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Araceli's Path: Among Angels and Devils in Juarez
Araceli comes from a blended, dysfunctional family held together by the love of a grandmother. Rubí is being raised by a single mother who works as a prostitute. Both young girls are affected not only by their mothers' choices but also by the violence and culture of Juarez, Mexico. Can they overcome the cards they have been dealt or are they destined to follow the same paths as their mothers? Follow the lives of Araceli and Rubí from childhood to young adulthood and listen for children everywhere who are voiceless, trapped in their own cultures. Proceeds from this book support Love and Literacy, a mission encouraging children in Juarez to read and stay in school.
145 pages, Paperback
Published November 30, 2019
About the author
Marion Surles
7 books6 followersFinalist 2023 Southern Christian Writers Conference Beyond Juarez
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 8, 2020
While a fictional tale, this story takes a hard look into life for those living in Juarez, Mexico. It is not for the faint of heart and I found it heartbreaking to see young girls forced into prostitution to stay alive and make their way in the world not to mention the squalor that they experience on a daily basis.
Araceli's story is similar to many in her town. She is a substitute mother for her younger siblings since their mother is not interested in their welfare, only her own. Thankfully, they have their Abuela to help fill the gap that their mother leaves behind. There is also a kind neighbor that owns the corner store that looks out for Araceli and her sisters. Araceli has dreams beyond ending up like her mother, married with many children and no future. It was hard to watch her struggle with life and not be able to see her dreams come to fruition, but she doesn't give up on a better life.
I felt like Araceli never gave up hope on herself, her life, her family, and even those around her. This is evident with another girl, Rubi. Rubi's life was even harder than Araceli's growing up. I don't think she attended school at all, was left outside when her mother was entertaining men, and I'm not sure if she was fed much. There are passages that mention Rubi at the age of 12 with heavy makeup and pregnant. I think she had three to four children before she was 18, possibly younger. Araceli tried to befriend Rubi but was rebuffed. Perhaps Rubi didn't trust anyone and could only look out for herself. I think that one of the few people that were able to get through to her was Paul. Paul was a photographer with a church missionary group that was building homes for some families in Juarez. For some reason, he took Araceli and her family under his wing and even Rubi to the extent she allowed it. His kindness and generosity is overwhelming but is just a drop in the bucket considering all of those that need help.
I enjoyed this book on various levels. It taught me about the reality of this town in Mexico, and possibly others like it; the kindness of strangers especially Paul (Abuelo), and the photographs of the town and the joy in their faces despite everything. I hope that those that read this book take to heart the opportunities to help those less fortunate whether it is locally or in another country. This is the type of book that could open up discussions in the classroom or at home about the fate of the world and those around us.
We give this book 5 paws up.
Araceli's story is similar to many in her town. She is a substitute mother for her younger siblings since their mother is not interested in their welfare, only her own. Thankfully, they have their Abuela to help fill the gap that their mother leaves behind. There is also a kind neighbor that owns the corner store that looks out for Araceli and her sisters. Araceli has dreams beyond ending up like her mother, married with many children and no future. It was hard to watch her struggle with life and not be able to see her dreams come to fruition, but she doesn't give up on a better life.
I felt like Araceli never gave up hope on herself, her life, her family, and even those around her. This is evident with another girl, Rubi. Rubi's life was even harder than Araceli's growing up. I don't think she attended school at all, was left outside when her mother was entertaining men, and I'm not sure if she was fed much. There are passages that mention Rubi at the age of 12 with heavy makeup and pregnant. I think she had three to four children before she was 18, possibly younger. Araceli tried to befriend Rubi but was rebuffed. Perhaps Rubi didn't trust anyone and could only look out for herself. I think that one of the few people that were able to get through to her was Paul. Paul was a photographer with a church missionary group that was building homes for some families in Juarez. For some reason, he took Araceli and her family under his wing and even Rubi to the extent she allowed it. His kindness and generosity is overwhelming but is just a drop in the bucket considering all of those that need help.
