Crossing the Wire

In this riveting, action-packed novel from award-winning author Will Hobbs, a teenage boy hoping to help his loved ones must fight for his life as he makes the dangerous journey across the Mexican border into the United States.

When falling crop prices threaten his family with starvation, fifteen-year-old Victor Flores heads north in an attempt to cross the wire from Mexico into America so he can find work and help ease the finances at home.

But with no coyote money to pay the smugglers who sneak illegal workers across the border, Victor struggles to survive as he jumps trains, stows away on trucks, and hikes grueling miles through the Arizona desert.

Victor's passage is fraught with freezing cold, scorching heat, hunger, and dead ends. It's a gauntlet run by many attempting to cross the border, but few make it. Through Victor's desperate perseverance, Will Hobbs brings to life a story that is true for many, polarizing for some, but life-changing for all who read it.

Acclaim for Crossing the Wire includes the following: New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age, Junior Library Guild Selection, Americas Awards Commended Title, Heartland Award, Southwest Book Award, and Notable Books for Global Society.

Author: Will Hobbs
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 04/04/2006
Pages: 224
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.79lbs
Size: 8.56h x 6.04w x 0.84d
ISBN: 9780060741389

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 4.3
Point Value: 8
Interest Level: Middle Grade
Quiz #/Name: 105478 / Crossing the Wire

Award: Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Book Award - Nominee
Award: Land of Enchantment Book Award - Nominee
Award: Volunteer State Book Awards - Nominee
Award: Black-Eyed Susan Award - Nominee
Award: Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award - Nominee
Award: Georgia Children's Book Award - Nominee
Award: Americas Award for Children & Young Adult Literature - Commended
Award: Golden Sower Award - Nominee
Award: Louisiana Young Readers' Choice Award - Nominee
Award: South Carolina Childrens, Junior and Young Adult Book Award - Nominee
Award: Grand Canyon Reader Award - Nominee
Award: Iowa Teen Award - Nominee
Award: Heartland Award - Winner

Review Citation(s):
Kliatt 03/01/2006 pg. 12
Kirkus Review - Children 03/01/2006 pg. 231
Voice of Youth Advocates 04/01/2006 pg. 46 - Recommended - Better Than Most
Booklist 05/01/2006 pg. 83
School Library Journal 05/01/2006 pg. 128
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 07/01/2006 pg. 500 - Recommended
Multicultural Review 12/01/2006 pg. 91
Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2006 pg. 341 - Recommended, Satisfactory

About the Author
Hobbs, Will: -

Will Hobbs is the award-winning author of nineteen novels, including Far North, Crossing the Wire, and Take Me to the River.

Never Say Die began with the author's eleven-day raft trip in 2003 down the Firth River on the north slope of Canada's Yukon Territory. Ever since, Will has been closely following what scientists and Native hunters are reporting about climate change in the Arctic. When the first grolar bear turned up in the Canadian Arctic, he began to imagine one in a story set on the Firth River.

A graduate of Stanford University, Will lives with his wife, Jean, in Durango, Colorado.