CrashBoomLove

March 1, 2000
Gr 8 Up-Though not particularly well written, this narrative poem is a real page-turner. The story is of the fairly conventional Rebel without a Cause/To Sir with Love genre: the new kid doesn't fit in at school, struggles to find his place, witnesses the death of a friend, and finally finds himself with the help of a teacher. The twist is that the rebel in question is a young Chicano, which allows Herrera to toss in scattered bits of native slang (footnoted ad nauseam). C sar Garc'a is a confused, sometimes reckless, but always sympathetic figure who is struggling with his broken family, his sense of isolation, and his desire to just "crash against everything." He gets involved in petty crimes, some violence, and drugs, but he is always searching for something more. Unfortunately, while he's not quite one-dimensional, he rarely comes fully to life. Told entirely in his voice, the narrative at times becomes tiresome, or even pointless. However, some readers will relate to C sar and his friends (outcasts and lonely, misunderstood adolescents) and to their alienation.-Herman Sutter, Saint Agnes Academy, Houston, TX

Copyright 2000 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from February 1, 2000
%% This is a multi-book review. SEE the title "The Book of the Lion" for next imprint and review text. %%Gr. 9^-12. Noted poet Juan Felipe Herrera paints a devastating, yet ultimately hopeful portrait of Cesar Garcia, a 16-year-old Mexican teen growing up in the American high-school culture of Fowlerville, California. In a series of free-verse poems, Herrera describes the alienation of a teen who has been left with a struggling mother when his father returns to Denver to live with and support his second family. Cesar is the classic example of America's throwaway teen, a young man constantly in the wrong place at the wrong time who, because of his language and cultural differences, becomes more and more marginalized. It is also the story of an educational system that can occasionally make a difference in both teens' and adults' lives and futures. The book is not for the fainthearted. It's a complex narrative poem full of cruelty and despair that condemns a system that almost certainly guarantees failure. It explodes with rage; but, at the same time, it's a roller-coaster tour de force, remarkable for its ebullient portrait of hope and survival. A must purchase. ((Reviewed February 1, 2000))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2000, American Library Association.)