This book starts slowly enough. Kids at a boring family and friends occasion in Mexico, celebrating a girl’s fifteenth birthday. Four of the teenagers – Pato, Arbo, Gladys and Marcos – escape for a quiet cigarette away from the adults and other kids. A few puffs (and coughs), then the book explodes with a bang – and another bang – and screaming. In a few short violent minutes, everything that was dear to the four has been obliterated by a hail of narco bullets.
Violence engendered by the drug lord narcos is an everyday occurrence in northern Mexico, but it doesn’t usually affect the families of upstanding hard-working people – such as Pato and Arbo’s fathers. So, they are at a loss to understand why they have been targeted. And why today at a young girl’s birthday party? One thing all four are immediately aware of, is that the narcos will not stop until all people who were at the party have been executed. Soon they are running for their lives – no real plan, except to get out of Mexico, where the narco influence is too strong, and hopefully into USA, where the narcos have less power.
The border of the title, is the US/Mexican border, which they need to cross if they will ever be safe. It is also the name of the narco gang that is hunting them.
The story is narrated by Pato, who is sixteen, remarkably level-headed and mature. Arbo is his best friend and cousin, who fears the loss of his good memories of his father, more than he fears his own death. Marcos, at seventeen, is the oldest, and most volatile of the four. Up to now, Marcos has been an alpha male, popular and good at sports. He does not adapt well to his new role, and is always looking for ways to reassert his status. His machismo, and overprotectiveness of his sister, Gladys, cause the group additional problems. Gladys is fifteen, an artist and a dreamer.
Because Pato has narrated the story, you are pretty sure that he will survive. But who else will live is not certain. You quickly become invested in the fate of each of the four, and will them to live. The narcos are seldom far behind, but more treacherous still is the Sonoran desert, that the teenagers have been forced to cross with little preparation. The aridity and heat of the desert almost come palpable as you read the book. You thirst and burn along with the teenagers Along the way, the teenagers are helped by a few good Samaritans who place their own lives in danger by their altruistic aid. Could we do the same – or would the fear be too great?
These teenagers have been driven from their homes and lives by situations well beyond their control. They do not want to become illegal immigrants, but have no choice. Reading this book, you cannot fail to sympathise with the four. It makes you then consider all the other thousands, millions of immigrants around the world. Who should be given a safe haven? Did they have a choice? Is the journey worth the privations that they suffer? Are the people traffickers always evil, or a necessity for the travellers? Will the states of the first world really suffer so much if we let immigrants in?
This is a very well written book, that tells a vivid and tense, fast-paced tale, with strong characterisation, and excellent prose. You can read it as a suspense-filled adventure story – but the moral questions it raises make it an even greater read. I highly recommend it.

A very timely look at illegal immigration from the point of view of those who risk it all for a better life. It’s a fast paced and engaging read that’s both harrowing and heartbreaking at times but I’m so glad I read it.

This is not the kind of book I probably would have picked up on my own but when the publisher contacted me via NetGalley and offered me the chance to read it I thought why not. Despite a NetGalley shelf that’s starting to creak, I’m so glad I added this to it.

Illegal immigration seems to be a hot topic at the moment no matter where you live in the world so this book about four teens trying to cross the border into the US from Northern Mexico couldn’t be more relevant. It provides a truly fascinating insight into just how desperate many of those trying to find a new life are and challenges the view that many have that they’re all bad or dangerous people who have to be stopped.

The story is told from the point of view of 16 year old Pato who, after witnessing all of his family and most of his friends being killed by a local gang while at a party, has a price put on his head and is forced to go on the run with his best friend Arbo and Marcus and Gladys a brother and sister who also narrowly avoided being killed at the party. With Mexico no longer safe and no one they can turn to the only option open to them is to attempt to cross into America and make a new life for themselves.

Pato is an immensely likeable and surprisingly relateable character. I didn’t expect to have much in common with a 16 year old Mexican boy but there’s something about him that I could definitely empathize with. He seems to have had a relatively sheltered and comparatively privileged life so his life is truly turned upside down and he struggles to cope. The author does a truly wonderful job in making him a very real and completely believable character.

The other three that make up the group were also incredibly well defined. Arbo the best friend is the emotional and soft one who struggles the most, Marco is the tough guy and self imposed leader of the group and Gladys brings balance and a little bit of love to the group. It’s absolutely wonderful how the dynamic between the four changes and develops over the course of the story and I found myself really routing for them to make it despite the odds stacked against them.

