In addition, Tyler meets the three daughters of the workers; they are known as the "Three Maria's". The oldest, Mari, goes to school with Tyler. Tyler feels a strong friendship developing between him and Mari but he also finds himself struggling with knowing that Mari and the other Mexican workers are illegally in the country and what he should do about it.

"Return to Sender" by Julia Alvarez is a young adult novel, for ages 10 and up, that attempts to explain the life and struggles of undocumented Mexican families. Inspiration for the title comes from the actual dragnet operation that the Department of Homeland Security conducted in 2006 where work sites were raided and undocumented workers seized, often leaving their children behind until they could be reunited.

Julia Alvarez wisely constructs this dilemma with no real heroes or villains. Through the interactions of the three daughters, and mostly through Mari's letters, and Tyler's struggle to know what is the right or wrong thing to do, the reader experiences the strengths and positives of hard working people aiding a farmer in need. Readers also learn about which laws are crossed by both Mexican and American citizens to assist people on both sides of the border.

This story enlightens the reader to the real people involved in what is called the illegal immigration issue.

 Jo Ann Hernández is assistant Bookshelf editor and author of the award-winning "White Bread Competition" and "The Throwaway Piece," as well as, creator and publisher of BronzeWord Latino Authors web site.

Mystery, intrigue, the supernatural and suspense are woven into the tale of the Lost Mission by Athol Dickson. Told from the perspective of different characters bridging two hundred years, readers follow the characters whose religious faith not only touches their souls but dramatically changes their lives.

The plot's theme plays out in Lupe's life where while on her way to fulfill her mission she is distracted by desire for a young minister who rescues her from certain death in the Arizona desert, and where her faith is further tested when her preaching in a southern California beach town inspires only apathy and laughter.

Though the story bounces back and forth throughout the two hundred years, the writing is strong and clear and we never lose sight of the character's dilemmas or trials and the role their faith plays in their own lives.

For many, this God is a vengeful piety; for others, their God leads and forgives.

This story is not about the righteousness of God or the appropriateness of religion. Lost Mission leads the reader to think how faith can assist in bad times, in the worst of situations and even when forced to face our deepest fears within us.

Athol Dickson's writing is superb and takes us on a magical journey of faith where hope still flourishes.

Jo Ann Hernández is assistant Bookshelf editor and author of the award-winning "White Bread Competition" and "The Throwaway Piece," as well as, creator and publisher of BronzeWord Latino Authors web site.

Written by CNN host Soledad O'Brien with Rose Marie Arce, Latino in America, supplements the television special by using material and photos not seen in the broadcast version. In addition, the book offers readers the chance to hear more of O'Brien's voice as her personal insights of traveling the country meeting different Latinos is sprinkled throughout the text. 

O'Brien recounts stories as uplifting as young girls attempting to graduate from high school and gang members banding together to keep kids out of gangs to stories highlighting the same public perception problems Latinos have always had like Latina actresses still battling Hollywood stereotype casting.

While the television special created an uproar among some in the Latino community, there's no denying that stories depicting Latinos struggling to better themselves in circumstances that are far from ideal should be celebrated. Yet the book didn't go far enough in examining the stories of those Latinos, who have already achieved success and its impact on their lives. In that regard, I was surprised by the lack of the Middle Class Latino experience among all the tales told.

However, I did find in the book a definition that touches at the heart of the unique position Latinos find themselves in as we go about our daily lives. O'Brien defines Latinos as:

Latino is an American identity. It is a word to describe Americans who are drawn to each other by this intangible cultural link, the similarity of the way we run our families, our devotion to faith, and the warmth of our personalities, our connection to a history that recognizes no border to the south.

Latinos are a people who celebrate the new culture they've created in the United States while struggling each day with whether we need to assimilate or integrate into this new society. We ask ourselves what good things we want to preserve from our culture and what American values we want to or need to adopt. And that question never goes away, not one, two, or three generations beyond immigration.

The stories in the book encompassed a wide range of experiences -- but it's not the whole story. Hopefully, CNN discovered that one show or book cannot possibly navigate the entire Latino experience -- and is already planning the sequel to both.

By Jo Ann Hernández, assistant editor of Latina Lista's Bookshelf section, and the author of the award-winning "White Bread Competition" and "The Throwaway Piece." Jo Ann is also the creator and publisher of BronzeWord Latino Authors.

Parents! What can a teen do with them? Thankfully, everyone else calls her Lina. Yet, Lina's name is symbolic of her relationship with her out-of-touch father.

Confetti Girl is a beautiful story of a middle-school-age girl whose mother died the previous year and needs her father to communicate with her. Lina's father, in his grief, has immersed himself in books and so she struggles to reach him behind the hardcover barriers he places between the two of them.

Yet, Lina's changing relationship with her father isn't the only sign of change in the young girl's life. Lina's best friend Vanessa, who lives with her divorced mother across the street, starts to spend less time with Lina after discovering boys.

However, it isn't long before Lina finds herself liking a boy and grappling with old-fashioned insecurities -- "Does he like me?," "Doesn't he like me?," "How do I know?" -- that a mother could have helped her understand.

The book's author, Diana López, deals with the issue of losing a parent by examining that loss through both death and divorce.

The plot of this story is the generational struggle most teens experience with their parents when trying to come to an understanding of what the other needs.

Though the story deals with sad issues, the writing is upbeat and the ending is hilarious and would make any therapist proud.

López did a sensational job of presenting Lina in her environment with everyday teen angst and peculiarities. For example, the title of the book refers to young Lina's love for socks and how she chooses which socks to wear depending on how lucky they make her feel that day.

At the same time, López fully embraces the Latino culture through character dialogue of traditional Latino customs, along with, inserting an occasional word in Spanish in the text.

López portrayed people with real hurts, real joys and real loves -- just like everyone else in the world.

It's a book that is an enjoyable read.

By Jo Ann Hernández is assistant Bookshelf editor and author of the award-winning "White Bread Competition" and "The Throwaway Piece," as well as, creator and publisher of BronzeWord Latino Authors web site.

You know all those stories that end with "They lived happily ever after?" Gringolandia begins after the "ever after."

Lyn Miller-Lachmann researched and wrote a heartfelt story about a man named Marcelo, who as a political prisoner in Chile endured a life of torture for many years. The impact his imprisonment had on his family after reuniting with them in the United States, where they had relocated to be safe, is the foundation for this emotionally charged novel.

As with most moves, we find the family's life was changed and their traditional customs adjusted to fit in with their new country. When the father returned, his hold as the traditional head of the household was shaken as was his relationships with his two children, Daniel and Tina, and his wife.

The story is told from the son, Daniel's, point-of-view. He is a teen in high school, who plays a guitar and has an Anglo girlfriend named Courtney. The introduction of Courtney is a bit of a mystery.

Courtney's history with her own family is revealed, and we understand her zeal in wanting to work with Daniel's father. She takes it upon herself to set in motion actions that Daniel is afraid will hurt his father more than what he already has experienced.

The gist of the story is that the father wants to return to Chile and continue fighting the revolution. However, the family is not so sure about the idea. Yet everyone wants to support him.

The father, Marcelo, appears rude or obnoxious, yet all his actions and discontent are integrated with the history of his torture. The author doesn't do a heavy analysis of what reactions are normal for a person recovering from torture. I'm sure she had to do tremendous research on the subject. However, she does an excellent job of showing and not telling us what was going on for the man: the confusion in his intentions combined with the confusions of the rest of the family's expectations.

One finds it difficult to say they enjoyed this book because of the emotional upheaval everyone experiences. Yet Gringolandia is an excellent read to see family dynamics at work, and the consequences of one's belief in an unfair system. Or is it the world?

Get to know this family for they will stay in your memory teasing you with "I wonder what happened to...."

Jo Ann Hernandez is assistant editor of Latina Lista's Bookshelf section and is also the creator and publisher of BronzeWord Latino Authors.

Yet contrary to popular perception, equipping pre-schoolers with their own computers and software programs isn't necessarily the key to school success. Basic lessons still need to be taught and learned and the tools for these activities are found outside the computer in simple activities that have been shoved aside for the sake of technology.

Thankfully the new children's book Come Into My World: 365 Creative Games and Activities for Children Ages 0 to 5 (2008 Lunita Company, LLC), by Lina Cuartas and Annabel Lugo Hoffman, resurrects such old-fashioned ideas as actually taking a child by the hand and exploring the world together.

Author Lina Cuartas draws much of her inspiration for the book from her time spent teaching the Huitotos and Boras children of the Amazon rainforest. It was an experience that changed her perspective on how to look at life -- and how life's lessons should be learned.

The book, available in both English and Spanish, is broken down by month and lists a different activity for each day using materials readily found around the house. From creative tasks like making a collage, creating colored ice cubes or illustrating a book about themselves to exploratory activities like going on a treasure hunt around the house or going for a walk outside to appreciate nature to even turning mundane chores into learning experiences like picking up toys or emptying trash cans, Come Into My World strives to introduce basic concepts that are essential for reading, math, science and social skills.

The best thing about the activities is that the children don't even realize they're learning and parents get to rediscover the wonder of the world hand-in-hand with their child.

Since Spanglish is much more than just "bastardizing" perfectly good English words into Spanish, and vice versa, Santiago explains that the key to speaking good Spanglish (Spanglish Rule #32) is to never stay in English or Spanish for too long.

In fact, Spanglish is a very generous language that, according to Santiago, observes the grammar rules of both English and Spanish -- but not too strictly. In fact, one of the major lessons of the book is that rules should not cramp the personal conversation style of the speaker.

Santiago believes that since "practice makes perfect," the only way to master Spanglish is by adopting seven bad habits that, he swears, will lead to proficiency. Among them, are the self-explanatory habits: "Fake It Hasta Que You Make It" and "Practice Random Acts of Spanglish."

Who would have thought that the history of the Bacardi family, one of the most instantly recognizable names in the liquor industry, would also be a lesson in Cuban history? After all, isn't Bacardi rum native to Puerto Rico?

No and sí. It's exactly that contradictory answer that hints at the complex relationship the Bacardi brand has with the country where it all started. In "Bacardi and The Long Fight for Cuba: The Biography of a Cause" by Tom Gjelten (Viking 2008), readers learn that the true origin of the infamous rum was born and perfected in Cuba, and that the company's history is so entangled with the struggles and oppression of the island nation that it's impossible to separate one from the other.

Courtesy of Gjelten, readers are transported back through time when the Bacardi brothers, sons of an illiterate Catalan bricklayer, first arrived in Cuba from their native Spain in the 1800s. One brother, Facundo, had the vision to create a business that would not just provide a living but leave a legacy.

On August 11, 2001, Norma Garcia's life changed in an instant. One moment this San Antonio native was a mother of two returning with her husband and children from a fun-filled Mexican vacation. The next she was laying in a hospital bed bruised, fractured and swollen from a rollover car accident when a tire on the family's SUV blew out.

Yet, what was worse was that she no longer was a mother of two living children. Her eldest, 13-year-old Jasmine, had been thrown from the car and critically injured. Her premature death, only several days later, pushed Norma into a whole new life direction that served as the impetus for her to share her unique story in "My Dear Jasmine: A Journey from Tragedy to Triumph" (Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing 2008).

"My Dear Jasmine" can at first easily be mistaken as being a grieving mother journaling the most horrific incident of her life. But it's only when walking alongside the author as she shares her daughter's writings, baby pictures and smiling photos of that ill-fated vacation, all the while reliving the happy memories and recounting those dark times, that readers uncover the underlying inspirational message offered in the book.

However, as much as the book is about one mother sharing memories of her only daughter, it's also a story that advocates and promotes a life-saving issue as well -- organ donation.

Like most grieving families, Norma Garcia had never fully considered organ donation until she was approached and asked if she would consider donating Jasmine's heart and liver.

As Norma walks readers through one of the most difficult times in any parent's life, it's not hard to see the transformations occurring in Norma and how the death of her child actually gave this mother a new life.