Tolog Review: Enrique's Journey

Enrique's Journey

by Sonia Nazario

reviewed by Skylar Bowyer

Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Nazario follows the real journey of a young Honduran boy that is trying to make his way to America to find his mother. When Enrique, the Honduran boy, is five years old his mother, Lourdes, leaves their impoverished home of Tegucigalpa for better opportunities in the United States and to send money home to provide for her family. Enrique and his sister Belky then have to face life growing up without a mother, with no idea of when she will return. Due to the absence of Enrique’s mother in his childhood, Enrique gets involved in drugs, commits crime, and hurts other people, including his family. 

When Enrique is a teenager he decides to set out on a treacherous journey north to the United States in search of his mother. On his adventure to America, Enrique is challenged with numerous obstacles, including riding on top of trains, avoiding La Migra, the Mexican immigration police, and escaping the ruthless gangsters that rob migrants of all of their belongings. During the course of Enrique’s journey, he is robbed, beaten, and deported eight times, yet continues to make his perilous journey to find his mother. 

This true heartwarming story was filled with adventure and hardship, as well as success and a great feeling of accomplishment. I think what made this story so captivating was how much work the author, Sonia Nazario, put into to writing these series of articles that appeared in the Los Angeles Times. Sonia Nazario found Enrique and interviewed him about his odyssey, then went back and mirrored his journey so she could see all of the hardships he faced, making it feel as though we, the readers, are following Enrique on his adventure. Sonia also did extensive research on the journeys immigrants face trying to get to the United States. Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a true story that puts you side by side to the main character.