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74th out of 137 books
—
55 voters
The Crossing
by
Gary Paulsen
A critically acclaimed tearjerker from a master storyteller: On one side of the border is brutality and heartache; on the other side--a new life.
14yo Manny is an orphan in Juarez, Mexico. He competes with his bigger, meaner rivals for the coins American tourists throw off the bridge between Texas and his town. Across that heavily guarded bridge await a different world and...more
14yo Manny is an orphan in Juarez, Mexico. He competes with his bigger, meaner rivals for the coins American tourists throw off the bridge between Texas and his town. Across that heavily guarded bridge await a different world and...more
Paperback, 128 pages
Published
January 1st 2006
by Scholastic Paperbacks
(first published 1987)
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Everyday men, women, and children risk their lives to cross illegally from Mexico into the United States. News stories usually focus on statistics, money spent, and politicians’ positions, rather than on the violence and extreme poverty suffered. Gary Paulsen, critically acclaimed author of popular young adult fiction (Hatchet and Dogsong), puts a face on the struggle for survival as he tells the story of one young boy in The Crossing.
The Crossing is about the chance meeting of two very diffe...more
The Crossing is about the chance meeting of two very diffe...more
Manny Bustos is a small orphan in Juarez, Mexico. He wants to cross the border for better life in America. Because of his body size he is at a disadvantage to gather money and cross the border. But, when he meets with an American Sergant his life is changed. Manny is able to cross the border and say goodbye to the life he had in Juarez: living under cardboard and barely having enough food to survive. He has new life in America.
The Crossing by Gary Paulsen is a great book that expresses the hard...more
The Crossing by Gary Paulsen is a great book that expresses the hard...more
I read the book The Crossing by Gary Paulsen. It is about a boy named Manny he is a homless mexican boy living in the streets of Juares. He lives in cordboard boxes and he begged for scraps of food. He one day goes into a resturaunt and startes begging for food from this guy. Normally he would get thrown out but this time when he was about to get thrown out the guy told the workers to stop and got food for Manny. They became friends and one night when the guy was drunk Manny tried to dross the R...more
Apr 01, 2012
Scott Hayden
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
daniel groot
Shelves:
cross-cultural,
poverty
Heavy with meaning. Brilliantly crafted.
On the Mexico side of the border town Juarez, fourteen-year old Manny has one wish: cross the river. Hunger, border patrol, violently competitive beggarboys, and men in pointy-toed boots who hunt people as much for profit as for pleasure demand a lifestyle of absolute lies. Just to survive.
Seargent Robert S. Locke comes from the other side regularly to systematically liquor-drown haunting truths of his own past. Robert the soldier runs on autopilot. Robert...more
On the Mexico side of the border town Juarez, fourteen-year old Manny has one wish: cross the river. Hunger, border patrol, violently competitive beggarboys, and men in pointy-toed boots who hunt people as much for profit as for pleasure demand a lifestyle of absolute lies. Just to survive.
Seargent Robert S. Locke comes from the other side regularly to systematically liquor-drown haunting truths of his own past. Robert the soldier runs on autopilot. Robert...more
I actually liked this book, but I am concerned about what age group should read it. Paulsen often writes stories with a political agenda, and though they tell of real circumstances these stories are generally dark and dispairing. He also writes stories for young children. The subject matter in this book is, I feel, for mature readers who can understand the under currents of the sergeant's problems and alcoholism as well as his internal dialogue. There are too many adult issues in this book to in...more
Young Manny Bustos is trying to stay alive on the streets. He’s an orphaned, homeless and society is not kind to him. Manny has to rely on begging and pick-pocketing tourist. One day Manny sergeant Robert S. Locke and “befriends” him. Locke is a cold man struggling with the trauma of war but he still treats Manny well. Soon Locke becomes the only one Manny can rely on.
