Luis Alberto Urrea

Nineteen-year-old Nayeli works at a taco shop in her Mexican village and dreams about her father, who journeyed to the US when she was young. Recently, it has dawned on her that he isn't the only man who has left town. In fact, there are almost no men in the village--they've all gone north. While watching The Magnificent Seven, Nayeli decides to go north herself and recruit seven men--her own "Siete Magníficos"--to repopulate her hometown and protect it from the bandidos who plan on taking it over. Filled with unforgettable characters and prose as radiant as the Sinaloan sun, Into the Beautiful North is the story of an irresistible young woman's quest to find herself on both sides of the fence.

A Novel

Into the Beautiful North

Lara Engle

I had a hard time getting into this book at first. The beginning portions in Tres Camarones are amusing and it's a nice introduction to the characters and setting, but it just didn't grab me. Then, the group leaves for their mission. The moment they stepped on that first bus, I was compelled to keep reading.

I teach English language arts in an urban high school with a large population of Hispanic and Latino students. Several of my students read this book for their independent reading book project this fall. One young lady wrote that she thinks every white person should read this because it gives a good picture of what young people in Mexico go through to get to the U.S. and to make a better life. To me, that was a compelling recommendation.

Into the Beautiful North A Novel

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