Indivisible by Daniel Aleman

 

Indivisible

May 10th, 2024

Indivisible by Daniel Aleman, Realistic Fiction 2021, 400 pages

Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults 2022 , Winner of the 2022 Tomás Rivera Book Award

In Indivisible, Mateo is like many ordinary teens in New York City: he has two best friends Kimmie and Adam, works at his father's bodega after school, and has a passion for theater. What secret sets Mateo and his family apart? Mateo's parents are undocumented. Mateo's life comes to a shattering halt when one day ICE confronts his parents, sending his das to jail and his mother to a detention center in Buffalo, New York. Mateo feels like he cannot tell any of his friends because they simply wouldn't understand, as much as they love him. Will Mateo's parents be allowed to stay in America, or will they be sent back to Mexico? How will Mateo and his young sister Sophie survive on their own? Indivisible is a heartbreaking, stunning tale of love, perseverance, determination to keep one's family together against all odds. 

I chose to read Indivisible because I have never read a story involving characters who are undocumented. Although this is a fictional tale, I wanted to gain a better understanding of what life may be like for families who parents are undocumented in the United States, the fear of and treatment from ICE, and the ultimate consequences of deportation. The title, Indivisible, also gave me pause. I wanted to read on to find out if these alluded to Mateo's identity, his family, his friends, or more!

Teaching and Content Considerations:

I would recommend this book to students who are in 9th grade or above. I'm a little bit hesitant to suggest this book for middle school because there is some mention of sex, potential pregnancy, and adult language. However, it only appears briefly in the back half of the novel and is not the main focus, so perhaps students who are in 7th and 8th grade with parent approval would also be okay. I think Indivisible would be a solid lit circle book or independent reading novel. Due to the length of the novel, I do not think it would make the best whole class text. Students who would like to get perspective of struggles and fears undocumented persons in the United States face would really find Indivisible interesting. Additionally, I'd recommend this book to any student who appreciate story lines built around perseverance, sacrifice, and love (familial and friendship). While not the central focus of the story, Mateo also shares his experiences of being gay, alludes back to the moment he came out, and his eventual romantic interests. Students who appreciate queer voices or characters could find this book relatable as well! 

Instructional Ideas

Vida Pen Pal Program/ Letters of Love: After Mateo and Sophie's parents are taken away from them by ICE, Mateo and Sophie desperately try to find a way to communicate with them. Even after establishing contact, Mateo struggles to support his parents and receive comfort from the across the phone, and eventually, country lines. After reading the novel, students could participate either the Vida Pen Pal Program or Letters of Love Campaign to build empathy for children and adults detained by ICE. Through the Vida Pen Pal Program, participants are able to write letters to immigrants in detention. The Letters of Love Campaign sends letters to children who are detained by the federal government and who are often separated from their families at the border. 

Conflict Web: Poor Mateo is under an incredible amount of stress from the moment his parents are detained by ICE. However, this is not the only conflict Mateo faces. Mateo struggles with harboring this secret to himself, resenting his friends' more privileged lives, taking care of his sister, keep the bodega afloat, balancing his own romantic feelings, and more. While reading, students could draw and label circles that represent internal and external conflicts Mateo faces. Further, students would draw lines from each circle to infer reasons why each conflict is occurring. 

Building Background- Webquest: Before reading the novel, it would be quite interesting for students to build background knowledge of undocumented immigrants in the United States and in Colorado. Teachers could create a webquest that would allow students to explore the number of undocumented persons in the country vs Colorado, the realities of ICE and detention centers, legal action that can be taken, and attitudes towards undocumented citizens. 

Possible Read Aloud Passages (Note: Pages are from Kindle)

• Page 41: "Taking a step back, I realize the CLOSED sign is up. My heart starts beating fast. The bodega never closes early. Erika wouldn't have done this unless something terrible had happened. I press my hands against the glass, looking in, but I see nothing. All the lights are off." 
  • Mateo and his family are on edge after ICE agents come by Pa's bodega looking for Pa. After a week, Mateo and his family think they have gotten through the other side. However, after school one day Mateo comes by the bodega and it is closed. Both his Pa and Ma have been detained. This suspenseful moment will be a great point to reel students in and have them make predictions of what they think will happen next.
• Page 177: "'She said people like Ma and Pa shouldn't be allowed to stay in the US because they don't belong here. She said Mexicans are dirty.'"
• Sophie comes home from tears one day in tears. Sophie told a student that her parents are on the brink of being deported. Sophie's classmate speaks about Mexicans in a derogatory manner. While Mateo is at a loss for words of how to comfort Sophie, Amy gives Sophie a powerful speech talking about hate and self worth. This moment in the book would be a great time to learn more about xenophobic statistics, attitude, and perhaps legislation that exists in the United States. 
• Page 208-209: "'I don't like that word, Mr. Gordon,' I say, and the whole room goes quiet--quieter than quiet. It's as if everyone has stopped breathing. No one moves, no one blinks, no one says anything. Everyone is just staring at me, and suddenly I feel the need to speak up, to explain exactly what I mean, so that the judge won't think I'm being rude for no reason."
• Mateo has been chosen as one of the character witnesses for his father's deportation trial. The prosecutor refers to his Pa as an illegal immigrant and Mateo makes a powerful speech regarding immigrants and his Pa's impact on his community. 
• Page 240: "I'm starting to feel as though there's an invisible wall between us. It was Sophie who made me start noticing it....She turned to me and said, 'That wall that people talk about. Is that what they mean?' For a moment, I didn't know what to say...I'd never realized that, even though an actual barrier hasn't been fully built at the border, there are walls that have been put up all around us, keeping Ma and Pa away from Sophie and me, changing our entire lives."
• Sophie has an astute observation that there seems to be almost a barrier in communication, or in their relationship with their parents, after they have been deported to Mexico. Mateo realizes the truth of this on the latest FaceTime with Ma and Pa. Students could take a closer look at this divide that is occurring in all relationships of Mateo's life.
• Page 360: "'Mateo.' The way she whispers my name, the way she breathes loudly into the phone makes my stomach drop. Something is wrong. 'I--I can't find her!' Maria says frantically. 'She...was right here..'"
• Mateo receives a from call from Maria when he is out to dinner with Kimmie's parents telling him that Sophie has gone missing. At this point, readers know Sophie desperately wants to go to Mexico to be with her parents. Students could make predictions of what they think happened to Sophie before reading on.

Thoughts and Reflections

Indivisible really took me by surprise. I didn't realize how relatable of a character Mateo would be and his struggles of being separated from his family, dealing with it on his own, pulled on my heartstrings. Students will be able to relate to all of the normal problems Mateo is already facing: changes in friend groups, balancing school and work, preparing for college, and the blooming of a new relationship. However, Indivisible provides a crystal clear window into families with undocumented guardians and the havoc deportation can cause, especially on young children. 

After reading Indivisible, I'd love to learn more about children who are either detained by ICE or whose family members have been deported like Mateo and Sophie's parents. I would love to see if I could get involved in an organization that helps provide support and resources to individuals who are on the brink of deportation in Colorado. I know there is a detention center in Aurora, Colorado; I'd like to do my part in supporting and speaking up for those who are detained.