Hello, dear Readers,
Below is my book review of Detained: A Boy's Journal of Survival and Resilience by D. Esperanza and Gerardo Ivan Morales.
Title: Detained: A Boy's Journal of Survival and Resilience.
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Genre: Memoir
Author: D. Esperanza and Gerardo Ivan Morales.
Publisher: Atria/Primero Sueno Press
Publication Date: May 13, 2025
Publication Date: May 13, 2025
Language: English
Hardcover: 256 pages
Meet the Author: D. Esperanza & Gerardo Ivan Morales
Buy Me: AmazonBook Description
“A shocking and moving read. A brutally honest account of the impact of family separation at the US border.”—Kirkus Reviews
The first-ever memoir of a child’s experience in detention on the US/Mexico border under President Trump’s infamous family separation policy.
D Esperanza was just thirteen years old when he lost his caregivers, his beloved grandmother and uncle. Since both of his parents were working and living in the United States, D was left on his own in a small town in Honduras. He quickly realized he simply could not make enough money to survive so he made the difficult decision to head north with his cousins and hopefully reunite with his parents in el norte.
Together, the boys struggled to survive a long and treacherous journey through Central America and Mexico. Along the way, D and his cousins formed a deep bond, only for the four to be brutally separated at the border of the United States. When he is captured and processed at a facility, neither D nor his family are given an update on when he will be released or where he’ll go next. Over the next five months, he kept a journal of his experience. The pages tell a story of pain, cruelty, friendship, and resilience, a living testament to the reality of the border. Amidst the senseless inhumanity and violence of US immigration policy, D found hope in the friendship he and his fellow companions forged, and mentorship from one intrepid advocate who fought on his behalf named Gerardo Iván Morales.
Timely, powerful, and unforgettable, Detained brings the border crisis to vivid life.
My Thoughts
When I thought I had read the most heartbreaking memoir, Detained comes.
Oh my God, what a book. What a story. What a journey. I swear, I will never understand why people go through certain things in life, especially children and young people who have not done anything bad except want a better life, and in this case, be with their parents.
First of all, I love where this book came from. From a composition book, nothing fancy, computer, or fancy writing device, just a boy and his notebook. Not a professional writer, but one with love and passion for writing. This is one of the most beautiful and honest ways to keep track of what you are going through, just the thought of D. Esperanza wanting to write about the most horrific, terrible, horrible time of his life, not just bravery, but vulnerability. Most adults have a hard time being honest with themselves, much less with the rest of the world.
When we are not living what others are or near the chaos, desperation, and nasty stuff, it is always easy to read a book like Detained and think, "Oh, I can't believe this is happening. Why can't they stop it?. Why are they doing this to children?. It is always easy to distance ourselves from those suffering, as if something were happening in another world. Reality is, it is happening here, in this world, in this country, and make no mistake, it is real, those children are being treated like they are criminals, wild animals that they have to tame, not like human beings whom the only thing they want is what most people want and take from granted, love, respect, and the love and care from their parents.
Even though D. Esperanza's story is unique in the sense that he was able to document it, unfortunately, is the reality of hundreds of thousands of kids, that after crossing the border in the most dangerous, horrific conditions, they end up in the hands of the US Authorities, put on these detention centers, in the most inhumane conditions, where is either being taken back to the country they came from or if they are lucky enough be reunited with their parents in the United States.
I could go on about this book, but I truly think it is one of those books that you have to read to experience to fully understand and see the realities of a system that, unfortunately, is not treating these children and immigrants in general as they should be, as human beings.
A must-read, definitely.
Thank you, Atria/Primer Sueno Press and NetGalley, for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Wendy