I enjoyed this book on various levels. It taught me about the reality of this town in Mexico, and possibly others like it; the kindness of strangers especially Paul (Abuelo), and the photographs of the town and the joy in their faces despite everything. I hope that those that read this book take to heart the opportunities to help those less fortunate whether it is locally or in another country. This is the type of book that could open up discussions in the classroom or at home about the fate of the world and those around us.
We give this book 5 paws up.
November 9, 2020
“Humans were so resilient and resourceful.”
Araceli’s Path by Marian Surles is a fictional account of the stark reality of poverty in Juarez, Mexico. Araceli is young, but she must be the mamá to her younger siblings because their own mamá is negligent and expects her daughter to behave as an adult, even though she is still a child. Araceli is only one of many young girls living in danger of a receiving little education, falling victim to rape or volatile relationships with men, succumbing to prostitution, and having babies at a young age. Araceli, however, is conscientious, a good student, and determined to have a better life and be a better mother to her future children. In contrast, Rubí lives in the same area as Araceli, but her fate is sealed when she is abused and starts having babies at age eleven or twelve and sinks deeper into a life of desperation and poverty.
Marion Surles paints a dismal and all too realistic picture of life in Juarez, Mexico, filled with violence, hunger, fear, prostitution, and utter despair. To balance such misery, Surles introduces characters who make a difference and offer the promise of a brighter future. Araceli meets a decent young man, Lucas, and they have two sons. Finding work and feeding themselves and their sons are monumental daily tasks, but missionaries come to Juarez to build homes for the poorest of the poor. One such man on the team is Paul, often called Abuelo, who takes photographs and speaks Spanish. Abuelo has a heart of gold and wants only to help both Araceli and eventually Rubí in any way that he can. This beneficence stands in bold contrast to the hopelessness that permeates the lives of those living in such distressed conditions.
The author captures the discouraging life in this area of Juarez, but she also captures the small flickers of hope that refuse to be extinguished. Through Araceli’s bittersweet story, the author shows that beauty can rise from the ashes of poverty through faith in God and from the kindness and generosity of people who just want to help. While Araceli’s Path is a work of fiction, it portrays the real conditions in Juarez, including several photographs, and shows that people can help in many ways. In fact, proceeds from the author’s books support her mission in Juarez called Love and Literacy, as mentioned at the end of the book.
The writing is easy and straightforward, and the story is told through Araceli as she transitions from childhood to adulthood and tries fiercely to avoid her mother’s fate. The story is sad and hard to take in, but this type of narrative is necessary to bring awareness and highlight opportunities for interested readers to get involved and possibly assist those who may be too proud or perhaps too afraid to ask for help. A big Thank You to Marion Surles for bringing this short fiction to the world and for igniting that hope and assurance that good people really are out there working tirelessly to make a difference in the lives of so many.
I received a free copy of this book from Lone Star Book Blog Tours in exchange for my honest review.
Araceli’s Path by Marian Surles is a fictional account of the stark reality of poverty in Juarez, Mexico. Araceli is young, but she must be the mamá to her younger siblings because their own mamá is negligent and expects her daughter to behave as an adult, even though she is still a child. Araceli is only one of many young girls living in danger of a receiving little education, falling victim to rape or volatile relationships with men, succumbing to prostitution, and having babies at a young age. Araceli, however, is conscientious, a good student, and determined to have a better life and be a better mother to her future children. In contrast, Rubí lives in the same area as Araceli, but her fate is sealed when she is abused and starts having babies at age eleven or twelve and sinks deeper into a life of desperation and poverty.
Marion Surles paints a dismal and all too realistic picture of life in Juarez, Mexico, filled with violence, hunger, fear, prostitution, and utter despair. To balance such misery, Surles introduces characters who make a difference and offer the promise of a brighter future. Araceli meets a decent young man, Lucas, and they have two sons. Finding work and feeding themselves and their sons are monumental daily tasks, but missionaries come to Juarez to build homes for the poorest of the poor. One such man on the team is Paul, often called Abuelo, who takes photographs and speaks Spanish. Abuelo has a heart of gold and wants only to help both Araceli and eventually Rubí in any way that he can. This beneficence stands in bold contrast to the hopelessness that permeates the lives of those living in such distressed conditions.
