THE ILLEGAL AND THE REFUGEE - An American Love Story is a young adult romance novel which highlights the difficulties and the hardships of Latino immigration to the United States. Full of tragedy and triumph and with roots set deep in Mexico and Cuba, this contemporary American romance is about letting go of the past, the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity and of deep, unconditional love. Maria Torres is a bright university student from Mexico City and a committed social activist who becomes gravely concerned when Eduardo the love of her life decides to cross into the United States illegally and then vanishes from the face of the earth. She decides to retrace his footsteps and survives a treacherous and traumatic crossing of the Arizona desert, ending up in East Los Angeles, an illegal immigrant and desperate to find him. In Havana, Cuba, Ernesto Rodriguez dreams of fleeing his hermetic and state controlled country with the love of his life Yaneti to the United States. He succeeds in sending her off first and then she is never heard from again. He decides to follow her trail and barely survives a life-threatening and harrowing sea crossing, washing up confused and half-naked on a Florida beach, legally a refugee, and determined to find his Yaneti. As Maria and Ernesto get busy adapting to their new circumstances in the U.S. and the search for their missing loved ones, a natural catastrophe elsewhere in the world sets the stage for their accidental encounter in Miami, putting into place the final pieces, of their incredible journey and of their improbable love story. YOUNG ADULT ROMANCE BOOK CATEGORIES Young Adult and Romance Contemporary Romance books Romantic Love Story Romance and Drama YA Fiction Romance and suspense YA Romance Young Adult Romance Romantic Love Story