Where I Belong by Marcia Argueta Mickelson

Where I Belong

Marcia Argueta Mickelson

Lerner Publishing Group · Paperback · January 1, 2023

A Pura Belpré Honor Book An immigrant teen fights for her family, her future, and the place she calls home.

Buy on Amazon

We earn from qualifying purchases.

Who it’s for
Millie’s effort to care for her family meets the public pressure of a statewide immigration debate.
Genres
Immigration for Teens, Hispanic & Latino YA, Prejudice & Racism for Teens
Published
Lerner Publishing Group, January 1, 2023

About this book

A Pura Belpré Honor Book An immigrant teen fights for her family, her future, and the place she calls home. In the spring of 2018, Guatemalan American high school senior Milagros "Millie" Vargas knows her life is about to change. She has lived in Corpus Christi, Texas, ever since her parents sought asylum there when she was a baby.

Continue reading

Now a citizen, Millie devotes herself to school and caring for her younger siblings while her mom works as a housekeeper for the wealthy Wheeler family. With college on the horizon, Millie is torn between attending her dream school and staying close to home, where she knows she's needed. She is disturbed by what's happening to asylum-seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border, but she doesn't see herself as an activist or a change-maker. She's just trying to take care of her own family. Then Mr. Wheeler, a U.S. Senate candidate, mentions Millie's achievements in a campaign speech about "deserving" immigrants. It doesn't take long for people to identify Millie's family and place them at the center of a statewide immigration debate. Faced with journalists, trolls, anonymous threats, and the Wheelers' good intentions—especially those of Mr. Wheeler's son, Charlie—Millie must confront the complexity of her past, the uncertainty of her future, and her place in the country that she believed was home.

Home Under Pressure

Millie’s effort to care for her family meets the public pressure of a statewide immigration debate.

Come here for

  • A teen balancing college hopes with family responsibilities
  • Immigration debates seen through one family's experience

Expect

  • A close look at belonging, home, and competing loyalties
  • A contemporary coming-of-age story grounded in family responsibility

Where it sits

Immigration for Teens100%
Hispanic & Latino YA31%
Prejudice & Racism for Teens31%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Multicultural & Interracial YA Romance
  • Immigration for Teens
  • Prejudice & Racism for Teens
Authors
Marcia Argueta Mickelson
Publisher
Lerner Publishing Group
Published
January 1, 2023
Format
Paperback
Reading lane
Multicultural & Interracial YA Romance