Until Someone Listens

A Story About Borders, Family, and One Girl's Mission

By: Estela Juarez, Lissette Norman

Narrated by: Estela Juarez

Length: 11 mins

Publisher's summary

"Author/narrator Estella Juarez takes listeners on the heartrending journey of her family's immigration struggle....her message is powerful, heartbreaking, and hopeful."- AudioFile Magazine

This program is read by the author, Estela Juarez.

When Estela Juarez's mom is deported to Mexico, Estela knows she has to speak up for her family. Told in Estela's own words, Until Someone Listens is a true story about a young girl finding her voice and using it to make change.

Estela’s family lives together in a happy home full of love. Or, at least, they used to… until their home was torn apart.

My mom had to go back,
to the other side of the river,
because she wasn’t born in this country.

For years her family fought and fought for permission for her to stay in the U.S. But no one listened. When Estela was eight, her mother was deported to Mexico.

Estela knew she had to do something. So she wrote letters: to local newspapers, Congress, the President, and anyone else who could help. She wrote and wrote and wrote until, finally… someone listened.

In this heart wrenching, autobiographical story, Estela Juarez's letters take her from the local news all the way to the national stage, where she discovers the power in her words and pledges to keep using her voice until her family—and others like hers— are together again.

A Macmillan Audio production from Roaring Brook Press.

©2022 Estela Juarez and Teresa Martínez (P)2022 Macmillan Audio

One of the most touching children's books out there

This story resonates with a lot of us in the Hispanic culture, having your mother that only wanted to give you a better life and future gets deported back to her country of origin. This book portrays different emotions of stress and loneliness in a very powerful way. After that hard past I'm glad to see the mother reunited with her 2 daughters 🤍 Totally recommend this book for the younger generation in specific to see how it would feel to be in her shoes.

Plucky Young Author

Estela Juarez paints a picture in the mind's eye for anyone who cannot fathom what it means to born in the U.S.A. yet have your family members unexpectedly catapulted out solely and unexpected based on strict and an antiquated immigration maze. This first hand account will bring tears to one's eyes. Teachers will love the descriptive details , setting, metaphors which drive this first person graphic novel style text. While the Freytag plot pyramid is based in a political front , the tone and message is even a young voice has the power to right a wrong via the power of ideas in writing. This generation is not waiting for a hall pass to grab the bull by the horns. Brava Estela!!