ISBN 1416906355 - Perhaps the worst sentence in the description of this book is "Their fictional narratives give voice to what it's like to be a Latino teen in America." This gives the impression that the book is either by Latino teens or by someone who understands Latino teens. I don't think either is true.
In a series of short vignettes, popular and successful adults express, in first person voices, views of the lives of teenaged Latinos in the United States. Ranging from the gentle imaginings of Bolivia by Claudia Quiroz Cahill to the hate-filled raging of Michael Mejias, whose story involves sexually explicit details, the gang rape of a man by other men and the intentional murder of more than 30 people via arson, the overall impression of the book is profoundly negative.
The writing styles are not so much the issue here, as almost all the stories are okay, at worst, and stellar, at best. It is the whole, the compilation, that is less than okay. The blame, perhaps, lies with editor Lori Marie Carlson; the book reads as frantic, desperate, suicidal, hateful and almost unbearably unhappy on most pages and the happier stories are swallowed by the negative. A better editing job and a more careful selection of stories might have given the book a more realistic, modern, balanced viewpoint. The frantic feel is highlighted by the black and white photos and drawings, mostly of things and rarely of people, and the Blair Witch style font used for titles and author's names.
As a guess, only, the negative tone of the authors may be based on the fact they are NOT Latino teens in America. Their teen years were some time ago and times have changed. Not that prejudice and hate have disappeared, but that the teens I know, Latino and otherwise, have less of an eye for race and less of a hate because of it. Certainly, there are teens out there who can identify with the depth of emotion in the stories, but now - as each generation of young people begins to be more color-blind than the last - might not be the best time for this book to find a solid audience. At least, to be honest, I hope not.
Carlson's Editor's Note suggests it "can be read aloud in the classroom", a suggestion that I think would have innumerable parents up in arms (again, Mejias' story is the worst example of inappropriate-ness for a school setting). Personally, I suggest parents read through the book, although it's hard to monitor what a teenager reads!
- AnnaLovesBooks
In a series of short vignettes, popular and successful adults express, in first person voices, views of the lives of teenaged Latinos in the United States. Ranging from the gentle imaginings of Bolivia by Claudia Quiroz Cahill to the hate-filled raging of Michael Mejias, whose story involves sexually explicit details, the gang rape of a man by other men and the intentional murder of more than 30 people via arson, the overall impression of the book is profoundly negative.
The writing styles are not so much the issue here, as almost all the stories are okay, at worst, and stellar, at best. It is the whole, the compilation, that is less than okay. The blame, perhaps, lies with editor Lori Marie Carlson; the book reads as frantic, desperate, suicidal, hateful and almost unbearably unhappy on most pages and the happier stories are swallowed by the negative. A better editing job and a more careful selection of stories might have given the book a more realistic, modern, balanced viewpoint. The frantic feel is highlighted by the black and white photos and drawings, mostly of things and rarely of people, and the Blair Witch style font used for titles and author's names.
As a guess, only, the negative tone of the authors may be based on the fact they are NOT Latino teens in America. Their teen years were some time ago and times have changed. Not that prejudice and hate have disappeared, but that the teens I know, Latino and otherwise, have less of an eye for race and less of a hate because of it. Certainly, there are teens out there who can identify with the depth of emotion in the stories, but now - as each generation of young people begins to be more color-blind than the last - might not be the best time for this book to find a solid audience. At least, to be honest, I hope not.
Carlson's Editor's Note suggests it "can be read aloud in the classroom", a suggestion that I think would have innumerable parents up in arms (again, Mejias' story is the worst example of inappropriate-ness for a school setting). Personally, I suggest parents read through the book, although it's hard to monitor what a teenager reads!
- AnnaLovesBooks
