Tolog Review: Enrique's Journey

Enrique's Journey
by Sonia Nazario
reviewed by Francesca Legaspi

Sonia Nazario’s novel, Enrique’s Journey, tells the true story of a Central American boy named Enrique, who struggles to reunite with his mother, Lourdes. She left Enrique and his sister at a young age with their grandparents in Honduras so she could travel to the United States, in the hopes of finding work so she could send money home and support her family. Enrique, heartbroken and motherless, grows up feeling alone and confused since he is constantly moved to various family houses, abused by others, and forced to do tedious tasks at a young age, all while he yearns only to be with his mother once more. Enrique is eventually forced out of his home with his grandparents after he becomes rebellious due to feeling unwanted, and begins to commit crimes and hurt his family. After years of being ashamed of himself, alone and praying for Lourdes' return, Enrique decides to travel to the U.S. so he can be with his mother again and endeavor to better himself, although he knows that it’s highly probable that he will lose his life in doing so. However, determined to find his mother, he sets out on his illegal immigration journey to the United States by riding on perilous train tops. Enrique befriends other migrants with stories similar to his, but also encounters gangsters who attempt to kill him, bandits who rob him, and la migra, the migration police that deported him back to Honduras a total of 8 times before he again began his 9th journey to reach his mother. He is constantly beat up, robbed, belittled, and forced to jump off moving trains to avoid being deported; however, he continues on because his hope and wish to be with Lourdes again always overcomes his feelings of despair. Despite the hardships, Enrique pushes on through his journey with fortitude, intelligence, tenacious courage, and the help of a few kind strangers along the way. This true story is absolutely heartwarming, invigorating, thrilling, and makes one feel almost as if one is making the treacherous journey alongside Enrique, as well as give one insight into the precarious journey that multitudes of child immigrants made in order to be with their mothers again, regardless of the risk. It is an absolutely magnificent, heart-stopping story for anyone to read, and I most certainly recommend it!