We Are Not from Here

By: Jenny Torres Sanchez

Narrated by: Marisa Blake

Pulga has his dreams.

Chico has his grief.

Pequeña has her pride.

And these three teens have one another. But none of them have illusions about the town they've grown up in and the dangers that surround them. Even with the love of family, threats lurk around every corner. And when those threats become all too real, the trio knows they have no choice but to run: from their country, from their families, from their beloved home.

Crossing from Guatemala through Mexico, they follow the route of La Bestia, the perilous train system that might deliver them to a better life - if they are lucky enough to survive the journey. With nothing but the bags on their backs and desperation drumming through their hearts, Pulga, Chico, and Pequeña know there is no turning back, despite the unknown that awaits them and the darkness that seems to follow wherever they go.

©2020 Jenny Tores Sanchez (P)2020 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Critic reviews

"With poignant, exhausting lyricism and heart wrenching poetic prose, Jenny Torres Sanchez digs deep and shows us the throbbing, aching corazón - the hopeful, unbreakable spirit of the embattled immigrant. A book for the starving, lost soul." (Guadalupe García McCall, Pura Belpré Award-winning author of Under the Mesquite)

The reality of it

It was deep something I’ve never truly seen or experienced.the realness was hard to read through but it made me better and more knowledgeable about people situations

important story!

I kept saying to myself, from middle school kids? but the realities are tough, and for a kid, especially with some guidance, this book is a powerful tale of what people go through to save their lives. It's a war story. Woven telling, two voices on the journey.

Great story

Incredible story however, I wish that the speaker transition to a male when a male character was speaking.

Brutal and heartfelt

Powerful story that I wish every anti-immigration person would read. The narrator herself was excellent- it just would have been nice to have a male narrator for the chapters told from the male character’s point of view.

One of my new Favourites

This is by far one of my favourite stories I’ve read in a LONG time. I am currently reading this with my students, and every part of this novel is impactful. The experiences of the main characters are so real and relatable on so many levels. I sat there on the edge of my seat worried about Pulga, Pequeña, and Chico as they make their perilous journey. I highly recommend We Are Not From Here.

heartbreaking... necessary

Such an amazing story and journey. I felt so much for these characters. The words are put together so vividly that you start to feel and hear the train. My husband made this same trip from Guatemala and the things he's described to me are very similar. Almost identical. He had a cousin to die on the train. I hope this books reaches the ears that NEED to hear it... perhaps it may open their hearts.

A Terrible and Beautiful Window

This story gave insight into what a few stories of children fleeing homes in Central America May be like. Through dynamic characters who are deeply formed by the beauty and terrors of their home neighborhoods, and by the horrors and small kindnesses on their journey, Jenny Sanches Torres cultivates empathy in readers for the precious lives of people considered too small by the world. Powerful narrative imagery drives readers to reflect on themes of life and death, love and fear, hope and perseverance and grief.

Heart wrenching

An absolutely heart wrenching story. I cried so many times listening. What a beautifully and truthful told story of what so many kids endure on their journey to a new life and escaping a lifeless life they left behind.

Unbelievable!

This is an amazing story of how these people struggle just to have the lives we take for granted every day. Such strength and courage these young people have that sacrifice all they are to be free and safe!

Heartbreaking

I was hooked from the beginning. I loved the story. One of my new favorite authors