Co-founder of the Women’s March makes her YA debut in a near future dystopian where a young girl and her brother must escape a xenophobic government to find sanctuary.It’s 2032, and in this near-future America, all citizens are chipped and everyone is tracked–from buses to grocery stores. It’s almost impossible to survive as an undocumented immigrant, but that’s exactly what sixteen-year-old … sixteen-year-old Vali is doing. She and her family have carved out a stable, happy life in small-town Vermont, but when Vali’s mother’s counterfeit chip starts malfunctioning and the Deportation Forces raid their town, they are forced to flee.
Now on the run, Vali and her family are desperately trying to make it to her tía Luna’s in California, a sanctuary state that is currently being walled off from the rest of the country. But when Vali’s mother is detained before their journey even really begins, Vali must carry on with her younger brother across the country to make it to safety before it’s too late.
Gripping and urgent, co-authors Paola Mendoza and Abby Sher have crafted a narrative that is as haunting as it is hopeful in envisioning a future where everyone can find sanctuary.
more
This book is so real, it captures such vivid moments in a 16-year-old girl’s life that are unimaginable and brutal yet not out of reach in this world.
SANCTUARY
Paolo Mendoza & Abby Sher
Imagine an America in the near future where citizens are chipped and tracked, where undocumented immigrants have nowhere to hide, and where California becomes a sanctuary state that is being walled off from the rest of the country. 16 yo Vali, and her mother Liliana are refugees from Columbia and are trying to escape to find sanctuary in California where Vali’s aunt resides. Liliana’s chip malfunctions and she is taken by the Deportation Forces. Vali is forced to make the journey alone with her younger brother Ernie on their own.
This is a fantastic story that I just loved for the wonderful dystopian story that is utterly terrifying, as it is not very far from what could really happen right now. The characters are amazing and the story completely gripping, thrilling, and gut wrenching. Well written and a compelling read.
I highly recommend this YA novel.
I wondered what he was thinking or feeling or wishing he’d said to his family the last time he saw them. The last time he’d probably ever see them.
Sanctuary is a YA dystopian novel set in the not so distant future of 2032. The “Great American Wall” has been built between Mexico and California, citizens are CHIPPED as proof of residency, undocumented immigrants are treated HORRIBLY (I mean, I realize this isn’t far off from the deplorable treatment people receive in 2020, but it’s another level in this world) and censorship is on a level that doesn’t feel so unbelievable considering the current climate of this country.
Vali is a 16 year old girl who has already lived a stress inducing and tragic life as an undocumented immigrant in the United States. Her family fled when she was young from a war torn and dangerous Columbia, and has been stress clenching their teeth in a xenophobic run country ever since. Vali is now on the run with her American born younger brother, to cross country from Maine back to California to try to reach sanctuary there. I don’t want to say too much about the plot, because as hard as it is to read you kind of need to read it unfold naturally, so you feel Vali’s pain and desperation as it stacks up.
She is a strong character. Stronger than many that I’ve ever read, and it really puts into deeper perspective what children of immigrants or undocumented immigrants in this country feel and fear. Just imagine, for a second, your home where you were born is essentially a ticking time bomb. Any day you could wake up and be shot because it’s war torn. The only other option is to live in a country where you are treated like a criminal or a vicious animal for no other reason than the color of your skin or where you were originally born. It’s just, heartbreaking. It’s sick that this book doesn’t even feel impossible. I wish it felt like it was so unreal, but this book and it’s messages hit hard because Vali’s fears and desperation for safety and security don’t feel unreal.
All in all this is a great read. Do I think that it’s one that will be impactful and affect people who read it enough that they need to discuss afterward, yes. It is not light reading, but as heavy as it is there is a bit of hope by the end. Feels a bit like a cautionary tale. Like if we don’t wake up in this country, we could be here, and it’s not ok.