The story itself is fast paced and pretty harrowing at times (although I do feel like the author held back a little for the YA audience). The group have more than a few close calls and with gangs chasing them, an inhospitable environment, limited resources and no one to rely on but themselves there’s a big question mark over who if any of them will make it across the desert alive.

Thankfully it’s not all death, violence and struggle however as the author also weaves in some moment of lightness and humor and also a little bit of romance. There’s a lot of struggle but there’s also a lot of hope and that’s what carries the group and the reader through (although I’m not telling you if they make it).

I did have a couple of niggles which I can’t mention due to spoilers but overall I’d say this was a worthwhile read and one I’d definitely recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC. As always all views are my own.

This story of four teens running for their lives is full of raw emotion and intense moments. Regardless of your opinions on immigration, this story gives a vivid picture of the dire situations many people face and should cause us to be more thoughtful about this complex issue.
This is a great read for adults and mature teens due to some language, mild sexuality and violence.

It was meant to be the great celebration as it is a tradition in Mexico: Carmen’s 15th birthday, the so called quinceañera to which many friends of the family were invited. But then suddenly shouting and gunshots. Just a couple of minutes later, almost all guests are dead, shot in the head. Only the teenagers Pato and Arbo, best friends since they were born, and the siblings Marcos and Gladys have survived because they had gone outside and could hide in the backyard. Then they are seen and they have to run. In Mexico under to law of rivalling gangs no one can escape their verdict. They must go north, to the USA, take the hard route through the desert without money, without knowing how. An old friend of Pato’s father helps them at first, and hides them for a couple of days, but the gangs are after them and soon the four lost souls find themselves out in the blazing sun without water or orientation.

Steve Schafer’s novel narrates a story we mainly know from the news: Mexico, a country in which the governmental institutions are powerless against the well-organised gangs who rule not only the drug market but also the human trafficking business. It is with them you have to come to terms with and either you accept their rules or you find yourself shot dead. The story thus seems to be quite authentic and especially the people’s fear which is omnipresent throughout the plot gives a good impression of what life is like there.

In the centre, we have two main aspects. The first is the illegal transgression of the northern border. It is not only the danger of being caught by the border patrol – neither on the Mexican nor on the US side this is something you can with for. It is also the dangerous and often fatal route through the desert. During daytime, the sun is burning hot and since you cannot carry as much water as you’d normally need, it is a tricky calculation if your supplies will suffice for your route. On the other hand, without a local guide, you are soon lost and erring around the sandy landscape. The four teenagers, too, make these experiences which more than once bring them close to death. Also the other refugees who pop out now and again tell the same story. Additionally, this is a market and again, you cannot just you what you want to without following the rules of the gangs.

The second and even more interesting aspect is the relationship between the four of them. For one thing, they are too young to know why their parents were shot. This question is looming over them, especially when Pato and Arbo come to realise that Marcos, who is a bit older, seems to know something. And when the two boys have to accept that their fathers’ business might not have been what they always thought it was and that they, too, might have made deals with the gangs, they have to adapt everything they ever believed in to this. Further, being threatened by death brings them closer together at times and more apart at others. They are on the edge with their nerves and often close to just giving up.

The author especially succeeds in the psychological portrayal of the characters under those extreme conditions. They are lively and never act like adults might in their place. They have a survival instinct but nevertheless stick to their teenage convictions shaped by the idea of friendship and mutual support. All in all, a young adult novel with the typical topics of the genre presented under the most awful conditions and written at a high pace which makes you read on.

4 1/2 out of 5 stars.

The Border is a heart-breaking, harrowing tale that definitely puts a human face on illegal immigration. It is timely considering the political climate in the United States right now, with all of this fear-mongering and talk of building a wall.

In the Author's Note, Mr. Schafer states "My hope for anybody who reads this novel is that it inspires you to take a moment and imagine what drives someone to come to this country and what that journey is like, whether legal or illegal. Empathy begins with the recognition that everyone has a story." I think it is extremely unfortunate that the people who most need to read this book to open their eyes, hearts and minds to humanity will never pick it up.

