Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea

Although the very serious topic of immigration from the south and the hardships of life in Mexico are at the root of this story, I still found it full of tender, humorous moments.  The small coastal town of Tres Camerones finds itself a likely target for drug banditos and seriously lacking in men to defend it.  Young Nayeli, inspired by the movie the Magnificent Seven and encouraged by her feisty Aunt Irma, decides to go to the north and bring back seven strong men to the village for protection and one of them will be her long absent father.  She takes along two of her girl friends and the very gay young bartender.  It is the innocence and fearlessness of the young people clearly on a quest that provide the humor to this story.  On the way they encounter a number of delightfully quirky individuals and some scary situations. There is poverty and tragedy but there is also hope and in the end triumph.  Many of the people in the book group who discussed this book disliked it because they felt it was an inaccurate portrayal of the immigrant experience.  I think the fact that it was young people with the belief in their own indestructibility that made it a decidedly politically inaccurate albeit humanly joyful account.