Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child

The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child
reviewed on + 2 more book reviews


I loved this book. The short stories are full of personal experiences lived by the author himself. This book isn't fiction, it is life itself, lived by a child of migrant workers, offering us a glimpse at the difficulty of those children who must start school over and over again because the parents keep on moving from one are to the next due to their seasonal jobs.

The title, "THE CIRCUIT," refers to a life that keeps going in cycles. Migrant workers live their lives that way. Also, the title refers to one of the most heartfelt stories, which was originally written in Spanish with a different title, "Cajas de Carton," (Cardboard Boxes), which is the way the author saw his life, stuffed in cardboard boxes all the time, not even having time to stay in one place long enough to enjoy unpacking his own belongings.

The book has been adopted by the California Board of Education, and it is taught in elementary schools, that's how good this book is.