico and like Enrique Journey its about crossing the border. I just recently finish the book, it's not the longest or the shortest but its a really great book. I would recommend this book for people to read it because it's similiar to enriques journey

The book "The Crossing" is a very interesting read. It gives a sad but ore realistic story of a boy named Manny Bustos who is struggling throughout his entire life. He competes with the older rivals who want to survive just like him, they will hurt even hurt each other for american tourists coins. All he wants to do is start a new life in the Americas, however it isn't as easy as he thinks it is and he comes across many obstacles in the way of him getting across to El Paso.
I wold highly recommend this book to anyone because it makes you really appreciate what you have and the struggle that others have to go through just to get to our country. On the night that he decided to cross the Rio Grande to pass search lights and the border patrol he comes across a man who can be his ally more than an enemy. He doesn't trust the man because of his experience on the streets and throughout his life dealing with others. It really shows who can be a true ally and true enemy to you. This book is very interesting and will keep you wanting to read it. I really enjoyed the book overall because it showed me that i shouldn’t take everything for granted and how i should be grateful for what I have today.
If anyone would be looking for a book this is it. It’s not too long and it’s nkt too short also it gives a bit of suspense towards the end of the novel which for me is a favorite. However there are some downsides to the book. More of a back story and other events in my opinion would make the make even better than it already is. So in my opinion this is probably one of the BEST books I’ve read so far!

Powerful novella of two people living sad lonely lives when their paths cross. A series of events leads to a crisis, sacrifice, and new hope.

Read it for school. Not terrible but definitely not a favorite.