Preview of The Crossing Summary:

The Crossing, like many of Paulsen's novels for young adults, pairs a teenage protagonist with an older adult.

The chance meeting of Manny Bustos and Sergeant Robert S. Locke in the border town of Juarez, Mexico, changes both lives in ways dramatic and not immediately predictable.

Manny Bustos—smallish, underfed —survives on the streets of Juarez. His existence is meager, a constant struggle in a world where brute strength leads frequently...