Highwire Moon

Finalist for the National Book Award: The story of a young mother deported and separated from her child, and the pair’s efforts to locate one another years laterHighwire Moon narrates the journeys of a young mother and daughter divided. Serafina is a Mexican-Indian scraping by in Southern California; detained by immigration officials, she tragically lacks the English to tell them that Elvia, her three-year-old, is resting in a nearby car. After her deportation, Serafina tries in vain to return to the States, while Elvia must survive several foster homes, later to be reclaimed by her father. By the time Elvia is fifteen, she’s pregnant and surrounded by drugs. She decides to find her mother across the border—at the very same time that Serafina goes in search of her. Highwire Moon is gritty and affecting, a family saga that couldn’t be of more relevance today.