The mixed-race son of apple pickers, Manz lives with his hard-drinking mother and her truck-driver boyfriend in the hardscrabble world of dusty ... read full description
reviews
Apr 14, 2010
Jennifer
rated it: 
Reviewed by Melanie Foust for TeensReadToo.com
Manz's summer starts off regularly enough. Listening to his mother, Delores, come home drunk at night. Getting short-term jobs at ranches in the area with his friend, Jed. Then strange things begin happening.
He starts hearing voices, and they won't stop. They begin telling him what to do, and he starts listening. They tell him that people are after him. He's on the watch, constantly on edge. The border patrol will come to get More...
Manz's summer starts off regularly enough. Listening to his mother, Delores, come home drunk at night. Getting short-term jobs at ranches in the area with his friend, Jed. Then strange things begin happening.
He starts hearing voices, and they won't stop. They begin telling him what to do, and he starts listening. They tell him that people are after him. He's on the watch, constantly on edge. The border patrol will come to get More...
Jul 17, 2010
Melissa
rated it:
This is a sensitive and accurate portrayal of a young person's struggle with schizophrenia. Having once been friends with a 20-something who suffered from this illness, I recognize the tedium and frustration of the main character's friends and loved ones trying to relate to his burgeoning paranoia and delusions. This is not a romantic illness by any means. Mostly, the sufferers delusions are obsessive and get very boring. This eloquent little novel managed to convey that very well, in spite of (
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Jul 09, 2011
Age: YA
Genre: realistic fiction
Diversity: cultural; psychological
Illustrations: None
Personal Response: While I thought it was well written this was a rather depressing story. The subject matter itself, paranoid schizophrenia, is a depressing one and having a first person perspective into a young mans first psychotic break is fairly harsh. Having said that, life can be fairly harsh and I don't think the the material is inappropriate for a teenager.
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Genre: realistic fiction
Diversity: cultural; psychological
Illustrations: None
Personal Response: While I thought it was well written this was a rather depressing story. The subject matter itself, paranoid schizophrenia, is a depressing one and having a first person perspective into a young mans first psychotic break is fairly harsh. Having said that, life can be fairly harsh and I don't think the the material is inappropriate for a teenager.
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Dec 22, 2009
Diana
rated it: 
I wanted to like this one but Manz's thought processes were just too different for me to really connect with. I would have no trouble whatsoever, though, recommending it to teen readers who like books about teens dealing with difficult issues. It is nominated for Quick Picks. I'm only 33 pages into Margaret Peterson Haddix's Claim to Fame and am thinking that it may be a good read-alike for fans of Border Crossing.
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Aug 31, 2010
Lisa
rated it:
To represent a young adult with mental illness in a book can be challenging. To depict them beautifully and with any kind of honesty is even more difficult. However, that is exactly what Ms. Anderson winds up doing. She masterfully writes about the frightening descent into schizophrenia. Soon enough we feel Manz's terrifying paranoia that everyone is out to get him. His fear of being deported, despite his being a legal citizen is crippling him. Manz's family does not discuss their problems
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Mar 29, 2010
Katrina
rated it:
Isaiah Luis "Manz" Martinez was born to a teenage mother, whose father disowned her not because she got pregnant so young but because she was carrying a Mexican's child. Manz is Mexican and Caucasian. His father, Adres "Loco" Martinez, passed away and so did his half-brother, Gabriel. Now it's just him and his mother, Delores, and her man, Thomas, whose job as a truck driver takes him away from home a lot. Manz and his family don't have much to live on, so he does his part by
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Oct 29, 2011
Taylor
rated it:
At first it seemed to be about one thing, Mexican struggles, trying to fit in an uncommon bi-racial society, but then things started to get crazy. I almost believe what I read as Manz believed what he heard. The ending was a twist, but only slightly predictable. I would have preferred a more detailed future in the ending, but it's satisfying enough. This book reminds me of the first story, "The Hitchhiker", in More Horowitz Horror, as well as a book I remember reading a long time ago:
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May 24, 2010
Susann
rated it: 
I can't accurately review this, because it's just too painful to read about someone developing paranoid schizophrenia. I found myself skimming over some of the voices-in-head moments. I really felt for Manz, though.
Jan 26, 2010
Julia
rated it:
Kind of like reading The Bell Jar, in that reading about a person descending into schizophrenia tends to make ME feel like I'm going crazy too.
Nov 17, 2010
Laura
rated it:
A good description of mental illness (paranoid schizophrenic). It was a quick read - with a realistic ending.
Oct 21, 2009
Amber
rated it: 
I read Anderson's latest book in less than two hours during my lunch yesterday and today. After I stopped reading yesterday, I wished I had saved it for a quiet weekend at home. I was completely drawn into the story and when I finished the book today, I felt a bit like I was walking out of a dark movie theater--it took some adjusting.
Border Crossing is for an older audience than Anderson's previous book, Trudy. This is a darker book that takes the reader into the main character's mind, More...
Border Crossing is for an older audience than Anderson's previous book, Trudy. This is a darker book that takes the reader into the main character's mind, More...
Jul 06, 2010
Kristen
rated it:
Review: An interesting look at the life of a teenage guy living in Texas. This novel deals with issues like alcoholism, class differences, illegal immigration, and child abuse.
Final verdict: Not the happiest story, but a decent read.
Final verdict: Not the happiest story, but a decent read.
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