Until I Find Julian($6.99Value)

Description

Newbery Honor–winning author Patricia Reilly Giff tells a vivid, contemporary story about a remarkable boy who risks everything for his family and a bold girl who helps him. At home in Mexico, Mateo knows where he belongs: with Mami, Abuelita, little brother Lucas, and big brother Julian. When Julian leaves to work in el Norte, the United States, Mateo misses him. And when the family stops hearing from Julian, Mateo knows he has to find his beloved brother.    With only his old notebook and a backpack, Mateo heads for the border, where dangers await: robbers, and the border police, who will send him back home or perhaps even put him in prison. On his journey, Mateo meets Angel, a smart, mysterious girl who can guide his crossing. Angel is tough; so is Mateo, and his memories of his loving family sustain him. Because no matter what happens, he can’t go home until he finds Julian. Patricia Reilly Giff is the author of many beloved books for children, including the Kids of the Polk Street School books. Several of her novels for middle-grade readers have been chosen as ALA-ALSC Notable Books and ALA-YALSA Best Books for Young Adults. They include The Gift of the Pirate Queen; All the Way Home; Water Street; Nory Ryan's Song, a Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Golden Kite Honor Book for Fiction; and the Newbery Honor Books Lily's Crossing and Pictures of Hollis Woods. Lily's Crossing was also chosen as a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book. Her most recent novels are Winter Sky, Gingersnap, R My Name Is Rachel, Storyteller, Eleven, and Wild Girl; her books for younger readers in the Zigzag Kids series include Number One Kid and Big Whopper . Chapter 1 Home I’m in the worst trouble. How can I tell Mami and Abuelita what I’ve done? I sneak along the alley and sit at the back of the house, leaning against the splintery boards, so angry with myself. I sweep up a pile of stones and toss them into the green creek, skipping them like frogs jumping from one slippery rock to another. Sometimes the stones miss the water. My friend Damian says my aim is terrible. And he’s right. With the next stone I hit a tree branch almost over my head, just missing my brother Julian’s wooden birdhouses. Four or five finches fly up and scatter as a stray cat watches. “Sorry,” I whisper to the birds, and to the cat, who watches with great tawny eyes, ready to pounce on anything that moves. I turn my head. Between the uneven boards of the house, I see Mama and Abuelita at the kitchen table, their heads bent over squares of cloth. They never stop working; they make scarves and quilts to sell at the market. Sometimes they sew red and yellow pieces together, or sunny greens and blues, reminding me of the creek. They never stop talking either. How can I go in there without any money? Not one coin! I close my eyes. Today, instead of sweeping at the car factory after school, Damian and I played catch with motor bolts while the foreman, Miguel, was eating in his office. I missed, and the bolt flew over my head, denting a car door. Damian slapped his head. “I should have known, Mateo.” Miguel came from his office, his mouth still full, pointing with his fist. “Out!” he yelled. I couldn’t stop laughing at first, thinking he was joking. But Miguel almost never joked or smiled. “Go on,” he said, red-faced and furious. He didn’t even pay me for last week’s work. Twelve years old, and I’ve been fired from my after-school job. A small job, but still . . . Now I watch Mami and Abuelita stitching. I’ll never be able to tell them! I listen to what they’re saying. It’s the end of the month; my brother Julian will have sent money all the way from Arkansas. There’ll be meat for dinner. Chicken, maybe, or small pieces of shredded beef mixed with rice and gravy. Which will I pick? It doesn’t do any good to tell myself I don’t deserve a good dinner; my mouth waters. Chicken! I almost smell it stewing in the pot, with a pinch of one of Abuelita’s spices that grow tall on the windowsill, and a carrot or two, chopped and soft. “Enough to give you a handout,” I whisper to the cat, and rest my hand on her grimy head. The rap on the front door is loud. Someone is pounding hard; it must mean trouble. Mami stands up so suddenly the chair clatters and falls behind her. I peer through the open spaces in the wall, to hear a voice calling. A moment later, Julian’s old friend Tomas fills the kitchen doorway. Mami pushes a chair toward him. I can see the worry in her face. Why isn’t Tomas with Julian in Arkansas? They crossed the border to work in America together. What’s brought him back here? Abuelita goes to the sink and pours a glass of water for Tomas. He sits at the table facing them, slowly shaking his head. I knot my fingers together, afraid to hear what he’ll say. When he speaks, his voice is low, his words slow and spaced apart. “Julian,” he begins. “All of us. We worked on a building that would be the tallest