Isabel’s best friend. Iván is the son of Señor Castillo and Señora Castillo, and is Luis’s younger brother. Iván and his father are the ones who build the boat to go to Miami, but it is only with Isabel’s help that they are able to get the gasoline for the Fernandezes and Castillos to go. Iván is excited by the opportunity that the United States brings, but his dreams are never fulfilled, as he is attacked by sharks while swimming alongside the boat and dies a day before the reach Miami. Iván’s fate demonstrates the dangers of being a refugee, and how the government’s failure to help those like the Castillos and the Fernandezes can have dire consequences. His death also serves as another grief and trauma that Isabel undergoes, and which prompts her to have to grow up early.