The Crossing teaches us that there will be one person you can rely one. Manny was able to rely on Locke when no one helped him. J...more
This is a good book for anyone who wants to see what happens for real. Outside of the United States. This is a very interesting book because it has the stories of two people. A soldier on duty on a border fort between Texas and Mexico. The other character is a poor young Mexican boy. Who is a orphan and dreams of crossing the border for a better life. There is a picture of the bridge on the front because that is the bridge because other children would be down there screaming and tourist to throw...more
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I really like some of Paulsen's books and I really don't like others. This was a very dark book about a young boy who was trying to illegally cross the Rio Grande into America. He knew if he didn't get across, he would either die from starvation, be killed, or be sold into slavery. It's also about a soldier who drank himself into oblivion every night trying to forget all of the horrible things he had been through. I think the book gave a true portrayal of life in Juarez, Mexico, for homeless orp...more
This is a teen book, but Paulsen is as powerful here as he was in "Night John." A poor Mexican boy trying to cross the borderto the U.S., and a recently returned Vietnam veteran who is dealing with the pain of the loss of friends he was unable to help in the war, come together in a strange and ultimately lethal frienship.
I reread this book because I assigned it to an older student I was tutoring in reading, and claimed he did not understand it. Too bad, because the message, the prose, and the st...more
I reread this book because I assigned it to an older student I was tutoring in reading, and claimed he did not understand it. Too bad, because the message, the prose, and the st...more
I LOVED this book. I didn't expect to be so crazy about a less well known book by Gary Paulsen, but he really did a great job with this one. It is the story of a homeless, parentless, boy living in a Mexican border town, Manny. This boy meets an Army Sergeant three different times and the two characters come to understand a bit about each other. The book is dated, 1987, but I really enjoyed the character studies and the plot. It is a very short read, 100 pages, and I highly recommend it for anyo...more
This is the story of a fourteen year old homeless orphan who lives in Juarez, Mexico who befriends an alcoholic Texan soldier as he attempts to illegally cross the border to the United States. Great descriptions of the life of this boy and his struggles surviving in poverty, as well as an interesting characterization of the Texan soldier. At times suspenseful, at times dark and depressing. This might be a tough sell to a reluctant reader...lots of description, little dialogue, some awkward sente...more
I think that I have finally found a book that I like, that can replace another book with a lower lexile score. This book is rated 1150 on the lexile score, and it is easy to read. It's also short, has a boy hero, and follows my theme of You can Make a Difference. So, I'm going to start teaching this book this year. It was recommended by the Gates Common Core committee. I've checked out many of their titles, and this one will work for me. Yeah!! **stop here for spoilers*** In this book 14 year ol...more
In The Crossing, young Manny longs for a better life. On the streets for many years, he has learned to survive by begging for money and food. Running alongside Manny's story is that of Lt. Locke, a complex character who is drinking in order to forget memories that torment him. For me, the story felt forced, and I didn't quite connect with the relationship between Manny and Locke, I think it could've used more development by the author. Manny's difficult life on the streets is realistically portr...more
This book is about 14 year old Manny Bustos. He is an orphan and is trying to survive on the streets of Juarez, Mexico. Manny lives in a cardboard box and competes with others to survive. Manny dreams of eventually leaving Juarez and going over the heavily guarded crossing to get to America so he can live better.
Along the way Manny meets a Vietnam veteran named Robert Locke. Manny is not sure if he can trust him or not, I reccomend this book to anybody that is interested in adventure.
Along the way Manny meets a Vietnam veteran named Robert Locke. Manny is not sure if he can trust him or not, I reccomend this book to anybody that is interested in adventure.
The crossing is a great book geared towards young adults. I enjoyed reading this book and think everyone should pick it up for a quick read. It is about a young boy in Mexico that lives on the streets and fends for himself. He dreams to cross the border in hopes of making a life for himself in the US. He meets a US soldier that is drinking his days away in an attempt to escape from his own pain. They form a small friendship. Read it to see for yourself.
I had to read this book for my book club along with 'Jesse' by Gary Soto..This book was alright..Kept me interested and was a fast read! I really liked the Seargent..and how he spoke..especailly like with the bull killing part...theres just something about the book that I wished more could have happened like more action..I dont know I kinda felt like the book was repeating itself and not making any progress...an ok book:)
Mar 20, 2009
Kaitie =)
added it
The WORST book EVER!!! Do not waste your time on it...then again if you have Mr. Zeiler then you already read it and i feel sorry for you. But if you don't have Mr. Zeiler then please I'm begging you, do not read it, it is really boring and you might even cry because you are so bored and the auther must have been really miserable or something to even think about writing this!!
