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Until Someone Listens: A Story About Borders, Family, and One Girl’s Mission

by Estela with Lissette Norman Juarez (text) & narrated by Estela Juarez
Macmillan Audio. Sept. 2022. 11p. $1.99. ISBN 9781250865359.
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PreS-Gr 3–Juarez, just 13, makes both her authorial and narration debut with her family’s story of devastating separation. Juarez’s mother left her native Mexico at 18, eventually married a U.S. Marine, had two daughters, and “live[d] together in a house full of love” in Florida. But Juarez’s mother was undocumented and, when Juarez was four, government officials arrived to warn the family that “my mom had to go back—to the other side of the river—because she wasn’t born in this country.” Four years later, her mother was deported back to Mexico. Despite her youth, Juarez wrote to Congress, President Trump, newspapers, “anyone who could help...I discovered my words have power.” Juarez’s ending author’s note reveals the family’s fate—with a thank you to President Biden.
VERDICT Citing John Lewis’s March as inspiration to write her own book, Juarez is another heartening voice for justice.
Reviewed by Terry Hong , Jan 01, 2023

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