About this item

A Mexican-American teen girl dreams of winning an athletic scholarship against all odds in a Texas border town. This true story of survival, strength, and triumph is perfect for fans of Educated and Athlete A.. Twenty-four hours: that's how long fourteen-year-old Elvira Gonzalez is given to come up with the $40,000 she needs to save her kidnapped mother from a drug cartel. It's 2006 and Elvira's hometown of Laredo, Texas, has become engulfed by the Mexican Drug War. Elvira's life is unraveling around her -- setting her on a harrowing path that leads her to being locked up in one of South Texas's worst juvenile detention centers.. After Elvira's released from juvie, she's resolved to never go back. That's when her unexpected salvation arrives in the form of 33-inch-high plastic hurdles.