Beast Rider: A Novel

Tony Johnston
3.81
252 ratings 62 reviews
In Beast Rider , award-winning author Tony Johnston and psychotherapist Maria Elena Fontanot de Rhoads “offer a sympathetic, illuminating portrait of the challenges faced by one undocumented immigrant” ( Publishers Weekly , Starred Review). Twelve-year-old Manuel leaves his small town in Mexico to join his older brother in Los Angeles. To cross the US border, he must become a “beast rider”—someone who hops on a train. The first time he tries, he is stopped by the Mexican police, who arrest and beat him. When he tries again, he is attacked by a Mexican gang and left for dead. Just when Manuel is ready to turn back, he finds new hope. Villagers clothe and feed him, help him find work, and eventually boost him back onto the train. When he finally arrives in LA and is reunited with his brother, he is elated. But the longer he’s there, the more he realizes that something isn’t right. Thrilling and heartfelt, Beast Rider is a coming-of-age story that reveals how a place and its people help to define you.
Genres: Middle GradeYoung AdultAdventureFictionSurvivalRealistic FictionTeenSchoolContemporaryChildrens
192 Pages

Community Reviews:

5 star
69 (27%)
4 star
90 (36%)
3 star
72 (29%)
2 star
18 (7%)
1 star
3 (1%)

Readers also enjoyed

Other books by Tony Johnston

Lists with this book

Descendant of the Crane
Love from A to Z
We Hunt the Flame
2019 YA/MG Books With POC Leads
260 books • 215 voters
King of Scars
The Wicked King
Every Moment After
Most Anticipated 2019 YA
163 books • 201 voters
The Tyrant’s Tomb
Aru Shah and the Song of Death
The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise
Middle Grade Novels of 2019
501 books • 446 voters
Don't Date Rosa Santos
Chilling Effect
Woven in Moonlight
Books by Latinx to be Released in 2019
108 books • 65 voters