The Secret Side of Empty
by Maria E. Andreu (Goodreads Author)
3.97 of 5 stars
3.97 · rating details · 458 ratings · 129 reviews 23
As a straight-A student with a budding romance and loyal best friend, M.T.’s life seems as apple-pie American as her blondish hair and pale skin. But M.T. hides two facts to the contrary: her full name of Monserrat Thalia and her status as an undocumented immigrant.

But it’s harder to hide now that M.T.’s a senior. Her school’s National Honor Society wants her to plan their trip abroad, her best friend won’t stop bugging her to get her driver’s license, and all everyone talks about is where they want to go to college. M.T. is pretty sure she can’t go to college, and with high school ending and her family life unraveling, she’s staring down a future that just seems empty. In the end, M.T. will need to trust herself and others to stake a claim in the life that she wants.

Author Maria E. Andreu draws from her personal experience as a (formerly) undocumented immigrant to explore an issue that affects over one million children in the U.S. But while the subject matter is timely, it is M.T.’s sharp, darkly funny voice and longing for a future that makes this story universally poignant.



Maria E. Andreu is the author of The Secret Side of Empty, a young adult novel. It is the story of M.T., a regular American high school senior who is just like everybody else with one important exception: she is undocumented. She was brought over as a baby and her parents overstayed their visitors' visa. Now, with graduation looming, and no social security number for a college education, a job, a driver's license and everything else her friends are planning on, she's got to make some tough choices that will impact the lives of everyone she loves.

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