We Were Here - Review

Title: We Were Here

Author: Matt de la Peña

Release Date: October 13, 2009

Format/Page Count: Kindle ebook/336 pages

Publisher: Random House Children's Books

Purchased: Amazon 

Synopsis:  The story of one boy and his journey to find himself.

When it happened, Miguel was sent to Juvi. The judge gave him a year in a group home—said he had to write in a journal so some counselor could try to figure out how he thinks. The judge had no idea that he actually did Miguel a favor. Ever since it happened, his mom can’t even look at him in the face. Any home besides his would be a better place to live.

But Miguel didn’t bet on meeting Rondell or Mong or on any of what happened after they broke out. He only thought about Mexico and getting to the border to where he could start over. Forget his mom. Forget his brother. Forget himself.

Life usually doesn’t work out how you think it will, though. And most of the time, running away is the quickest path right back to what you’re running from. (From GOODREADS)

Expectation: My expectations for this book were high. I just read Mexican WhiteBoy and thought it was amazing. I love this writer's voice...so I was pretty confident I would enjoy We Were Here just as much.

Market/Genre: Young Adult/Contemporary

Review:

‘People always think there’s this huge hundred-foot-high barrier that separates doing good from doing bad. But there’s not. There’s nothing. There’s not even a little anthill. You just take one baby step in any direction and you’re already there. You’ve done something awful. And your life is changed forever.’ ~ Matt de la Peña, We Were Here

This is one of the best young adult books I have ever read. Scratch that. This is one of the best books I have ever read.

At the onset of We Were Here, we get acquainted with Miguel, the narrator of the story as he is transferred from juvi to a halfway house. Miguel has a mindset that he has absolutely nothing to lose, and that he will never again have anything to gain. We are aware that he has done a bad thing—a terrible thing—but we are not quite sure what it is. We only know that he never wants to forget the burden of his guilt…that he wants to carry it with him forever and feel the extreme pain of his suffering.

This is the story of three troubled teens. Miguel, Rondell and Mong are a very unlikely trio. Miguel’s first encounter with the other two boys are violent. There is spitting and punching and a painful pinning to the ground. All of these things make the reader think Rondell and Mong will both soon be left in the dust of the story. But they would be wrong. The three eventually devise a plan to escape the halfway house together and make a run for freedom in Mexico.

Once they are out in the wilds of California, and heading for the ocean so they can travel south to Mexico, the story really takes off! Along the way, the reader is treated to a wealth of self-reflection from Miguel’s ongoing journal writing. We discover that he is a compassionate, thoughtful and intelligent young man. And we get to find out the back-stories of each of his traveling companions as Miguel sets off one night by himself to read the boys’ files, which he stole while preparing to leave the halfway house behind him.

It is also Miguel who allows the reader to see the good in the other two boys. Rondell, we are quick to learn, is not a bad kid…but a simple one. He believes in Jesus Christ and puts all his faith into a bible he cannot read but carries around with him all the same. Mong, who appears to be a psychotic hopelessly lost soul, turns out to be an overwhelmingly sad case. Nobody should endure the heartache and soul-breaking that Mong has been through in his young life. When he declares Miguel his best friend, it will baffle both Miguel and the reader…but it is such a pivotal moment in the story. Heartrending.

I love when authors namedrop books. I always have. In We Were Here, Miguel has a penchant for reading. Throughout the course of the story, he spends time with Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye and Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. The reader cannot help but see Miguel as a modern day Holden, and Rondell as a modern day Lennie. At one point I found myself thinking, ