The Crossing

The Crossing is the first book by Gary Paulsen that I've ever read. He's well-known for some of the other novels that he's written, but I've never gotten around to those. Maybe I will soon. Let me tell you about this one.

Manny is a 14-year-old orphan living in Juarez, Mexico - just over the Texas border. His life is very difficult. He never knows where his next meal will be found. He sleeps in a cardboard box. He works the streets, hoping that tourists will give him a little money, but he also fears the older boys who will beat him if they know he has any.

Manny decides he's going to make the "crossing," the risky journey over the border into the U.S. The border is heavily guarded, and there are many others who try to make the crossing each night. But on this night, Manny encounters an American soldier. Sergeant Locke is drinking himself into a state of numbness, so that he doesn't have to remember the awfulness of war that he has experienced. He is fully in control of his drinking - he even has a sort of systematic way of doing it. Manny tries to take advantage of the sergeant, but ends up being significantly affected by him.

I'm not going to beat around the bush with this review - I didn't like this book. Without any offense towards Gary Paulsen meant. The book was well-written, but the reason why I don't like it is that I think it is probably pretty accurate in its telling. I hate the fact that a story like this one could very likely be true for some people. Manny's story may be fictitious, but I'm sure there are Manny's out there that wish their lives could be fiction. I also hate the fact that the sergeant turns to alcohol to help him "deal" with his problems, but there are plenty of people who do that too.

This is part of the ugly, brutal world we live in. We need to know what it looks like. I wish no one had to have a story like this. It makes me very grateful for the blessings that I have in my faith, family, and country.