87 pages • 2 hours read
La Linea
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2006
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Introduction
La Línea
- Genre: Fiction; young adult contemporary
- Originally Published: 2006
- Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 650L; grades 7-9
- Structure/Length: 26 chapters plus an epilogue; approx. 136 pages
- Protagonist and Central Conflict: Miguel and his younger sister Elena brave hardship and danger when they leave Mexico to cross the border into California to finally reunite with their family. In a series of never-ending challenges, Miguel learns the power of perseverance and realizes just how important family is.
- Potential Sensitivity Issues: immigration; dangerous border crossing; references to rape; references to sexually transmitted diseases
Ann Jaramillo, Author
- Bio: Born in 1949; teaches English as a Second Language to Mexican American middle schoolers in California; married to Luis Jaramillo, an attorney who represents migrant farmworkers; La Línea is her first novel
- Awards: Starred review from Booklist; ALA Best Book for Young Adults (2007)
CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:
- Family Is Everything
- Coming of Age: Crossing Lines
- ¡Sí, se puede! Grit Overcomes Adversity
STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:
- Develop an understanding of the historical and social contexts regarding “the American dream” as it impacts the characters’ desires to cross the US-Mexico border.
- Analyze paired texts and other brief resources to make connections via the text’s themes of Family Is Everything, Coming of Age: Crossing Lines, and ¡Sí, se puede! Grit Overcomes Adversity.
