Not sure how the adaptation compares with the original.

This is a heartbreaking, raw, and an informational read about the story of two Salvadoran twin brothers who come to the United States to escape the hit a gang has on them. Not only are the boys forced to leave El Salvador, to save their lives, but they quickly learn how the United States doesn't, necessarily, live up to the hype. Especially when they have a mounting debt as a result of having to flee abruptly. So far, this is the best piece I've read in relation to modern-day immigration. Lauren...

Books like these are never easy to read. To read first hand about what people, old and young, go through to get to America is almost incomprehensible. You have to realize after reading that no one would choose this situation if they didn’t have to. For the twins Raul and Ernesto their journey from El Salvator to get away from vicious gangs is one that shows true courage. Even more than that is what they have to do to survive in America, not the cake walk some people would have you believe, all w...

The experiences the Flores brothers have gone through are unsettling, and it is clear that their story is just one of so many coming out of El Salvador and dealing with intense gang violence. Lauren Markham does a great job telling their story from a distance and sticking to the facts when the story turns political. Their story continues, and I wish the book had, too. I wonder how their lives have progressed...

The writing style was very straight forward, and in my opinion, the overall composition was a bit boring and basic. The story was an important story to hear, but the delivery could have been more impactful.

I vetted this novel to make sure it was, as advertised, suitable for 7-9th grade reading. It is not. While Ms. Markham's style of writing is fresh and straightforward, the language and subject matter is not appropriate for students of this age group. She drops the "F-bomb" quite often along with several other inappropriate words for a classroom setting. The subject of rape comes up often as does teen promiscuity and teen pregnancy. The novel tells of the many hardships the Flores brothers encoun...

I wanted to like this book so much more. The characters drove me crazy with their poor decisions.

I purchased and read the YA version of this book so I could add it to my classroom library. The story of Ernesto and Raul Flores is hard to put into words; I cannot imagine having gone through everything these young men have at their age. Born and raised in El Salvador, their lives are severely affected by gang violence, and they make the decision to head for the North. This book tracks the boys’ experience from their harrowing journey to the US, navigating their new lives, while continually try...

This was a very timely and compelling read. It was so well done that I kept thinking it was fiction until I remembered that this was a journalistic account of two teens, twins, hunted by gangs in El Salvador who sneak into the US with the help of Coyotes. I’ve heard versions of this story reported on NPR so many times and this really helped fill in the background exactly what these migrants lives are like. Heartbreaking, riveting, thought provoking.

While it's true, as another reviewer noted, that the two brothers at the heart of this story make some bad decisions, it's also easy to see why. It's easy to demonize others when you don't know them or their full story, and in this book, adapted for young adults from the original work, the author puts the immigration situation in context. Relating the journey of twin siblings, Ernesto and Raul Flores, from their home in a small town in El Salvador to the United States in 2013, she describes the

Markham's adult nonfiction book on immigration has been adapted for young adults. It the story of tells the story of twin brothers who leave El Salvador seeking a better, safer life in the US. Their story is one of what happens to unaccompanied minors. While it starts in El Salvador, most of the account is the twin's legal, educational, employment struggles to find the life they dreamed of in the United States. Their story primarily preceded recent immigration policies and events but certainly p...

Well told as well as heart wrenching. Highly recommend.

Personally, I think I would have preferred the full adult version. I feel like the YA version watered the book down a lot - more than what teens would need. Often, Teens are underestimated, and I think that this book does that. However, it had valuable information in it and is perfect for developing empathy for illegal immigrants. What other choice did these young men have? It's a hard life being undocumented in the US, but at least they didn't have to fear for their lives. Overall, it was educa...

This book was really well written. In our current political climate here the U.S.A, I feel that stories like these really need to be told and need to be told well so people can truly see the struggles immigrants face and why they come to America. The depth Markham gives to their story is truly amazing.

I read this book And It is good I will Recommend If You come from another country Like me

The non-fiction novel, Far Away Brothers, Two Teenage Immigrants Making A Life in America by Lauren Markham, is about two teenage twin boys, Raul and Ernesto, who immigrated to the United States from La Colina, El Salvador. Raul and Ernesto grew up with many siblings including Maricela, their older sister, Wilber, Their older brother, and Ricardo. Raul and Ernesto’s parents were poor. Their father, Wilbur Sr. owned a corn field and sold corn. Their mother, Esperanza tried her best to feed the f

Fascinating book about one family's tale to making their way in America from El Salvador. When twin brothers leave El Salvador because their very lives are in danger, the whole family web is impacted by this struggle. But making it - and finding refugee - in the US isn't as easy as it seems. So interesting, but just a real story about the reality of El Salvadorean immigrants in the US.

This incredible memoir relates the story of twins, Ernesto and Raul, who flee the gang violence of El Salvador to cross into the USA with the help of a coyote, leaving them saddled with debt and mounting interest payments. Ernesto suffers from PTSD, a result of something he witnessed on the way north. The twins stay with an older brother who is barely scraping by in CA and both enroll in Oakland International High School. The author actually worked at the school during the time of their attendan...

The Far Away Brothers (Adapted for Young Adults): Two Teenage Immigrants Making a Life in America is the story of immigrants from El Salvador and the tough decisions they have to make in their home country, on the journey, and after arriving in the US. Markham writes like a journalist and uses essential details to create a story and a sense of the twins' experiences. I'd recommend this book for people trying to understand what the experience of some people in America is like and the difficulties...

The Far Away Brothers was an amazing book, opening my eyes to another group of people of whom I was ignorant to. Lauren Markham takes readers on a deep dive into the true story of two twins from El Salvador who came to the United States to escape the gang violence in their home country. The story is raw, intense, and real, shining light on the realities that illegal immigrants experience both on their way to the U.S. and once in the U.S. Markham does an excellent job of disproving the various fa...