Summary

At the outset of Efrén Divided, in Chapter 1, Efrén woke up and snuck into the bathroom where he curled up in the empty bathtub with a library book. The bathroom was the only place in his family’s apartment where he could be alone. He used the bathtub as a reading nook where he could escape the antics of his younger brother and sister, Max and Mía. He normally could read for hours but he was exhausted from staying up, waiting for Amá to return home. Recently there had been talk in the neighborhood “about various raids and stop points happening around town” (4). On the news, he heard “stories about families being separated, kids put in cages” (4). He was worried and unsure what was happening because adults seemed to stop talking when he entered the room. When he emerged...