salvadoran americans

Ernesto and Ra?l Flores are identical twins, used to being mistaken for each other. As seventeen-year-olds living in rural El Salvador, they are used to thinking that the United States is just a far-off dream. When Ernesto ends up on the wrong side of MS-13, one of El Salvador's brutal gangs, he flees the country for his own safety. Ra?l, fearing that he will be mistaken for his brother, follows close behind. Running from one danger to the next, the Flores twins make the harrowing journey north, only to fall into the hands of immigration authorities. When they finally make it to the custody of their older brother in Oakland, California, the difficulties don't end. While navigating a new school in a new language, struggling to pay off their mounting coyote debt, and anxiously waiting for their day in immigration court, Ra?l and Ernesto are also trying to lead normal teenage lives. With only each other for support, they begin the process of carving out a life for themselves, one full of hope and possibility.

In the summer of 1987 in Venice, California, ten-year-old Bug and her new friend Frankie learn important lessons about life, family, being your true self, and how to navigate in a world that is not always just or fair.

Identical twins Ernesto and Ra?l Flores flee from El Salvador when Ernesto makes an enemy of the MS-13 gang and Ra?l fears being mistaken for his brother. They set out through many hardships to reach America, but they fall into the hands of immigration authorities and face more trouble before they make it to Oakland, California, where their older brother lives. Difficulties follow them as the "coyote" who helped them get across the border demands his money--on top of all this, the twins just try to live as normal teens.

When Rene learns that in the United States his name is also a girl's name, he does some research and relates the name's meaning and letters to his homeland of El Salvador and the things that make him special.

"Identical twins Ernesto and Raul Flores, seventeen, must flee El Salvador, make a . . . journey across the Rio Grande and the Texas desert, face capture by immigration authorities, and struggle to navigate life in America"--Provided by publisher.

"Identical twins Ernesto and Raul Flores, seventeen, must flee El Salvador, make a . . . journey across the Rio Grande and the Texas desert, face capture by immigration authorities, and struggle to navigate life in America"--Provided by publisher.

"Identical twins Ernesto and Raul Flores, seventeen, must flee El Salvador, make a . . . journey across the Rio Grande and the Texas desert, face capture by immigration authorities, and struggle to navigate life in America"--Provided by publisher.

Nineteen-year-old Mary, longing for something meaningful in her life, agrees to help Jose? Luis, a refugee from El Salvador who has been smuggled into the United States as part of a sanctuary movement, and immediately falls in love with both the movement and the man.

Xochitl and her family, newly arrived in San Francisco from El Salvador, create a beautiful plant nursery in place of the garbage heap behind their apartment, and celebrate with their friends and neighbors.

Based on the author's childhood, a young Salvadoran immigrant is teased for having two last names until he presents his family tree project celebrating his heritage.