The Only Road

Chapters 1-3

Reading Check

1. His cousin/Miguel (Chapter 1)

2. New Mexico (Chapter 3)

Short Answer

1. The gang wants Jaime and Ángela to deal drugs at their school. (Chapter 2)

2. She suggests that they try to offer the gang money for the cousins’ freedom, but the family does not want to give the gang who killed Miguel money and worries that the plan will not work, in any case. (Chapters 1-3)

3. She sews $2,000 into the seams of their pants so that they will have hidden money that they can use to pay smugglers to help them cross the border. (Chapters 1-3)

Chapters 4-7

Reading Check

1. Mexico (Chapter 4)

2. Draw/sketch (Chapter 5)

Short Answer

1. The bus tickets cost the equivalent of a little more than a day’s wages. This makes them realize that their trip north will be very expensive. (Chapter 5)

2. Ángela knows that they might get separated on their journey, so she makes Jaime memorize Tomás’s phone number in New Mexico. (Chapters 5)

3. The graffiti that the cousins see makes it clear that some Mexicans resent the presence of Central American refugees. But Padre Kevin’s shelter shows that at least some provisions are being made to help them. (Chapters 4-7)

Chapters 8-11

Reading Check

1. The United States (Chapters 8-11)

2. Fútbol/soccer (Chapter 9)

Short Answer

1. There are far more refugees there than Jaime expected to see. This makes him realize the large number of Central American refugees who are trying to flee through Mexico. (Chapters 8-11)

2. Joaquín is only 11 and is traveling alone. Xavi feels that he should help Joaquín because he feels guilty for not helping the woman who was pulled from the bus and beaten. (Chapters 8-11)

3. They will try to ride on top of the train going north, as they cannot pay for tickets or for a smuggler to help them. (Chapters 8-11)

Chapters 12-14

Reading Check

1. Food (Chapter 13)

2. Heatstroke (Chapter 14)

Short Answer

1. They are locked inside a hot, dark boxcar, crowded together with dozens of the other migrants. (Chapters 12-14)

2. The cousins talk about all of the things they hope to do before they die. (Chapter 13)

3. Ángela and Jaime run while the officer is distracted with the unconscious man. They end up alone in Mexico City and have to hide underneath an abandoned car for the night. (Chapters 12-14)

Chapters 15-18

Reading Check

1. Vida (Chapter 15)

2. He is dead. (Chapters 15-18)

Short Answer

1. Mexican people along the train route throw food to the people on the top of the train. (Chapters 15-18)

2. He steals cigarettes and gum from the man who refused to pay for the work Rafa did for him. (Chapter 16)

3. Xavi is wondering if staying alive is worth betraying your own morals. (Chapters 15-18)

Chaptes 19-24

Reading Check

1. Their backpacks (Chapter 19)

2. Jaime’s sketchbook and Ángela’s sewing kit (Chapters 19-24)

Short Answer

1. A gang, Los Fuegos, which has a reputation for terrible violence against migrants, boards the train. (Chapter 19)

2. They realize that something must have happened to Xavi and that he will not be coming to meet them on the hill as planned. (Chapters 19-24)

3. They can now actually see El Paso, their destination across the border, and yet they feel very far away from the United States without the extra $400 they need to cross. (Chapters 19-24)