The author captures the discouraging life in this area of Juarez, but she also captures the small flickers of hope that refuse to be extinguished. Through Araceli’s bittersweet story, the author shows that beauty can rise from the ashes of poverty through faith in God and from the kindness and generosity of people who just want to help. While Araceli’s Path is a work of fiction, it portrays the real conditions in Juarez, including several photographs, and shows that people can help in many ways. In fact, proceeds from the author’s books support her mission in Juarez called Love and Literacy, as mentioned at the end of the book.
The writing is easy and straightforward, and the story is told through Araceli as she transitions from childhood to adulthood and tries fiercely to avoid her mother’s fate. The story is sad and hard to take in, but this type of narrative is necessary to bring awareness and highlight opportunities for interested readers to get involved and possibly assist those who may be too proud or perhaps too afraid to ask for help. A big Thank You to Marion Surles for bringing this short fiction to the world and for igniting that hope and assurance that good people really are out there working tirelessly to make a difference in the lives of so many.
I received a free copy of this book from Lone Star Book Blog Tours in exchange for my honest review.
November 12, 2020
Raise your hand if you have ever been to Mexico? Raise your hand if you have ever spent time in Juarez?
I raised my hand on both questions. No matter the passage of time I know not much has changed since my time in Juarez. We were lucky during our visit. We saw no violence and were even luckier to have the same cab driver stay with us during our entire time in Juarez. I recalled seeing the pallet houses from the El Paso side. It was clear you were seeing two different countries just mere feet apart from each other. I remember seeing nearly every house with high iron fences and iron covering their windows. I recollect that the church we drove by more than once having the same iron all the way around it including some graffiti spray painted on the church walls.
What I recall fondly were the people who were friendly and gracious. I remember eating from a street vendor, as well as what was considered a fine dining establishment. I recall the cab driver escorting me to the bathroom to keep me safe more than once. I knew I was in another country and I respected every moment of my time there. The meager pesos I gave people were followed by verbal blessings.
Many have an idea that Mexico is a ideal country. It is in many from the people to the food. But it also has tons of problems. Those difficulties of poverty and lack of education are brought to painful light in Araceli’s Path by Marion Surles. I say painful with the deepest respect. Marion shares the story of Araceli growing up in Juarez. The struggles of no warmth, lack of food, lack of good healthcare, lack of items that make life more comfortable but are hard to come by for many in Juarez. Surles shares the story of Araceli to help readers whom have never been to Juarez or Mexico understand the level of poverty for many who live in Mexico.
Abuelo is an Angel on earth for Araceli’s family. There are Angels here on earth that come and go in our lives. They show up as if driven by some unseen force to watch over us, even it is for a brief period of time. Those Angels make the biggest impacts on humanity with what they can do in that moment of time for those in need, as in the case of Abuelo being there for Araceli.
Araceli’s Path is a quick read. What I uncomfortably respected about this book is the story it tells of Araceli. If you are not a traveler then stop long enough to read this book. Travel with the words that fill these pages that will open your eyes to another country. Then stop and be thankful for what you have. Then pause for another moment and help this author’s mission, Love and Literacy by purchasing this book for your friends to take the same journey.
You can even donate books directly to this cause via these links:
https://www.facebook.com/loveandliter...
https://loveandliteracy.education/
I raised my hand on both questions. No matter the passage of time I know not much has changed since my time in Juarez. We were lucky during our visit. We saw no violence and were even luckier to have the same cab driver stay with us during our entire time in Juarez. I recalled seeing the pallet houses from the El Paso side. It was clear you were seeing two different countries just mere feet apart from each other. I remember seeing nearly every house with high iron fences and iron covering their windows. I recollect that the church we drove by more than once having the same iron all the way around it including some graffiti spray painted on the church walls.
What I recall fondly were the people who were friendly and gracious. I remember eating from a street vendor, as well as what was considered a fine dining establishment. I recall the cab driver escorting me to the bathroom to keep me safe more than once. I knew I was in another country and I respected every moment of my time there. The meager pesos I gave people were followed by verbal blessings.