I have never read a book quite like this one. I honestly did not think that I was going to like it very much, and I was pleasantly surprised. Thank you Mr. Schafer for humanizing, well, humans. And thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. I'll definitely be purchasing this one for the library

There was much to celebrate as the different families came together for the birthday party of a fifteen year old girl. While the party was in full swing four of the young adults, Pato, Arbo, Marcos and Gladys sneak off for a smoke away from the eyes of their parents. When they hear sort of cracking noises they recognise it for gun fire and soon discover that all of their families have murdered execution style and the men responsible for the killings are still there. Marcos manages to get a gun from the house and a mini shoot out takes places between them and the bad guys. Finally the four manage to escape but not without this gang knowing who they are. They use the media to help to track them down as ‘missing children’. It really is game on as nothing seems like it will stop the narcos from hunting them down and finishing the job they began, to wipe all the families out!
There is only one solution for these traumatized kids and that is to make the perilous journey across the desert border between Mexico into the USA. A journey that takes a huge amount of lives each year from the elements, bandits and gangs roaming on the USA side also ready to take them down. This is a really touching story where a couple of the kids have to face a reality of their families lives that they never knew about.
This story puts four very traumatized kids into the situation of having no choice but to cross the border into the USA to literally try to save their lives as going back is certain death. The story though tells of the dangers that face hundreds of Mexicans each year while trying to enter America illegally.
Steve Schafer gives a very realistic account of the perilous journey made between Mexico and America through these four young and very naive teenagers. From the time their families were wiped out they have quickly transformed from children to adults. They are the ones that have to make all the decisions now. They have all had to face losing their families and it has formed a reluctant bond between them if they are going to survive they need each other.
This is a very fast paced story that gets straight into the action, the chase and then at a slower pace, but one of the most intense times, the journey crossing of the border. A story mixed with fact and fiction brilliantly told that will suit mid teens as a real gripping read and older readers as a fascinating story.
I wish to thank the publisher for an ARC of this book which I have reviewed fairly and honestly.

I have read alot of YA books filled with desperation, destruction and heart wrenching plots. This book takes you buy the heartstrings and never lets go. Immigration and thoughts about the polital and social ramifications of the Mexican border have been front and center in social media. This story presents this subject in a way that really lets us see a side of immigration by desperate means. Through the eyes of 4 teenagers who have lost everything and are forced to risk what little they have left; each other. A must read for young adults struggling to understand the argument about Mexican border crossings and the necessity of immigration.

I have never read a book that was anything like The Border. This is a story I think needed to be told because I don't think people realize how difficult life in other countries can be and why someone might chose to cross the border into America illegally. You feel sympathetic for these characters from the beginning and I was rooting for them the whole time. The story did feel a little slow in places, but where it didn't it was intense and interesting. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys contemporary fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publsher, Sourcebooks Fire, for a copy of The Border in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was so excited to read this book. I honestly knew nothing about it or the author when I came across it on NetGalley. When I read that this was about 4 teens trying to cross the Mexican/American border after all of their families were murdered by a gang I was hooked. I’ve never read a book like this and with today’s politics in the US it is UBER relevant!

Let me tell you this, if you are looking for heartbreak – cause let’s be honest who doesn’t crave a good heart crushing story once in a while – YOU NEED TO GET THIS BOOK. My heart was hurting from beginning to end. The story is tremendously sad and the journey they take is physically and mentally exhausting. The writing was on point! It was as if I was reading a memoir, not a fictional story. The details were so precise and the descriptions were so extraordinary.

Some of the characters fell a little flat for me. The fact that the character who’s point of view we have falls in love with the only girl in their group is just typical. I understand, some of the scenes wouldn’t have been so dramatic without the romance, but it was such an obvious thing to happen. For a book that’s unlike any I’ve ever seen or read, it was disappointing to have the fail safe romance.

I loved this book though. And whether or not you think this might be something that will interest you, please give it a chance! I’m not normally one to push books on people but I loved this one and it’s so relevant to today’s events.

This isn't a title I would've picked up on my own. That said, there were parts of it that I really enjoyed and parts that I found just meh. The pacing is strong and the story moved forward at a good rate, which is probably what kept me reading until the end.

Lots of action. Even where the story slows, things are still happening and the tension is there. I think the biggest thing that held me back on this one was that I never really felt a connection. I kept turning pages to find out what happened next, but not because I cared specifically for the fate of any particular character, but in that train-wreck sort of way where you just stare at the carnage. There was an emotional distance here and, while the characters were well-drawn, for me, they remained mostly flat.

