From School Library Journal
Grade 5-9-When soldiers burn his Guatemalan village and kill his family, 12-year-old Santiago escapes with his 4-year-old sister, Angelina. Following the instructions of his dying uncle, he makes his way to Lake Izabal, where he takes his uncle's small sailing canoe and begins a terrifying journey north and across the Gulf of Mexico to Florida. The siblings face starvation and dehydration; lack of sleep; strong sun, wind, and waves; and their own fears and sorrows to win their game of Staying Alive. The present-tense narrative suggests the speech of someone whose first language is not English, and Santiago's first-person account makes the adventure even more immediate. The opening scene is memorable, as the burning of the village turns the night sky red. However, the necessary flashback to explain how a mountain boy learned rudimentary sailing and the almost unbelievable details of the children's trip between their village and their uncle's home give readers pause, rather than pulling them into the suspense of the story. At times, the anger in the author's message almost overwhelms the action. "The rich have no conscience," their uncle's friend says. The first Americans they encounter call them "stinking boat people" and tell them to go away from their private beach club. In an afterword, the author explains that the soldiers who massacred villagers were armed by the U.S. government as part of our fight against communism. Thus, we share the blame for such atrocities. In spite of the heavy-handed message, readers who persevere through the first third of the book will be rewarded with a terrific survival story.Kathleen Isaacs, Edmund Burke School, Washington, DC Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Book Description

When guerrilla soldiers strike Santiago's village, they destroy everything in their path -- including his home and family. Santiago and his four-year-old sister escape, running for their lives. But the only way they can be truly safe is to leave Guatemala behind forever. So Santiago and Angelina set sail in a sea kayak their Uncle Ramos built while dreaming of his own escape. Sailing through narrow channels guarded by soldiers, shark-infested waters, and days of painful heat and raging storms, Santiago and Angelina face an almost impossible voyage hundreds of miles across the open ocean, heading for the hope of a new life in the United States.

Card catalog description
After soldiers kill his family, twelve-year-old Santiago and his four-year-old sister flee Guatemala in a kayak and try to reach the United States.

About the Author
Ben Mikaelsen has won the International Reading Association Award and the Western Writers Golden Spur Award. His novels have won critical acclaim, as well as several state reader's choice awards. These novels include Rescue Josh McGuire, Sparrow Hawk Red, Stranded, Countdown, Petey, and Touching Spirit Bear. Ben's articles and photos appear in numerous magazines around the world. Ben and his wife, Melanie, live in a log cabin near Bozeman, Montana, with a 700-pound black bear they have adopted and raised.

ANNOTATION

After soldiers kill his family, twelve-year-old Santiago and his four-year-old sister flee Guatemala in a kayak and try to reach the United States.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

When guerrilla soldiers strike Santiago's village, they destroy everything in their path -- including his home and family. Santiago and his four-year-old sister escape, running for their lives. But the only way they can be truly safe is to leave Guatemala behind forever. So Santiago and Angelina set sail in a sea kayak their Uncle Ramos built while dreaming of his own escape. Sailing through narrow channels guarded by soldiers, shark-infested waters, and days of painful heat and raging storms, Santiago and Angelina face an almost impossible voyage hundreds of miles across the open ocean, heading for the hope of a new life in the United States.

FROM THE CRITICS

VOYA - Sherry York 0380977451

On the night of May 18, 1981, in the village of Dos Vias, Guatemala, twelve-year-old Santiago Cruz is awakened by his mother. "Run! They have come to kill us!" Santiago and his four-year-old sister run, hide, and watch as their parents, brothers, sister, and grandfather are slaughtered. A dying uncle tells Santiago to go to the United States to reveal what has happened. Dazed and grief-stricken, knowing that God has "turned his back on the indigenos," Santiago and Angelina flee through the jungle and eventually set sail in a small boat. After twenty-three horrendous days at sea, they wash onto the Florida shore, where English-speaking people refer to them as "stinking boat people" and tell them, "Get out of here. This is a private club." Others, however, assist them, and their incredible story becomes news. Because of the publicity, they are not deported, and Santiago finally is able to relate his terrible story of the red skies (burning huts) and brutal deaths of simple indigenous people trapped between soldiers and guerillas. An author's note states that such atrocities actually occurred in more than four hundred Guatemalan villages in the 1980s after the U.S. government, in the interest of fighting communism, provided training and weapons for Guatemalan soldiers. A poignant, gripping story of survival told simply and realistically from Santiago's point of view, this novel will hold the interest of teen readers and could become a catalyst for meaningful discussions about immigration and foreign policy. VOYA CODES: 4Q 4P M J S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9;Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2002, HarperCollins, 256p,

