The Crossing

Rating:
Summary: A good book about struggling and trying to overcome it
Review: "The Crossing" is a great book about a Mexican boy named Manny who will do anything to try and make the crossing from Mexico into the United States so he can get him a job and maybe even buy some stuff for himself. Gary Paulsen seems to tell a realistic story of how a beggar's life is because all through the book, it tells about Manny's ideas of how to get money or food from people and how he thinks he should beg. But Manny is fourteen now and he wants to try and make the crossing to start a life for himself. Manny meets a Sergeant named Robert Locke, who Manny sees as somebody different. Manny must find a way to make the crossing over the border without being caught.

"The Crossing," like most Gary Paulsen books, is a good story. It's about struggling and how to overcome the struggle and survive. It doesn't ever get boring and you'll want to read on the whole time until you finish the book. I recommend anybody to read "The Crossing."

Rating:
Summary: A good book about struggling and trying to overcome it
Review: "The Crossing" is a great book about a Mexican boy named Manny who will do anything to try and make the crossing from Mexico into the United States so he can get him a job and maybe even buy some stuff for himself. Gary Paulsen seems to tell a realistic story of how a beggar's life is because all through the book, it tells about Manny's ideas of how to get money or food from people and how he thinks he should beg. But Manny is fourteen now and he wants to try and make the crossing to start a life for himself. Manny meets a Sergeant named Robert Locke, who Manny sees as somebody different. Manny must find a way to make the crossing over the border without being caught.

"The Crossing," like most Gary Paulsen books, is a good story. It's about struggling and how to overcome the struggle and survive. It doesn't ever get boring and you'll want to read on the whole time until you finish the book. I recommend anybody to read "The Crossing."

Rating:
Summary: ....
Review: .... Social realities are unbalanced and, like most north american books about Latin america, we stand glorified as we are handed reasons for pitying persons on the other side of the border. I recommend this to only those few with enough knowledge of border life to realize what an insult this book is.

Rating:
Summary: Easy to Read and Interesting
Review: A Review by Erik

This story is about a boy named Manny Bustos, trying to survive in the streets of Juarez, Mexico. He sleeps in a cardboard box at night, fights to get money, and tries to cross the border to the United States. On the way he meets a soldier and they develop a weird friendship.

I liked the characters Manny and Sergeant Robert S. Locke. Manny was smart, clever enough to survive the streets. Because he was smaller than the rest of the boys, it was harder for him to survive, but he still managed to do it. Manny watched the dogs at the butcher shop and noticed how the smaller dog survived by stealing food when the bigger dogs were fighting over it. It made him change his approach to getting food. The new approach worked out for him. Even though I've never met anyone who lives on the streets, it made me think about how much harder it is for people who live on the streets. Sergeant Locke had two different personalities: one that was in the mirror and the other was hidden inside. The face that he saw in the mirror was like a true sergeant: strict, military, perfectly groomed. The other personality was kind and caring and warmer. One example of his caring was when he felt sorry for the bull at the bullfight when everyone else was excited when the bull was killed. The story is a perfect length. It doesn't drag on and bore the reader, and it keeps him tuned in because it is interesting. I was interested until the end, but I don't think it needed to be any longer.

I would recommend this book to readers who are eighth grade or below. It's a pretty easy book to read. It is easy-to-read, interesting, and shows how other people live and how people from other countries might want to come to the United States.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best books for junior high students
Review: As a homeschooling parent, I used this book several years ago in teaching literature to my daughter. My sons are now 7 and I will be sure they read it as well. Beyond the basic story, there are many social and psychological themes to explore within the book. Manny's daily life consists of scounging for food and shelter and avoiding the many other poverty-sticken people who would eagerly use and abuse him for their own gain. Does poverty necessarily create at atmosphere of lack of respect for others? Despite the grinding struggle to survive, Manny constantly dreams of a better life. When he shares his dream with Maria, she tells Manny, "You have nothing. You will never have anything." Have many people in poverty grown to accept their fate in life and given up trying for something better? Why do people who have no hope of anything better try to discourage those who do? What is it that makes some continue to strive and others complacent about their lot in life? The sergeant is a whole psychological study in himself. Why must he keep people at a distance? There is very little conversation between the sergeant and Manny, just a few small acts of kindness the sergeant offers. Why does he offer this to Manny? Is this as close as he can ever be to anyone? Why? Is it his war experiences or his drinking that is responsible for his lack of ability to get close to people? Would experiencing the same things the sergeant experienced make most people end up like him? Why does he make the ultimate sacrifice to protect Manny? What happens to Manny after the book? Will his struggles really be over? I've read several of Paulsen's books and enjoyed all of them, but The Crossing seems to offer so much insight into the world of poverty. Truly a masterpiece for the young adolescent.

