“Never intrusive with her research, [Markham] keeps an eye on the family story while weaving in bits of history, geography, and politics. As a result, the fear and displacement the boys felt in California are both touching and educational. The informative afterword offers historical context and suggestions about what might be done to remedy the humanitarian crisis. Gets inside the heads and hearts of immigrants.” —Kirkus Reviews, Starred
“Markham tells the story honestly and vividly, and while at times the book reads like fiction, she inserts her expertise as well as facts and data on the issue. Readers will get a very human glimpse into the lives of two immigrants while also learning more about the larger picture of immigration in the United States. A must for all young adult nonfiction shelves.” —School Library Journal, Starred
“Markham has adapted her own book into a version for teens that loses none of the urgency or timeliness of the original. . . . The narrative includes accounts of economic policies that drive farmers into gangs, social policies that create animosity between people, and political policies that fuel anger and enable corporations to profit from vulnerability and loss. We learn how these policies affect real people, casting families into hopeless situations, debt, and separation. . . . Visceral and informative, this is a necessary read for today’s youth.“ —Booklist
Praise for the adult edition of The Far Away Brothers
“Powerful . . . One of the most searing books on illegal immigration since Sonia Nazario’s Enrique’s Journey.” —Kirkus Reviews, Starred
“Markham tells the story honestly and vividly, and while at times the book reads like fiction, she inserts her expertise as well as facts and data on the issue.“ —School Library Journal, Starred Review
“Impeccably timed, intimately reported and beautifully expressed.” —The New York Times
“You should read The Far Away Brothers. We all should.” —NPR
“Timely and thought-provoking.” —Publishers Weekly
“Affecting and personal.” —Library Journal
Named one of the Best Books of the Year by the New York Times Book Review
Winner of the Ridenhour Book Prize
A California Book Award Silver Medal Winner
A Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist
Shortlisted for the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize
Longlisted for the PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography
