Synopsis "Fall in Love With an Orange Tree or a Book"
As they work in the orange groves, uniformed men suddenly take Elena Hernandez's parents away. Elena believes Immigration has deported them back to Mexico. At seventeen, she must care for her younger brother, Miguel, and sister, Lupe. When she doesn't hear from her parents, she fears something terrible has happened to them. Elena dreams of graduating from high school but may have to leave to support her family. When a mysterious caller demands money for her parents' return, Elena fears the labor contractor who hired her parents may be behind their disappearance. Should she go to the police and risk deportation or stay in the shadows and spend the rest of her life working in the fields? *** Early Reader Reviews: "An entertaining narrative on an important contemporary topic. I thoroughly enjoyed it." Teresa de la Rosa - Immigration Rights Advocate "This book is excellent and I personally can relate to it. I enjoyed reading it." Alejandra Hernandez, Tulare County Deputy Sheriff "Fall in Love with an Orange Tree or a Book resonates with authenticity as it portrays the difficulties faced by immigrant families in California and the grace with which they face them." Jann McGuire, M.Ed, Bilingual Educator "Shirley Skufca Hickman has brought an important issue out of the shadows in her dramatic and gripping story about a teen in a small town in Central California and what happens when her parents are taken away by immigration." Marilyn Meredith, author of the Deputy Tempe Crabtree mysteries "This is the best book I've ever read. Why don't they have more books like this in school?" A high school student "With the current situation, this book should be recommended literature for our students and anyone who wants fair immigration reform." Diana Garcia Ward, Teacher "Elena's story grabbed my attention and touched my heart. Trials, tribulations, thrills and mystery carry the reader from the heroine's parents' disappearance to her increasingly terrifying challenges until... Well you'll have to read the book." Ken Jon Booth, teacher, actor, author
