Companion read for the 2015 Wichita Public Library Big Read. ( )

There's a little piece of myself that this book took, that I don't think I'll ever get back. I'm not sure I want it back. The Secret Side of Empty struck that perfect spot, right in the deepest parts of my heart, that made me feel the tiniest bit empty myself. M.T.'s story is one that I've seen firsthand. I've seen families broken by the system, unable to do anything but survive. I knew this book dealt with illegal immigration. I knew I'd be meeting a girl who was living it. I just didn't know that it would hit me this hard.

What is so interesting about The Secret Side of Empty is that M.T.'s life is set against the backdrop of wealth. The school she attends is filled with the privileged masses. Her best friend Chelsea is an amazing person, but her life seems so perfect compared to M.T.'s own. It's a heartbreaking premise. I sat, and watched, as M.T. slowly lost more and more of herself. When you're a Senior in high school, you're supposed to be looking forward to the future. What do you do when there doesn't seem to be a future? When you feel trapped in the life that has been built for you?

That's the thing that struck me most of all. The unfairness of it all. Maria E. Andreu builds an protagonist who deserves the world. She is brilliant, caring, and filled with a zeal to learn. Here is a girl who reads for pleasure, and actually enjoys tests. A girl who wants nothing more than to have a future. To watch this sucked away by people who didn't understand what they were doing ate at me. Her father, who hated what she had become and was abusive. Her school, who couldn't see past what M.T. couldn't say. And even her poor mother, who felt helpless and could only watch.

I can't really explain to you the levels that this book explores. There's so much about finding yourself, about struggle, about friendship. The Secret Side of Empty may have had its moments that I didn't connect with, but overall this book took my breath away. There are books I read that I enjoy, and then there are books I read that make my heart hurt a bit but make me feel fulfilled. This is one of those books, and I'm so glad it was placed in my hands. ( )

This illegal immigrant story is not typical of the undocumented immigrants portrayed in today's politics and media. MT (or Monserrat Thalia) is of Argentine birth, blonde and blue-eyed, brought to the U.S. as a baby. As a high school senior she knows this barrier will hold her back while her American friends move on to college and opportunities not open to her. She's been raised by her parents to keep their status a secret or they will all be deported, so she lives life in fear of being found out. I found this story unexpectedly suspenseful and readable as MT's status becomes much more of an emotional issue for her. (Funny line about poop observation on p180; great way to describe that moment of "One of Those Things.") ( )

I loved this book. I don't really read a lot of teen fiction particularly when it centers around modern day high school. This book is about much more than that. The main character M.T. is going into her senior year of high school which will also be her last year of formal education. She and her parents are illegal immigrants, so they do not have any of the papers that we all need to function in society like birth certificates and social security numbers. M.T. made me care about her by the second or third chapter. For most of the book M.T. feels lost. I wanted to see how she would discover what she would do after her May graduation. I also enjoyed the romance plot that ran through the novel. (Yes, there is a prom, but M.T. has bigger things to worry about.)

This book deals with illegal immigration, abuse and suicide. It does a wonderful job of dealing with all these difficult issues. None of them are sugar-coated.

This is a great read and I would recommend it to teens and anyone who has wondered about the lives of the illegal immigrants.