The Border by Steve Schafer

The Border by Steve Schafer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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.