Thank you Black Panel Press for a copy of this incredible book. 

Illegal Cargo tells the story of Jose, a father in El Salvador searching for his grown daughter, Helena. She had been attempting to migrate to the US in search of the ‘American dream’, but disappeared in Mexico. 

There is incredible risk in the journey, and Mora doesn’t sugar coat it. It’s not a story that gets wrapped up in a pretty bow at the end - it’s messy and realistic. As someone with little knowledge about that kind of journey and the risk involved, this graphic novel was quite the education. 

The illustrations are stunning and raw; they compliment the story really well and send a message you don’t need to read to understand. The back of the book contains more information about this kind of journey - make sure to read that as well. Yes, I’m assuming you’re going to go read it - because everyone should.