Fall in Love With an Orange Tree or a Book

As they work in the orange groves, Elena Hernandez’s parents are suddenly taken away by uniformed men. Elena believes that Immigration has deported them back to Mexico. Only seventeen, she is left to care for her younger brother, Miguel and sister, Lupe. When she doesn’t hear from her parents, she is afraid something terrible has happened. Elena dreams of graduating but may have to leave school to support her family. When a mysterious caller demands money for her parents’ return, Elena is afraid that Rodriguez, the labor contractor who hired her parents, is behind their disappearance. Should she go to the police and risk deportation or stay in the shadows and spend the rest of her life working in the fields. *** Early Ready Reviews: “An entertaining narrative on an important contemporary topic. I thoroughly enjoyed it.” Teresa de la Rosa Immigration Rights Advocate “This book is excellent and I personally can relate to it. I enjoyed reading it.” Alejandra Hernandez, Tulare County Deputy Sheriff Fall in Love with an Orange Tree or a Book resonates with authenticity as it portrays the difficulties faced by immigrant families in California and the grace with which they face them. Jann McGuire, M.Ed, Bilingual Educator “Shirley Skufca Hickman has brought an important issue out of the shadows in her dramatic and gripping story about a teen in a small town in Central California and what happens when her parents are taken away by immigration.” Marilyn Meredith, author of the Deputy Tempe Crabtree mysteries.