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1. Discuss the genre of this book. How is that genre presented stylistically?

The book is a nonfiction narrative that follows the story of 17-year-old Enrique as he crosses from Honduras to the United States. That said, the narrative itself is presented in the present-tense and largely reads like a novel.

2. What does Sonia Nazario learn about her housekeeper that leads her to write this book?

Nazario has a housekeeper named Carmen, who one day tells her about her life and children. Carmen has four children in Guatemala and has not seen them in 12 years. Her story inspires the author to seek out stories of these immigrants and their plights--particularly those who are children seeking their mothers.

3. Who is Minor and what information is related from him in the Prologue?

Minor is Carmen's 10-year-old son who has made his way from Guatemala to reach his mother. He tells author and journalist Nazario of his long and dangerous journey riding atop the trains in Mexico and tells her that thousands of children make this journey.

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