Many have an idea that Mexico is a ideal country. It is in many from the people to the food. But it also has tons of problems. Those difficulties of poverty and lack of education are brought to painful light in Araceli’s Path by Marion Surles. I say painful with the deepest respect. Marion shares the story of Araceli growing up in Juarez. The struggles of no warmth, lack of food, lack of good healthcare, lack of items that make life more comfortable but are hard to come by for many in Juarez. Surles shares the story of Araceli to help readers whom have never been to Juarez or Mexico understand the level of poverty for many who live in Mexico.
Abuelo is an Angel on earth for Araceli’s family. There are Angels here on earth that come and go in our lives. They show up as if driven by some unseen force to watch over us, even it is for a brief period of time. Those Angels make the biggest impacts on humanity with what they can do in that moment of time for those in need, as in the case of Abuelo being there for Araceli.
Araceli’s Path is a quick read. What I uncomfortably respected about this book is the story it tells of Araceli. If you are not a traveler then stop long enough to read this book. Travel with the words that fill these pages that will open your eyes to another country. Then stop and be thankful for what you have. Then pause for another moment and help this author’s mission, Love and Literacy by purchasing this book for your friends to take the same journey.
You can even donate books directly to this cause via these links:
https://www.facebook.com/loveandliter...
https://loveandliteracy.education/
September 15, 2020
Poignant unmasking of unspeakable poverty, squalor, and lives of desperation.
November 14, 2020
Araceli’s Path is a poignant story about life in Juarez, Mexico, as experienced by a very young girl. The story is fictional, but the problems it addresses are all too real.
The storyline follows the path of young Araceli, from the time she lived with her sisters and mother, to the time she marries and has children of her own. All of this occurs before she reaches the age of sixteen. The story also follows the path of Rubí, another girl slightly younger than Araceli. Both girls seem to be headed down the same paths as their mothers. One of them accepts it, and the other one does not.
This story is clearly written for children in middle grades, but the themes are very mature. Author Marion Surles does not pull any punches; she writes it as it really is. In addition to the very sad aspects of young teen girls becoming wives and mothers, Surles also includes stark descriptions of the living conditions the girls endure, as well as child abuse, drugs, rape and incessant violence. This is the truly sad world of overwhelming poverty. The story may be fictional, but I have no doubt that the poverty, child abuse, drugs, rape and violence are all too real.
Surprisingly, despite the poverty, there are high points and even some joy. Araceli learned about God from her beloved Abuela - her mamás mamá. She leans on her faith when life is hard, and yet she still has the grace to thank God for the blessings. The religion in the story does not overshadow the events. It is included tastefully and non-judgmentally.
Something that I thought to be very unusual in a work of fiction was the inclusion of actual photographs to represent specific elements of the story. For example, even though the author uses good description to give the reader insight into the poverty, the photographs of a shack with dirt floors, an outhouse, all surrounded by filth and more dirt, provided credence to the way our protagonist lived.
Given the intended audience of this book, I think the author did a wonderful job of presenting the mature themes in a way that would be easily understood by those young readers, yet not give them nightmares. Surles does not go too deep into the “why” of things, but mostly through dialogue she identifies ways that Araceli can change her life. Education, for example, is discussed several times in the story. However, the adults seem to have very little use for it.
There is nothing humorous in this story. But that’s to be expected. This degree of poverty, and the living conditions we find there, are clearly nothing to laugh about.
If you have a child who whines because he or she doesn’t have the latest X-BOX, this could very well be a story to change that.
The storyline follows the path of young Araceli, from the time she lived with her sisters and mother, to the time she marries and has children of her own. All of this occurs before she reaches the age of sixteen. The story also follows the path of Rubí, another girl slightly younger than Araceli. Both girls seem to be headed down the same paths as their mothers. One of them accepts it, and the other one does not.
