Araceli’s Path

Araceli’s Path is a poignant story about life in Juarez, Mexico, as experienced by a very young girl. The story is fictional, but the problems it addresses are all too real.

The storyline follows the path of young Araceli, from the time she lived with her sisters and mother, to the time she marries and has children of her own. All of this occurs before she reaches the age of sixteen. The story also follows the path of Rubí, another girl slightly younger than Araceli. Both girls seem to be headed down the same paths as their mothers. One of them accepts it, and the other one does not.

This story is clearly written for children in middle grades, but the themes are very mature. Author Marion Surles does not pull any punches; she writes it as it really is. In addition to the very sad aspects of young teen girls becoming wives and mothers, Surles also includes stark descriptions of the living conditions the girls endure, as well as child abuse, drugs, rape and incessant violence. This is the truly sad world of overwhelming poverty. The story may be fictional, but I have no doubt that the poverty, child abuse, drugs, rape and violence are all too real.

Surprisingly, despite the poverty, there are high points and even some joy. Araceli learned about God from her beloved Abuela – her mamás mamá. She leans on her faith when life is hard, and yet she still has the grace to thank God for the blessings. The religion in the story does not overshadow the events. It is included tastefully and non-judgmentally.

Something that I thought to be very unusual in a work of fiction was the inclusion of actual photographs to represent specific elements of the story. For example, even though the author uses good description to give the reader insight into the poverty, the photographs of a shack with dirt floors, an outhouse, all surrounded by filth and more dirt, provided credence to the way our protagonist lived.

Given the intended audience of this book, I think the author did a wonderful job of presenting the mature themes in a way that would be easily understood by those young readers, yet not give them nightmares. Surles does not go too deep into the “why” of things, but mostly through dialogue she identifies ways that Araceli can change her life. Education, for example, is discussed several times in the story. However, the adults seem to have very little use for it.

There is nothing humorous in this story. But that’s to be expected. This degree of poverty, and the living conditions we find there, are clearly nothing to laugh about.

If you have a child who whines because he or she doesn’t have the latest X-BOX, this could very well be a story to change that.