Zitlally's family is undocumented, and her father has just been arrested for speeding and deported back to Mexico. As her family waits for him to return—they’ve paid a coyote to guide him back across the border—they receive news that he and the coyote’s other charges have been kidnapped and are being held for ransom. Meanwhile, Zitlally and a new friend find a dog in the forest near their trailer park. They name it Star for the star-shaped patch over its eye. As time goes on, Zitlally starts to realize that Star is her father’s “spirit animal,” and that as long as Star is safe, her father will be also. But what will happen to Zitlally’s dad when Star disappears?

A good dog story tempered by a realistic immigration story. While the language felt banal, the story of Zitlally, the 11-year-old daughter of an illegal immigrant who is deported leaving his wife & 3 daughters behind, feels plausible, as does the changing relationships between the protagonist & her friends. Ultimately, the story resolves happily, making it a draw for the dog-besotted or the relationship-savvy 3rd-grader. The endnotes about immigration from Mexico to the US are sensitive & valuable for all readers. Includes a Spanish glossary. ( )

A good dog story tempered by a realistic immigration story. While the language felt banal, the story of Zitlally, the 11-year-old daughter of an illegal immigrant who is deported leaving his wife & 3 daughters behind, feels plausible, as does the changing relationships between the protagonist & her friends. Ultimately, the story resolves happily, making it a draw for the dog-besotted or the relationship-savvy 3rd-grader. The endnotes about immigration from Mexico to the US are sensitive & valuable for all readers. Includes a Spanish glossary. ( )

After eleven-year-old Zitlally's father is deported to Mexico, she takes refuge in her trailer park's forest of rusted car parts, where she befriends a spunky neighbor and finds a stray dog that she nurses back to health and believes she must keep safe so that her father will return.

Zitlally lives in Colorado with her parents and two sisters. They are illegal immigrants. When Zitlally's papa is deported, the family suffers both the loss of family and the loss of his income. She finds a dog chained under an old truck in a junk yard and begins to care for him, believing in time that his is her father's spirit animal. She also becomes friends with a neighbor, who is shunned at school.
A good book for younger readers, teaching about the immigrant experience, as well as the usual YA topics of friendship and family relationships. ( )