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REGISTER FOR SCBWI UNIVERSITY

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SCBWI Member Videos: How to Apply for Awards and Grants

2024

New Mexico

Victoria loves everything about her home in Cuba. The beautiful 
land, the delicious food, her best friend and cousin, Jackie, and her 
big, loving family. But it’s 1960 in Cuba, and as the political 
situation grows more and more dangerous, Victoria, her parents, and her 
two younger siblings are forced to seek refuge in America with nothing 
more than two changes of clothes and five dollars. Worse, they’re forced
 to leave the rest of their family, including Jackie, behind. In
 Miami, everything is different. And it’s up to Victoria to step up and 
help her family settle into this new world—even though she hopes they 
won’t be there for long. Back in Cuba, everything feels different, too. 
Jackie watches as friends and family flee, or worse, disappear. So, when
 she’s given a chance to escape to America, she takes it—even though she
 has to go alone. Reunited in Miami, can Victoria and Jackie find a way 
to bring the rest of their family to safety?

Farewell Cuba, mi isla

The coins in Santiago’s hand are meant for the bus fare back to his abusive abuela’s
 house. Except he refuses to return; he won’t be missed. His future is 
uncertain until he meets the kind, maternal María Dolores and her young 
daughter, Alegría, who help Santiago decide what comes next: He will 
accompany them to el otro lado, the United States of America. 
They embark with little, just backpacks with water and a bit of food. To
 travel together will require trust from all parties, and Santiago is 
used to going it alone. None of the three travelers realizes that the 
journey through Mexico to the border is just the beginning of their 
story.

Santiago's Road Home

After crossing Mexico into the United States, Jaime Rivera thinks the 
worst is over. Starting a new school can’t be that bad. Except it is, 
and not just because he can barely speak English. While his cousin 
Ángela fits in quickly, with new friends and after-school activities, 
Jaime struggles with even the idea of calling this strange place “home.”
 His real home is with his parents, abuela, and the rest of the 
family; not here where cacti and cattle outnumber people, where he can 
no longer be himself—a boy from Guatemala. When bad news arrives
 from his parents back home, feelings of helplessness and guilt gnaw at 
Jaime. Gang violence in Guatemala means he can’t return home, but he’s 
not sure if he wants to stay either. The US is not the great place 
everyone said it would be, especially if you’re sin papeles—undocumented—like
 Jaime. When things look bleak, hope arrives from unexpected places: a 
quiet boy on the bus, a music teacher, an old ranch hand. With his 
sketchbook always close by, Jaime uses his drawings to show what it 
means to be a true citizen. Powerful and moving, this touching sequel to The Only Road explores
 overcoming homesickness, finding ways to connect despite a language 
barrier, and discovering what it means to start over in a new place that
 alternates between being wonderful and completely unwelcoming.

The Crossroads

Josie Figueroa is the girl no one in the family has to worry about. She's smart, responsible, and reliable. The good girl. Except her life isn't as perfect as everyone believes. Her older brothers are overprotective and clueless; her dream-boy leads her on, and dumps her. And then there's cousin Margarita who can't deal with her own life, much less a deadbeat husband and two small children. That's okay because there's always Josie-to-the-rescue, Josie who will take care of everything for everyone
 else. After all, it's not like Josie doesn't have problems of her own, 
it's not like she's fifteen, pregnant, and every choice she makes feels 
like the wrong one.

Good Girls Don't Lie

BookShop.Org

Twelve-year-old Jaime makes the treacherous and life-changing journey 
from his home in Guatemala to live with his older brother in the United 
States in this gripping and realistic middle grade novel.Jaime is sitting on his bed drawing when he hears a scream. Instantly, he knows: Miguel, his cousin and best friend, is dead. Everyone
 in Jaime’s small town in Guatemala knows someone who has been killed by
 the Alphas, a powerful gang that’s known for violence and drug 
trafficking. Anyone who refuses to work for them is hurt or killed—like 
Miguel. With Miguel gone, Jaime fears that he is next. There’s only one 
choice: accompanied by his cousin Ángela, Jaime must flee his home to 
live with his older brother in New Mexico. Inspired by true events, The Only Road
 is an individual story of a boy who feels that leaving his home and 
risking everything is his only chance for a better life. It is a story 
of fear and bravery, love and loss, strangers becoming family, and one 
boy’s treacherous and life-changing journey.

The Only Road

Tara, Pinkie, and Whitney Blaire were the best of friends, until the new girl came and changed all the rules.

Of All the Stupid Things (now called When We Were)

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