Summary

"The Girls" is about the high rates of femicide, rape, and domestic violence in El Salvador. More girls are joining gangs and Markham writes about a specific young girl who is currently incarcerated for extortion. Though some women and girls chose to join gangs, many are drawn into the violence unwillingly when gang members threaten them to force their compliance or when their family members get involved with gangs. It is therefore not surprising that the rates of girls and young women going north are increasing, despite the high rates of rape and violence they face on the road there.

In Chapter 8, Ernesto started to drink alcohol more often to escape his trauma. The twins' debt back home had risen to nearly $19,000 and though they had part-time jobs, they struggled to save enough money to send home and could not even...