Illegal by Francisco X. Stork (Contemporary Fiction)

Illegal by Francisco X. Stork

They made it through the desert but now, Sara is in a detention center in Texas hoping to get asylum in the United States because she knows if she goes back to Mexico, there are people there who will kill her. Her brother, Emiliano has been hiding at a ranch in Texas after being rescued from near death in the desert. But he has a very important phone – a phone that Sara has been risking her life for, and now Emiliano’s life – because it contains information that could bring down a whole human trafficking smuggling ring being run in the United States.

Emiliano ends up going with his Father to Aurora, IL because Sara’s contacts tell him they will be able to get the phone unlocked and help get the information out that will save the poor woman who have been trafficked. However, once Emiliano gets to Illinois, it becomes clear that his father will do more to protect his new wife, than he will to help Emiliano and his sister. Who can Emiliano turn to when anyone who moves to help him might end up dead?

Recommended for grades 8 and up.