“Maybe it's the desert, maybe it's the closeness of life and death, maybe it's the tension between the two cultures we carry inside us. Whatever it is, I'll never understand it unless I'm close to it" (Cantú 23.) Being from a Mexican immigrant family can be difficult. Francisco Cantú spent four years in college studying international relations and learning about the border through policy and history but was in search of more. The Line Becomes A River is a novel about Francisco Cantú and his journey as a Border Patrol agent. Cantú needed more than to just learn about the border through books and history, so he signed up to be a Border Patrol agent. Throughout reading this book it became clear that Cantú wanted his readers to understand how the border really is. He wanted his readers to understand what Border Patrol agents went through on a daily to ensure American citizens are safe. While I was reading through Cantú’s book I was in awe of his bravery. I was extremely shocked when I learning he had chosen to become a Border Patrol agent even after his grandma left Mexico to come to America. I know he explained his reasoning to his mom in the book for wanting to become a Border Patrol agent, but I am still trying to wrap my mind around why he would want to handle dead bodies and take living detainees to detention centers when those people are part of his heritage. This book really confirmed my thinking about how complicated things on the border really are. Cantú did a really good job of showing how gruesome the border can be not just for immigrants trying to get to a better life, but also for the Border Patrol agents. This book has changed my thinking towards the U.S. Border Patrol because of José Martinez’s story in the last part of the book. José left the U.S to go back to Mexico to visit his dying mother and was arrested trying to come back in. Although he was undocumented, I still feel it is so unfair because he wasn’t trying to hurt anyone. José was just trying to make a living for his family working as a maintenance worker in a market in the U.S. My favorite part of the book was the ending when Cantú added in José’s perspective. This was my favorite part because we were able to see the other side of José. by Kyleigh B.
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AuthorSTenth grade students at Decorah High School share how they're reading outside of their own experiences and how it has changed them. Categories
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November 2022
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