Page 1 - Where I Belong

★ “Utterly compelling.” MICKELSON
—starred, Kirkus Reviews

★ “There is truth on every page.”
—starred, School Library Journal

IN THE SPRING OF 2018, GUATEMALAN AMERICAN HIGH
SCHOOL SENIOR MILAGROS “MILLIE” VARGAS KNOWS HER
LIFE IS ABOUT TO CHANGE. She’s lived in Corpus Christi,
Texas, ever since her parents sought asylum there when she
was a baby. 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’s 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.

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