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Hurdles in the Dark: My Story of Survival, Resilience, and Triumph

By Elvira K. Gonzalez
Edition

Hardcover edition

Publisher Macmillan Imprint Roaring Brook ISBN

9781250847850

Hurdles in the Dark: My Story of Survival, Resilience, and Triumph

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SKU
9781250847850J

CONTENT NOTIFICATIONS

Language: Strong Language,Sexual Content: Contact Between Adult and Minor,Sexual Content: Sexual Harassment,Violence: Death,Violence: Domestic/Physical Abuse,Violence: Gun Violence,Violence: Sexual Assault/Rape,Violence: Suicide Reference/Discussion

A Mexican-American teen girl dreams of winning an athletic scholarship against all odds in a Texas border town. This true story of survival, strength, and triumph is perfect for fans of Educated and Athlete A.



Twenty-four hours: that's how long fourteen-year-old Elvira Gonzalez is given to come up with the $40,000 she needs to save her kidnapped mother from a drug cartel. It's 2006 and Elvira's hometown of Laredo, Texas, has become engulfed by the Mexican Drug War. Elvira's life is unraveling around her—setting her on a harrowing path that leads her to being locked up in one of South Texas's worst juvenile detention centers.



After Elvira's released from juvie, she's resolved to never go back. That's when her unexpected salvation arrives in the form of 33-inch-high plastic hurdles. Determined to win a track scholarship out of Laredo, Elvira begins breaking into the school, alone, at 5:30 in the morning to practice hurdling. Soon, she catches the attention of a renowned high school coach, an adult man in his 30s. As they train, their coach-student relationship begins to change, becoming sexual. At just seventeen years old, Elvira experiences the dangers many young athletes face, especially those who are marginalized. In spite of these towering obstacles, Elvira eventually propels herself to become one of the top ranked hurdlers in the USA and the first in her family to go to college.



This inspiring true story of grit, tenacity, and hope traces Elvira's path as she overcomes impossible hurdles in her race to freedom.



Language note. Bibliography. Recommended reading. Resources.
Black-and-white photographs.
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Sports High (Grades 9 & Up)

Sports High

Sports High (Grades 9 & Up)

For Grades 9 & Up

High school sports enthusiasts will love this category, which includes fiction and nonfiction titles that cover the action and excitement of a wide array of sports, the stories and struggles of athletes who have attained great success, and inside looks at the games teens love to watch and play. Action, excitement and struggles will be found in each of the 12 books provided.

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Interests

Diversity, Fiction, High Interest/Reluctant Reader, Nonfiction, Biographies, Novels, Realistic Fiction, History

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