Crossing the Wire

Fifteen-year-old Victor Flores is called tortuga, or turtle, because he's so cautious. With crop prices failing, however, he realizes there's only one chance to save his widowed mother and younger siblings from starvation: he must "cross the wire" and sneak into the United States to find work. The journey can be treacherous in the best of circumstances, but with no "coyote money" to pay smugglers, Victor is going to have to somehow make it across on his own. Map of the Arizona borderlands. Author's note.