After a harrowing, dangerous journey from war-torn El Salvador to the United States, teenage Maria and her sister and brother settle in Chicago, waiting for their mother and youngest sister to join them. Welcomed into a community of Salvadoran refugees struggling to survive, Maria works hard to support her family, all the while trying to be "invisible" to lessen the risk of deportation. A gripping, provocative first novel about some of the challenges faced by the people known as "illegal aliens." (Ages 12-16)

Nailed into a crate in the back of a truck, fifteen-year-old Maria, her older sister, Julia, their little brother, Oscar, and a boy named Tomas endure a terrifying and torturous journey across the U.S. border and then north to Chicago. There they struggle to find work-cleaning, sewing, washing dishes-always fearful of arrest and deportation back to the cruelties of El Salvador. By turns heartbreaking and hopeful, this moving story of the secret lives of immigrants is not to be missed.

A gripping, lyrical portrayal of a continuing American dilemma." (Kirkus Reviews, pointer review)