Rating:
Summary: The Crossing
Review: Can you imagine what life would be like if you were 13 years old and homeless on the streets of Mexico? Well, if not, read "The Crossing" by Gary Paulsen. "The Crossing" is about a young boy named Manny Bustos who is fighting for survival in Juarez, a Mexican border town and who's only chance is crossing over into the United States. Manny develops a strange friendship with an emotional American soldier who decides to help him cross the border. But, to fully review the book, one must know about the characters in the book, explore Gary Paulson's purpose of the book, and finally share a personal opinion of the book.

The main characters in the book "The Crossing" are Manny Bustos, Robert S. Locke, and Maria. Manny is a young red head Mexican boy who roams the streets of Juarez scavenging for food. Robert is a Sergeant in the American ARMY. His whole life consists of being a good officer during the day and surviving his haunted nightlife by drinking himself to almost "brain dead." Robert is haunted by dead friends, who were killed during a war. Maria is a woman who worked at the Two-by-Four bar and cafe. She would sneak Manny food and also supported Manny when he decided he was going to cross the border.

Gary Paulsen tries to show the truth of what life is like for some Mexican people. He tries to show Mexican poverty and street life, of those who are faced with "the crossing." Paulsen tells us in his book about men who are out to capture young men like Manny. These men will do damage to anybody, just how they did to Robert toward the end of the book. Paulson also shows how life can be rough when trying to trick tourists by having them throw money.

"The Crossing" is a book which I enjoyed reading. I would suggest this book to other teenage readers but would not recommend this book to anyone who is a sophisticated reader. Like the relationship between Robert and Manny, this book is brief and brutal but ends on a note of hope. This book is very short in length and has a simple writing style which should give high-school students with slow reading abilities a special appeal for this book.

"The Crossing" is a spectacular book, which will make a person realize how spectacular their life is. A complete review to the book has been given with information about the characters, Paulson's purpose, and a personal reaction to the book. If you are a high school student wanting to learn about the Mexican culture along the borders, read this book.

Rating:
Summary: Good, easy, fun to read book
Review: I believed the book was pretty good. i liked how it had to do with a kid trying to better himself and escape from poverty as an orphan and start a new life in the USA. It helped give a good view on wat real friendship is suppose to be like. I would recommend this book to people who want a quick book to read and would just like to have it easy.

Rating:
Summary: Very Good Adult Youth Fare
Review: I have enjoyed several of Paulsen's books, and I'm surprised at how adult these stories can be, considering that they are intended for a youth audience. But then again, many youth-oriented novels are about exiting childhood and struggling toward adulthood ... how can you write such a story without addressing adult material?

Other reviewers have summarized the plot, and so I'll instead discuss one of the things that intrigues me most about this man's work. He has a spare narrative style that is VERY reminiscent of Ernest Hemingway's works. This comparison is more apt in this book because of the bullfighting scene in the story, especially so since this scene is used thematically quite well later in the book.

This is a harsh, yet touching story about two people who face great adversity and who cannot quite get what they want from life -- yet they fight hard to get the best that they can get. Paulsen reveals that sometimes struggling hard isn't enough. Sometimes the intervention of human charity is needed. Paulsen shows that, even in the harsh environment that is painted in this book, that charity can exist.

Rating:
Summary: the Crossing
Review: In the Crossing by Gary Paulsen there where many interesting points. Manny got lots of money and food It was interesting because he was poor and he worked hard. It was like one day he got a chnce. It is a good book to read

Rating:
Summary: Really Nice!
Review: In the novel The Crossing, Manny Bustos, the main character, beats up a sergeant. Sergeant Robert S. Locke eventually helps Manny cross the border. Manny Bustos of Mexico is trying to escape to a better life, in America. The main problem is where Manny is trying to survive. I think that this story was exciting. The reason why is because Bustos is tryng to get to freedom. Also, because he got to escape to a better life, in America. The one bad thing about the story is that it was long, and hard to read.