The story is well-written and fast-paced and, even though it's fiction, I think it helps paint a face on current immigration issues and what some have to sacrifice in order to survive. Overall a good read.

I received a free copy from NetGalley. Timely book given the current political climate, it gives personalities to one reason why someone might cross the border illegally and just how difficult it is to do so even without a wall. This book gives a lot of food for thought.

I was already bored, and skeptical because "white guy telling POC story." But then he threw in the "She's not like other girls" line and I had to DNF at 14%.

Patio has left a party to get fresh air. He sits down on an old abandoned seat when Arbo appears saying I thought you would be here. Marcos and Gladys are with them when they hear gunshots. They run back and find everyone dead at the party. A lone gunman sees them and tells them that they will kill them when one of his partners yells out to him and says kill them now. The killers are narcos. How do the four escape from the narcos at the murder sight? Plato thinks of someone they might be able to stay with that the narcos don't know about. This is necessary as they don't want their friends to be killed too. A decision is made that they must escape to the United States by crossing the border. The desert they cross almost causes their death. Gladys does die. How? Why? Plato tries to get them help after Gladys dies. Will he succeed? Do the three of them make it to the United States?

This is a heart rendering novel. I felt their anguish and pain not only when their families are killed but during their escape too. The novel is intense. It does have some surprises even though the story is filled with tension and suspense. The author does include some humor which eases the story for a short time. I found that the relationship between Plato and Arbo all too human but also helps the novel from becoming too sad. There is hope.

Interesting perspective. Can't wait to share with my students!

I was unable to put this book down from the first page. Dealing with real world issues, the author drew me into the lives of these fictional characters, that could very well be real. It will give you a different perspective on immigration.

I finished this book within 2 days because I couldn't put it down! I loved the bond between Pato and Arbo and how they constantly supported one another with each new obstacle that was thrown at them! The fast pace and suspense will appeal to my eighth graders and keep them reading until the very end! I can't wait to "book talk" this book the first week of school! I anticipate that I will have a waiting list to check it out!

As Pato is entering his cousin’s birthday celebration with his parents he sees a strange black car sitting outside the house and means to say something about it but with the excitement of entering with his family it slips his mind. Later in the night Pato, Arbo, Marcos, and Gladys sneak away from the party to smoke when all of a sudden gunshots ring out in the night.

When the group return they find everyone from all their families have been executed with the gunmen still there. Marcos thinks quick and finds a gun to return fire but the group finds themselves on the run from the drug dealers. With nowhere to go and the narcos doing everything they can to find them the group finds themselves setting out to cross the desert hoping to find freedom in the US.

Steve Schafer has come up with an excellent novel that truly fits today’s society and headlines giving a look into the lives of some of the innocent that are forced to flee Mexico and risk their lives crossing the border illegally. With all the talk in the news of building walls on the border this story is very relevant with the four innocent teens having no other option but to run away from their home due to the volatile situation that was not any doing on their part.

The story is fairly fast paced with a decent amount of action building the tension throughout their journey although I did find a few slower moments. There’s a bit of a romance that builds between Pato and Gladys which of course didn’t sit well with Gladys’ older brother Marcos who becomes the self appointed leader and protector of the group to add to the drama of the story during their crossing. Arbo was the sort of class clown type of personality which leads to a few funnier moments to lighten up the read here and there.

Overall, while this young adult read is a story of fiction the reality of the characters situation is a great look into the struggles that some truly do suffer and I’d definitely recommend checking it out.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

I thought this was an amazing book, very unique and different.

My heart was in my throat from the opening chapter which never lets up. An explosive opening promises greatness in store and I wasn’t disappointed.

I’ve never read a book quite like The Border before. This incredible book will stay with me for a long time.

I loved the characters. They are well written and vulnerable at the start of the novel. I loved the way they developed across the novel.

As The Border reaches its conclusion, things take a dark turn. I shed buckets.

The Border is a YA story by Steve Schafer. I am far removed for the YA group but I did enjoy this story. The action starts immediately but it took awhile to become invested in the characters. Some very intense edge of your seat moments but also found myself laughing out loud a few times. I was given an early copy to review.