Novel of immigrant experience is catching on
Ernesto Cisneros is winning praise for 'Efrén Divided."
Ernesto Cisneros wanted the students he teaches in Santa Ana to read a book in which they’d see themselves.
Ernesto Cisneros wanted the students he teaches in Santa Ana to read a book in which they’d see themselves.
So he wrote one. “Efrén Divided” tells the story of a 12-year-old boy whose mother is picked up at work by U.S. immigration agents and deported to Mexico. The tale of friendship, family and courage in the face of struggle reflects an immigrant experience that, for Cisneros and his students, is all too recognizable.
“It’s a story that was inspired by my family and community for my family and community,” said Cisneros, who teaches English at Mendez Fundamental Intermediate.
The debut novel has made various “must-read” and “best of” lists, including National Public Radio and Kirkus Reviews. It also recently won the 2021 Pura Belpré Award, given to a Latino writer whose work best portrays and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in children’s literature.
While it’s fiction, Cisneros said ‘Efrén’ is based on his experiences as a Santa Ana resident and teacher. His own parents live legally in Santa Ana, but other family members have been deported. And so have some of his students’ parents.
During the lead up to the 2016 election, as Cisneros heard an escalation of anti-immigrant rhetoric, three of his students told him about their parents’ deportations. Cisneros felt the need to tell a story that could speak to young Hispanics while portraying both the resilience of their community and the beauty of their culture.
The first draft took him just six months to write. After changes and revisions, his agent submitted the novel to publishers. Two weeks later, a major publisher responded. Harper Collins printed 30,000 copies in March and the paperback is due out in June.
But if that part of the story sounds easy, consider this: Cisneros, 47, had been trying to publish a book for 14 years.
“I had pretty much given up,” he said. “But, then, the election happened in 2016. And a lot of stuff was being said about Latinos. So I decided I wanted to write a book for my kids. I wanted them to see themselves on the page.”
“I’ve never written a book as quickly as this one,” he added. “I almost lost control of it. It didn’t feel like I was writing it.”
The story, he said, covers “a little bit of the past and the present.”
“Efrén Divided” doesn’t specify that it’s set in Santa Ana; “I wanted kids in other cities to feel like it could be their city,” Cisneros said. But Santa Ana is clearly the location.
He said he the story includes “Easter eggs” his students can catch while reading, including references to Highland Avenue, Pio Pico Elementary School and a Northgate Market on First Street.
The characters also are based on real people. Cisneros said the name Efrén came from a childhood friend and some of the boy’s sweet characteristics are based on his own eldest child. The mother’s character is based on Cisneros’
own mom, who he said works magic in the kitchen and labored in a factory pressing clothes.
“When I was a kid, I used to play a lot of kickball and I had a thing about sliding, always tearing at my knees. My mom would insist on patching my pants, ironing them with a little crease in the front.”
“I would always tell my mom, ‘Don’t worry about patching.’ All my friends had pants with holes,” Cisneros said.
“Growing up, I didn’t feel poor or disadvantaged. In that sense, I had a happy life. “
Cisneros said his first trip outside Santa Ana came in 8th grade, when his school took him and other students to visit UC Irvine. “I was floored by it. It looked like Disneyland to me.”
During that period, he was experiencing the opposite of a sense of entitlement. It was, he said, a feeling of “disentitlement.”
“My family, we were people of service. We fixed people’s cars. We worked in factories. We cut grass. We watched kids… Not that there’s anything wrong with those jobs, but I want my own kids, and my students, to know they have
more choices.”
That 8th grade field trip to UCI prompted Cisneros down a journey that’s not yet done.
“I saw a couple eating underneath a tree. That’s why I went to UCI. It’s the first time I ever pictured myself anywhere. That’s why I went to college there, so I could eat underneath that tree.”
Cisneros graduated from UC Irvine with a degree in English before earning his teaching credentials from Cal State Fullerton and a Master’s in creative writing from National University.
Now, Cisneros said he’s facing a “life changing and unexpected” thrill; winning the national Pura Belpré Award and hearing from authors he has long admired.
That’s a long way from four years ago, when Cisneros thought he was writing “Efrén Divided” mostly for himself and his students. He was already sharing it with his students in writing workshops and didn’t think the book would go much further beyond campus.
“I thought, maybe, one day, they’ll write a book and win a big award and they’ll mention me as a mentor. And that will be my 15 minutes of fame.”