Caminar is a novel in verse. I’ve noticed that many “difficult” subjects in juvenile lit often get the novel in verse treatment (the dust bowl in Karen Hesse’s Out of the Dust and displacement/immigration/the Vietnam War in Thanhha Lai’s Inside Out and Back Again both pop to mind). The starkness and minimalism of the language in these books allows students to fill-in and imagine situations that they’re emotionally and developmentally ready for without going into minute detail about the horrors of war, death, depression, etc.
The subject matter in Caminar is definitely difficult. The book is set in a small Mayan village in Guatemala in 1981 during the Guatemalan Civil War. Prior to reading Caminar, I was largely unfamiliar with this war, and unaware of the Mayan Genocide committed by the Guatemalan government. The author doesn’t delve into the politics of the war, but focuses on the protagonist’s experience before, during and after his town is attacked by government soldiers. I’d recommend Caminar to advanced upper elementary students and middle school students who are interested in history – though the text may be sparse, the emotional impact is heavy.
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