Soy: one of the ways to say “I am” or “I’m.”
Te quiero: Most often means “I love you” and can be a family, friendship, or romantic love. But it can also mean “I want you.”
Tele (la tele): the abbreviation of televisión, similar to “TV.”
Tienes la forma: “Do you have the form?”
Tío/Tía: Uncle/Aunt.
Tocar: literally means “to touch” and is the correct verb to use when referring to playing musical instruments.
Trabajador sin remuneración: “indentured servant” or someone who works without getting paid.
Una familia mexicana: a Mexican family.
Unir: “unite” or “join.”
Universidad: university.
Ustedes están muy flacos: Doña Cici’s favorite complaint and something often heard said to children, “You guys are too skinny.”
Vamos ya: “Let’s go now” or “Let’s go already.”
Vamos rápido: “Let’s go, quickly.”
Ven: an order to “come.”
Viejita: a “little old lady.”
Vida: the name of Jaime and Ángela’s dog, that also means “life.”
Y: “and.” If used by itself as a question, it can also mean “so?”
Ya sé que eres la que manda: a way to say “I know you’re in charge” when someone is being demanding.
Yo gusto gatos: A literal but incorrect way of saying “I like cats.” The correct way to say it would be, A mí me gustan los gatos.
Yo soy la que manda: “I’m the one in charge.”
About the Author
ALEXANDRA DIAZ is the author of The Only Road, the prequel to The Crossroads. It received a Pura Belpré Honor and the Américas Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature, as well as numerous other accolades. Alexandra is the daughter of Cuban refugees and lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, but got her MA in writing for young people at Bath Spa University in England. A native Spanish speaker, Alexandra now teaches creative writing to adults and teens. Her website is alexandra-diaz.com.
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A Paula Wiseman Book
Simon & Schuster, New York
ALSO BY ALEXANDRA DIAZ
The Only Road
SIMON & SCHUSTER BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Text copyright © 2018 by Alexandra Diaz
Jacket illustrations copyright © 2018 by Rebecca Green
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Jacket design by Krista Vossen
Interior design by Hilary Zarycky
Jacket art direction by Krista Vossen
Jacket illustration copyright © 2018 by Rebecca Green
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Diaz, Alexandra, author.
Title: The crossroads / Alexandra Diaz.
Description: First edition. | New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, [2018] | “A Paula Wiseman Book.” | Sequel to: The only road. | Summary: Jaime, twelve, and Angela, fifteen, discover what it means to be living as undocumented immigrants in the United States, while news from home gets increasingly worse.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017061228| ISBN 9781534414556 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781534414570 (e-book)
Subjects: | CYAC: Illegal aliens—Fiction. | Immigrants—Fiction. | Homesickness—Fiction. | Schools—Fiction. | Brothers—Fiction. | Cousins—Fiction. | Refugees—Fiction. | Guatemalan Americans—Fiction.
Classification: LCC PZ7.D5432 Cr 2018 | DDC [Fic]—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017061228
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