Miguel Lost & Found — Barbara Murphy

Being “wetbacks”―literally crossing from Mexico through the Rio Grande―brings a world of social and political trauma to Miguel Rivera as he and his family try to build a new life in Texas. The family grows as it fights to stay together; his father vanishes; a gang of bullies terrorizes Miguel―and out of these experiences comes a new inner strength born from what he learns about the culture and dignity of his ancestors.

Barbara Beasley Murphy, a multiple-award-winning author of youth and children's literature, uses this fascinating story to delve into vital issues seldom explored in a novel aimed at young audiences―the lives and social interactions of illegal residents, and the slave labor into which adults are still forced today.