This book was set in Mexico. I didn't really get into this book much but it was still alright. I thought it got better as the book went on, so if you are going to give up on the book after a chapter or two I recommend you don't.
I have read another book by Gary Paulsen called 'Hatchet' which was really good, so I was expecting this one to be too, but it wasn't as good.
I have read another book by Gary Paulsen called 'Hatchet' which was really good, so I was expecting this one to be too, but it wasn't as good.
As I read this book, I kept thinking about using it as a mentor text with Calkins' personal narratives. The book itself is just a few small moments and it's separated by the 3 meetings Manny and Robert have. I don't think I'd use the entire book with my 3rd graders but maybe just the bullfight scene. I think it would be more appropriate for 5th and up.
BOOK REVIEW
THE CROSSING
BY S.E.HILTON
The crossing is a 12 chapter book it is a fast passed book to.it is about a boy in mexico who wants to get to America.He wants to live a happy life in america to get money to send back to his family.I checked this book out and I rate it a 3 ½ star book.Once againg it is a fast passed book.
THE CROSSING
BY S.E.HILTON
The crossing is a 12 chapter book it is a fast passed book to.it is about a boy in mexico who wants to get to America.He wants to live a happy life in america to get money to send back to his family.I checked this book out and I rate it a 3 ½ star book.Once againg it is a fast passed book.
I use Paulsen's novel Crossing the Wire with my seventh grade reading class, and since this one was shorter, I thought it might work with them, too. However, this one is more mature -- more high school level -- in Utah County, anyway. Both deal sympathetically with illegal immigration from Mexico to the U.S.
This book was a bit hard for me to get into even though I wanted to read it. It was my first Gary Paulsen book and he has a very uniquely straightforward and brutally honest way of writing. Having said that, the book is pretty good and he really does show that life is like for a teenager on the other side of the border. I think this is a great book for teens to read -- especially Mexican-Americans -- so that they can better see and understand how different life is for kids in Mexico (and in othe...more
This was an interesting book to read because it provided a poor, Mexican boy's perspective of the rich turistas that come over from America to Juarez, a border town across from El Paso, TX.
The ending was unique and well done, but I really wish Paulsen had continued the story.
The ending was unique and well done, but I really wish Paulsen had continued the story.
Dec 17, 2008
Fran
added it
I knew life was hard for Mexican orphans but I didn't know how fierce the competition for food and money is between the children. A very touching story about a young boy who desperatly wants to cross into the U.S. and his unusual friendship with a soldier.
Who knew that Gary Paulsen could get this dark? This story about a Mexican orphan in Juarez hoping to cross over to the U.S. and the alcoholic, self-destructive U.S. soldier who crosses his path. This is about as bleak as it gets in young adult literature.
I liked it and it was a very intresting book about a little mexican boy trying to cross the border. This book has lots of suspense. I liked it because of all the excitement. around every corner there is a surprise. There are plenty more reasons why you should read this book.
I thought that this was an awesome book. WHile i was reading it, I got suspenseful and kept on wandering what going to happen. Well I can't tell you much because I don't want to ruin it for you. Have fun reading it and enjoy.
This book was about a bot who want to come to America because he can get kill or die of hunger and one day he steal a walit for a man that is American mayor in the army and that man help him .....
this was a good book. it never really gets boring. when you read this book you kinda feel bad for Manny. he meets this sergeant, and his name is Robert. Manny is trying to cross the border to the U. S. from mexico. He needs money to dress up so he doesn't look like a scrub. one night a big group of people, and Manny try to cross the border, but they don't know what there in for. Now they all need to find an escape somehow.
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Although he was never a dedicated student, Paulsen developed a passion for reading at an early age. After a librarian gave him a book to read--along with his own library card--he was hooked. He began spending hours alone in the basement of his apartment building, reading one book after another.
Running away from home at the age of 14 and traveling with a carnival, Paulsen acquired a taste for adve...more
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Running away from home at the age of 14 and traveling with a carnival, Paulsen acquired a taste for adve...more
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Apr 04, 2012 10:10am