Customer Reviews

Crossing the Wire

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Once again Will Hobbs has put together a boy's story that leads the reader not only on an adventure but also gives insight into ways of life in which most of us are unfimiliar. Overwhelmed in the knowledge that his mother and little brother will soon end up living on the streets the young lad of Crossing Jordan decides that he must sneak across the American border where there is hope he can make enough money to send home. The adventure is the telling of all the efforts, and failures, the boy must go through to accomplish such a feat.

Mr Hobbs presents a compelling drama that will help young readers understand why so many young Mexican men and boys are willing the risk everything for a better life. Without being preachy he helps the reader understand how some American policies actually force many Mexican farmers into poverty. He presents the risks these people must take. He exposes the corruption of those who offer these poor people a way across the border. Then, when one might expect American border guards to be presented as evil, Mr Hobbs gives us characters who are understanding, yet do a job that they are hired to perform.

Please read this book. Or if you have teenage children, or younger even, have them read it. Not for the sake of taking sides on the immigration issue. But to understand it. To see that there are two sides that need to be seen. CROSSING THE WIRE is one of those books that you read, put it away and figure you'll probably not open it again. BUT, after time it begins to grow on you. You want to read it again.

As an author, I was freaking out about how timely this book was, given all the talk of illegal immigration, etc. Then I read it, and was even more impressed. This is a terrific book, far more interesting than a lot of news stories I've read on the topic, from a master of the genre. I fear it won't get the attention it deserves, solely because it's a YA book.

I have family members that have expierienced this adventure of "crossing the wire". It is not only hard but its also sad, sad because not only are you suffering but you see other people suffer and that ther can get really tough. This book goes in detaial what one person, Victore Flores had to do to cross. Now if whatever happend to him in the story affects you in any way, just think about all the people that are crossing just to see how it is like here, or even to get money for their family. I think they deserve a little simpathy. Overall this book is a great book to read, you'll get addicted i guarantee it.

The thrilling adventure book, Crossing the Wire by Will Hobbs, is by far one of the most exhilarating books that I have read. This book shows the raw truth of the real struggles that everyday men and even boys face in order to keep their families afloat. This book is packed with adventure and does not shy away from the emotional bond that Victor and his best friend, Rico, share.

Crossing the Wire is the story about a 15 year old boy, Victor, whose best friend makes the giant leap to the United States with hopes for a better life. Little does Victor know that he as well might have to travel to the "free land," so that his family can survive. Victor Flores, young and Mexican, is the main character in this book. He has been considered the "man of the house" ever since his father died when he was just a child. The other main character, and Victor's best friend, is named Rico. I thought that both characters were pleasing to read about because of the way Hobbs wrote about them. He put real emotions into the characters, and by the end of the book I felt attached to the characters, as if I had known them.

This thrilling adventure novel maintained my interest throughout the whole book. I could not help but to wonder what the next chapter would have in store for me. That is one of the greatest reasons why I enjoyed the book so much. I found the book to have strong emotions, enormous risks, and most of all adventure. The past comments are all reasons why I would recommend Crossing the Wire to people of all ages who love an exiting yet realistic adventure.

Crossing the Wire

Will Hobbs

Victor Flores is a fifteen-year-old boy living in a small village in Mexico. He works hard to provide money for his three younger siblings and mother. But when falling crop priced threaten his family with starvation, Victor heads north in an attempt to "cross the wire" from Mexico to the united States in order to find work and send money home to his family. With no money to pay the smugglers who sneak illegal workers across the border, Victor must make the journey alone.

Victor must struggle to survive as jumps trains, hides from the border patrol, and walks for miles through the hot, dry dessert. His journey is filled with narrow escapes, danger, freezing cold and broiling heat, hunger and hopeless situations. Through this book Will Hobbs tells the story of countless immigrants' struggles to cross the border.

-- Isabel Aurichio

Assault rifles, a wild puma, extreme cold, excessive heat, starvation, dehydration, a capture by the Border Patrol and deportation, hundreds of miles of deserts, drug-smuggling thieves, extortioners, a rattlesnake bite-- Crossing the Wire by Will Hobbs has all this and more. Girl and boy middle schoolers will be rooting for 15-year-old Victor Flores as he struggles against unbelievable odds to secure one thing: money for his Mexican mother to keep their family goats and chickens.

I would encourage teachers to use this coming-of-age book as a good example of creating a character who faces both internal conflicts (wanting to be the man in the house since his father's death), and external conflicts (see the opening sentence of this blog!). Victor's desire to help his mother propels this book forward; this is a good example of a plot-driven story.

But undoubtably this book will also open readers' eyes to why illegals attempt a dangerous border crossing. Although statistics indicate that arrests at the Mexican border have diminished, the U.S. is still in the midst of many emigration issues and border controversies. This novel, published in 2006, is well-written, timely and in parts, poetic. Consider this line:

"Sorrow sings also when it runs too deep to cry."

Read this book. You won't forget it.

I started this book with a good feeling, thinking I might have found and interesting story. But really, it was quite the disappointment. The first chapter is delightful. But if you continue reading you will be upset. Not just by the none too descriptive writing but the action that leaves you confused and unknowing. I have a term I use for books like this. Reading in the dark. The plot drops in the middle, like the previous story never existed. It is not the kind of twists and turns that should be expected from a book, and this book doesn't have this either. Crossing the wire is an altogether dissatisfying book, one I beg you not to waste your time on. The story doesn't have the flair that makes you not be able to put it down, but it does have the drag that makes you put it on the shelf and walk away. I finished reading this with difficulty. Please do not make the mistake I made. If you wish to read this book, brace yourself for quite the disappointment.

I started this book with a good feeling, thinking I might have found and interesting story. But really, it was quite the disappointment. The first chapter is delightful. But if you continue reading you will be upset. Not just by the none too descriptive writing but the action that leaves you confused and unknowing. I have a term I use for books like this. Reading in the dark. The plot drops in the middle, like the previous story never existed. It is not the kind of twists and turns that should be expected from a book, and this book doesn't have this either. Crossing the wire is an altogether dissatisfying book, one I beg you not to waste your time on. The story doesn't have the flair that makes you not be able to put it down, but it does have the drag that makes you put it on the shelf and walk away. I finished reading this with difficulty. Please do not make the mistake I made. If you wish to read this book, brace yourself for quite the disappointment.

I have been pleased with the condition described of this used book and received my order in a timely fashion. Thanks

Will Hobbs is a master at character development and adventure. In Crossing the Wire, he has portrayed not only 15 year old Victor who is involved with risking his life in many ways to get into the United States where he might work and earn money to send back to Mexico, but also depicts a culture of good and deeply caring human beings who struggle with survival daily in a country so poor that their remote village even lacks communication through the mail system. This is a great read for kids and adults alike, with lessons in compassion and appreciation.