Alan Review

When Guatemalan soldiers attack and burn his village, Santiago and his four-year-old sister, Angelina, are the only survivors. This violent scene may startle some readers, but it also introduces them to the tragedy of Guatemala during the 1980s. Santiago's only hope is to escape Guatemala, and his only means of doing so is his Uncle Ramos' cayuco, a small sailboat. From here, the novel recounts Santiago and Angelina's arduous trip from Guatemala to the US. These two children battle hunger, storms, and sickness as they sail across the Gulf of Mexico to reach the Florida coast. Initially met with anti-immigrant hostility, a poor reflection on the US policy at the time, they are eventually granted asylum and allowed to report their family's massacre. This story is often gripping, told in the present-tense voice of Santiago as he confronts each trial. Readers will appreciate his determination and resourcefulness in the face of great danger, although they may find the occasional heavy-handed political commentary intrusive. 2002, Harper Collins, 212pp., Fairbanks

KLIATT - Claire Rosser

To quote KLIATT's July 2002 review of the hardcover edition: Mikaelsen (author of Touching Spirit Bear) tells a dramatic story of a 12-year-old boy and his little sister as they escape the violence in their Guatemalan village and manage to sail up the coast to take refuge in the United States. It's hard to believe Santiago is only 12 since he has the judgment and strength of a much older boy, so I don't think his age will limit the readership of this novel. The story is based on the events during the civil war in Guatemala in the 1980s, when the government forces tried to rid the country of rebels and in the process destroyed a lot of villages and killed many civilians. The book starts with the horror of Santiago's village being attacked, his parents and siblings killed before his eyes, his grabbing of his 4-year-old sister Angelina and their frantic escape. So begins the adventure. And it is quite an adventure as the children navigate their little boat, with a sail and a paddle, up the coast past Belize and the Yucatan, into the Gulf of Mexico and to the shores of America. Everything is against them: storms, pirates, you name it. This is a nonstop survival-adventure tale in the mode of Gary Paulsen's Hatchet and the like. Younger YAs will like it for that reason. It is a bit difficult to believe two children could make this voyage, and that once on the beach in the States that the immigration officials would allow them to stay. Still￯﾿ﾽsuspend this disbelief and find a riveting, well-told story. KLIATT Codes: J￯﾿ﾽRecommended for junior high school students. 2002, HarperTrophy, 212p.,

School Library Journal

Gr 5-9-When soldiers burn his Guatemalan village and kill his family, 12-year-old Santiago escapes with his 4-year-old sister, Angelina. Following the instructions of his dying uncle, he makes his way to Lake Izabal, where he takes his uncle's small sailing canoe and begins a terrifying journey north and across the Gulf of Mexico to Florida. The siblings face starvation and dehydration; lack of sleep; strong sun, wind, and waves; and their own fears and sorrows to win their game of Staying Alive. The present-tense narrative suggests the speech of someone whose first language is not English, and Santiago's first-person account makes the adventure even more immediate. The opening scene is memorable, as the burning of the village turns the night sky red. However, the necessary flashback to explain how a mountain boy learned rudimentary sailing and the almost unbelievable details of the children's trip between their village and their uncle's home give readers pause, rather than pulling them into the suspense of the story. At times, the anger in the author's message almost overwhelms the action. "The rich have no conscience," their uncle's friend says. The first Americans they encounter call them "stinking boat people" and tell them to go away from their private beach club. In an afterword, the author explains that the soldiers who massacred villagers were armed by the U.S. government as part of our fight against communism. Thus, we share the blame for such atrocities. In spite of the heavy-handed message, readers who persevere through the first third of the book will be rewarded with a terrific survival story.-Kathleen Isaacs, Edmund Burke School, Washington, DC Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews