Book: Sonia Nazario's "Enrique's Journey"

J_A, one of my sisters-in-law, gave me this book the last time we were at her place.  Sonia Nazario's "Enrique's Journey" tells the story of a Honduran boy traveling through Mexico to the United States in his attempt to reunite with his mother.

Enrique's mother had left home and come to the United States illegally to earn money to support Enrique and his sister.  The book describes the difficulty and life threatening conditions immigrants face when trying to enter the United States.  It talks about the hardship that results from split families torn apart by economics.  It talks about the strong family ties that drive children to reunite with their mothers.

The book is based on a Pulitzer Prize winning series originally published in the Los Angeles Times.  Unfortunately the book reads as a series of articles  loosely knit together.  When I should have been engrossed in Enrique's harrowing experience I was distracted by the rather shallow writing style.  In the end what should have been a moving book for me faded out with a whimper.

I'm not sure why this book didn't click for me.  This may simple be a matter of bad timing.  I am so burned out from all the crappy political news over the last six months that an issue book like this one irritated more than engrossed me.  I think I need to stick to fiction for a while