Saving Baby Doe

February 1, 2014
A middle-grade novel that chronicles the problems a boy and his friend encounter after finding an abandoned baby. Thirteen-year-old Lionel Perez and his best friend, Anisa Torres, live in Brooklyn. One day, while playfully trespassing in a nearby construction site, the pair discover an abandoned baby in a Porta-Potty. The resulting uproar leads Lionel's worried mother to force him to take daily piano lessons over the summer from their neighbor, Miss D. However, despite his mother's precautions, Lionel becomes involved with some neighborhood boys who sell drugs. Though he knows this is a bad idea, Lionel feels it's the only way he can provide for the baby, whom he plans to kidnap and care for. While Lionel's far-fetched plans are obviously doomed to fail, readers may wonder at the level of naivete he exhibits in forming them in the first place. The real challenge comes, though, when Lionel discovers the baby's mother and must make the hard decision whether to tell or keep this knowledge a secret. Vigilante's second novel (The Trouble with Half a Moon, 2011) is a quiet story with pacing that sometimes lags and characters whose decisions may leave readers confused. However, its vibrant setting and three-dimensional cast may entice readers who can suspend their disbelief and excuse the many random occurrences. Overall, a fairly appealing tale of urban friendship. (Fiction. 10-14)

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May 1, 2014

Gr 6-8-After sneaking into a construction site in their Brooklyn neighborhood, 13-year old Lionel Perez and his best friend, Anisa Torres, get more than they bargained for when they discover an abandoned newborn in a Porta-Potti. In the process of seeking medical attention for the baby, Lionel and Anisa are regarded with suspicion by the police and hospital personnel who assume that the teens are the parents. At her mother's behest, Anisa is forced to undergo a physical examination to prove that the baby is not hers. Lionel channels his own feelings of parental abandonment-he has an absentee father-into a scheme to kidnap "Baby Doe" and protect her from a similar fate. Needing funds for his ill-fated plan, he hooks up with a shady group of drug-dealing teens. Vigilante's novel is appealing for its colorful mix of strong characters and rich descriptions of Puerto Rican culture. Unfortunately, these elements take a backseat to a disjointed plot overwhelmed by unnecessary drama. Furthermore, complex topics of sexuality and teen pregnancy are unevenly addressed, particularly when the true identity of Baby Doe's mother is revealed.-Lalitha Nataraj, Escondido Public Library, CA

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2014
Grades 5-8 Best friends Anisa and Lionel come face-to-face with adult responsibility when they discover an abandoned baby at a construction site in their Brooklyn neighborhood. The two try to do right by the unnamed baby, but it comes at a cost to their own reputations and reopens old wounds about their difficult family circumstances. Lionel tries to cope with the anger he still feels after his father left his family years ago, and Anisa tries to find common ground with her struggling, widowed mother. Unresolved grief is a prevalent theme, and touchy topics like sex and death are tackled frankly and with tremendous insight. Especially welcome for a middle-grade fiction title are the authentic urban setting, the positive and purely platonic relationship between the male and female protagonists, and a cast of multidimensional Latino characters.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)