Friends from the Other Side Quotes

Having crossed the Rio Grande into Texas with his mother in search of a new life, Joaquín receives help and friendship from Prietita a brave young Mexican American girl.

Did you come from the other side? You know, from Mexico? So begins the friendship between Prietita and Joaquin, the young boy who, with his mother, has crossed the Rio Grande River to Texas in search of a new life.

Prietita, a brave young Mexican American girl, defends Joaquín from the neighborhood kids who taunt him with shouts of mojado or wetback.

But what can she do to protect Joaquín and his mother from the Border Patrol as the van cruises slowly up the street toward their hiding place?

They have captured not only the hardship of daily life on the border, but also the beauty of the landscape and the dignity and generosity of spirit that the Mexican Americans and the Mexican immigrants share.

Prietita is a young Mexican-American girl living in South Texas, near the Rio-Grande river which is the U.S.-Mexican border. One day, she meets a boy named Joaquin, who meets her clad in a long sleeve shirt (unusual for the summer) and a bundle of firewood.

She notices that his Spanish is different from hers, and asks if he is from “the other side.”

The two quickly become friends, and through this friendship Prietita comes to see the vast differences between her life and that of Joaquin’s, and the challenges that come with being labeled as an illegal from across the border.

In this very real and down to earth book, children will be introduced too many realities involving illegal immigration.

The hardships that these families face, the prejudices against them, and the overall hate that some individuals have for immigrants are all topics highlighted in the text.