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  • Return to Sender by Julia Alvarez book cover
  • Return to Sender by Julia Alvarez book cover
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Return to Sender

by Julia Alvarez

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Two families, one Vermont farm

$11.94 USD
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AlbakiReads Editorial

Two families, one Vermont farm

A tractor accident leaves Tyler’s family struggling to keep its Vermont farm, bringing migrant workers from Mexico into their lives. Through Tyler and Mari, the oldest daughter in the workers’ family, the novel connects the farm’s financial strain with questions of immigration status, family separation, Mexican heritage, and belonging between Mexican and American life. Their developing friendship gives the story a personal frame for these wider social issues, without reducing them to easy answers.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Young readers interested in stories about immigration and family life
  • Readers exploring Mexican heritage, identity, and belonging
  • Readers looking for a contemporary social-issues novel set around a family farm

Themes

Immigration and undocumented workFamily and economic hardshipMexican heritage and identityFriendship across cultural differencesBelonging

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

An award-winning, moving, and timely story about the families of undocumented workers by renowned author Julia Alvarez.

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 to 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 with no easy answers, Julia Alvarez weaves a beautiful and timely story that will stay with readers long after they finish it.

Winner of the Pura Belpr
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