Devolver al Remitente (Return to Sender Spanish Edition) [Paperback]

Julia Alvarez (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 14, 2010 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

After Tyler's father is injured in a tractor accident, his family is forced to hire migrant Mexican workers to help save their Vermont farm from foreclosure. Tyler isn’t sure what to make of these workers. Are they undocumented? And what about the three daughters, particularly Mari, the oldest, who is proud of her Mexican heritage but also increasingly connected her American life. Her family lives in constant fear of being discovered by the authorities and sent back to the poverty they left behind in Mexico. Can Tyler and Mari find a way to be friends despite their differences?

In a novel full of hope, but no easy answers, Julia Alvarez weaves a beautiful and timely story that will stay with readers long after they finish it.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Julia Alvarez is the author of several novels for young readers including How Tía Lola Came to Visit Stay, Finding Miracles, and Before We Were Free, winner of the ALA’s Pura Belpré Award. Her books for adults include How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, In the Time of the Butterflies, and Once Upon a Quinceañera. She is a writer-in-residence at Middlebury College in Vermont.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Yearling (September 14, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375851240
• ISBN-13: 978-0375851247
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 0.9 x 7.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #84,929 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #51 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Multicultural Stories > Hispanic & Latino
  • #67 in Books > Children's Books > Travel & Cultures > Multicultural Stories > Hispanic & Latino

More About the Author

Julia Alvarez has bridged the Americas many times. Born in New York and raised in the Dominican Republic, she is a poet, fiction writer, and essayist, author of world-renowned books in each of the genres, including How the García Girls Lost their Accents, In the Time of the Butterflies, and Something to Declare. She lives on a farmstead outside Middlebury, Vermont, with her husband Bill Eichner. Visit Julia's Web site here to find out more about her writing.

Julia and Bill own an organic coffee farm called Alta Gracia in her native country of the Dominican Republic. Their specialty coffee is grown high in the mountains on what was once depleted pastureland. Not only do they grow coffee at Alta Gracia, but they also work to bring social, environmental, spiritual, and political change for the families who work on their farm. They use the traditional methods of shad-grown coffee farming in order to protect the environment, they pay their farmers a fair and living wage, and they have a school on their farm where children and adults learn to read and write. For more information about Alta Gracia, visit their website.

Belkis Ramírez, who created the woodcuts for A Cafecito Story, is one of the most celebrated artists in the Dominican Republic.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Adds perspective to immigration issues, March 20, 2011

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MollyDog's Friend (Northern Iowa) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Devolver al Remitente (Return to Sender Spanish Edition) (Kindle Edition)

I read this book to help improve my Spanish language skills as a non-native speaker. It was very helpful in this regard. I'd probably rate the book at an intermediate level. The story was interesting even for this middle-aged adult. As a surprise, though, I became more aware of the very human issues of immigration versus the political headlines we see on TV news - a worthwhile read indeed.