This story is clearly written for children in middle grades, but the themes are very mature. Author Marion Surles does not pull any punches; she writes it as it really is. In addition to the very sad aspects of young teen girls becoming wives and mothers, Surles also includes stark descriptions of the living conditions the girls endure, as well as child abuse, drugs, rape and incessant violence. This is the truly sad world of overwhelming poverty. The story may be fictional, but I have no doubt that the poverty, child abuse, drugs, rape and violence are all too real.
Surprisingly, despite the poverty, there are high points and even some joy. Araceli learned about God from her beloved Abuela - her mamás mamá. She leans on her faith when life is hard, and yet she still has the grace to thank God for the blessings. The religion in the story does not overshadow the events. It is included tastefully and non-judgmentally.
Something that I thought to be very unusual in a work of fiction was the inclusion of actual photographs to represent specific elements of the story. For example, even though the author uses good description to give the reader insight into the poverty, the photographs of a shack with dirt floors, an outhouse, all surrounded by filth and more dirt, provided credence to the way our protagonist lived.
Given the intended audience of this book, I think the author did a wonderful job of presenting the mature themes in a way that would be easily understood by those young readers, yet not give them nightmares. Surles does not go too deep into the “why” of things, but mostly through dialogue she identifies ways that Araceli can change her life. Education, for example, is discussed several times in the story. However, the adults seem to have very little use for it.
There is nothing humorous in this story. But that’s to be expected. This degree of poverty, and the living conditions we find there, are clearly nothing to laugh about.
If you have a child who whines because he or she doesn’t have the latest X-BOX, this could very well be a story to change that.
November 14, 2020
Araceli’s Path by Marion Surles is an eye opening account of life in Juarez, Mexico. While the story focuses on the plight of two young girls with mothers who neither protect nor prepare them for their cruel world, it also sheds light on the men who are often the product of their environment. With both genders, Surles shows examples of succumbing to nature and rising above. I also felt it supports the notion that family is often what you make, not what you are born into.
For a book targeted to mature middle school readers, I think that Surles does a great job of handling graphic situations honestly but tastefully at the same time. Aimed at an age when independence and sexual discovery are at the forefront, this book opens up the opportunity for dialogue about human responsibilities such as consent and obligations to one’s self, family, and community.
For a reader whose life resembles that of any of the characters within these pages, I believe that this book can provide hope that things can get better. For all other readers, I hope that this book will inspire them to find ways of helping others. While Araceli’s Path is free of any grammatical or spelling errors, I think that it could have benefited from stylistic editing to help the story flow better. I also think that the cover and page designs do not do the story justice.
I hope that Surles continues to chronicle the lives of people across the border. Perhaps she could write from the perspective of boys and men who have had to make hard choices such as leaving their families or morals behind in order to survive.
I recommend this book to teachers who equip their classrooms with stories that broaden their students’ worldviews, to librarians whose shelves are bold enough to house a book that sheds light on the dark side of humanity, and to individuals who have heard the call to action but need that last nudge of encouragement to help their fellow man.
For a book targeted to mature middle school readers, I think that Surles does a great job of handling graphic situations honestly but tastefully at the same time. Aimed at an age when independence and sexual discovery are at the forefront, this book opens up the opportunity for dialogue about human responsibilities such as consent and obligations to one’s self, family, and community.
For a reader whose life resembles that of any of the characters within these pages, I believe that this book can provide hope that things can get better. For all other readers, I hope that this book will inspire them to find ways of helping others. While Araceli’s Path is free of any grammatical or spelling errors, I think that it could have benefited from stylistic editing to help the story flow better. I also think that the cover and page designs do not do the story justice.
I hope that Surles continues to chronicle the lives of people across the border. Perhaps she could write from the perspective of boys and men who have had to make hard choices such as leaving their families or morals behind in order to survive.
I recommend this book to teachers who equip their classrooms with stories that broaden their students’ worldviews, to librarians whose shelves are bold enough to house a book that sheds light on the dark side of humanity, and to individuals who have heard the call to action but need that last nudge of encouragement to help their fellow man.
November 17, 2020
Featured on Lone Star Book Blog Tours. Lone Star Blogger Team average rating: 4.9 stars.
September 8, 2023
Interesting perspective of the way other cultures live.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews