Crossing the Wire

When falling crop prices threaten his family with starvation, fifteen-year-old Victor Flores heads north in an attempt to "cross the wire" from Mexico into America so he can find work and help ease the finances at home.

But with no coyote money to pay the smugglers who sneak illegal workers across the border, Victor struggles to survive as he jumps trains, stows away on trucks, and hikes grueling miles through the Arizona desert.

Victor's passage is fraught with freezing cold, scorching heat, hunger, and dead ends. It's a gauntlet run by many attempting to cross the border, but few make it. Through Victor's desperate perseverance, Will Hobbs brings to life a story that is true for many, polarizing for some, but life-changing for all who read it.

Acclaim for Crossing the Wire includes the following: New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age, Junior Library Guild Selection, Americas Awards Commended Title, Heartland Award, Southwest Book Award, and Notable Books for Global Society.

Victor’s journey is a high-stakes test of courage and endurance.

• A High-Stakes Border Crossing: Follow fifteen-year-old Victor Flores as he attempts the treacherous journey from Mexico to the US with no money, no guide, and nothing but hope.
• Action-Packed Survival: From jumping moving trains to hiking through the unforgiving Arizona desert, every page is filled with heart-pounding challenges and narrow escapes.
• A Story of Family Sacrifice: Driven by the need to save his family from starvation, Victor risks everything he has for the ones he loves.
• Powerful Social Issues Fiction: Award-winning author Will Hobbs shines a light on the human cost of illegal immigration in a story that is both deeply moving and impossible to forget.