Beast Rider: A Boy's Journey Beyond the Border (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781419733635)

In Beast Rider, award-winning author Tony Johnston and psychotherapistMaria Elena Fontanot de Rhoads "offer a sympathetic, illuminating portrait of the challenges faced by one undocumented immigrant" (Publishers Weekly, Starred Review).

Twelve-year-old Manuel leaves his small town in Mexico to join his older brother in Los Angeles. To cross the US border, he must become a "beast rider"--someone who hops on a train. The first time he tries, he is stopped by the Mexican police, who arrest and beat him. When he tries again, he is attacked by a Mexican gang and left for dead.

Just when Manuel is ready to turn back, he finds new hope. Villagers clothe and feed him, help him find work, and eventually boost him back onto the train. When he finally arrives in LA and is reunited with his brother, he is elated. But the longer he's there, the more he realizes that something isn't right.

Thrilling and heartfelt, Beast Rider is a coming-of-age story that reveals how a place and its people help to define you.


Author: Tony Johnston, Mar? Elena Fontanot de Rhoads
ISBN-10: 141973363X
ISBN-13: 9781419733635
Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
Language: English
Published: 03/19/2019
Pages: 192
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 0.75lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.70w x 0.90d

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 4.2
Point Value: 4
Interest Level: Middle Grade Plus
Quiz #/Name: 507471 / Beast Rider: A Boy's Journey Beyond the Border


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 01/15/2019 pg. 101
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 02/01/2019
Publishers Weekly 01/14/2019
Booklist 02/01/2019 pg. 70
School Library Journal 03/01/2019 pg. 100
Voice of Youth Advocates 04/01/2019 - Recommended - Readable