This book pissed me off. Well, that's not entirely accurate. It's not the book that pissed me off, it's the parents and grandparents. The fact that they let their small child go through all that hell infuriates me. Not only did they abandon him, but then they turned around and made him take the journey ALONE. 

They trusted their young son's life to STRANGERS. They thought they could just give money to people and that would ensure the safety of their son. That boy could have died a hundred times over. He could have been kidnapped, trafficked, murdered.

And I know the whole "well, he didn't die" and "it was for a better life" arguments. That doesn't matter. I'm very glad he made it safely and reunited with his family, but thinking about the trauma he went through and how many times he could have died, it makes me furious. Especially since it's still happening!

There's no better life if your kid ends up enslaved or buried in the dirt somewhere! So many people die making that journey, so many people go missing. It makes me so angry and I'm sorry, but those parents should be ashamed. 

However, Patricia and Chino should be proud of themselves. They took a young boy that wasn't even theirs and protected him as if he was. It broke my heart when they separated and when I learned that they lost contact. I hope they're doing okay and I hope they're able to reconnect one day. I truly believe he wouldn't have made it without them.

And imagine that, they weren't paid to protect him but did so. Meanwhile, all the people who had been paid didn't give two shits about what happened to him! 

I need to do something Zen after this. I knew it would be powerful but I didn't expect to get so angry. I truly hope the author is doing okay and has dealt with any trauma that may be lingering from this experience.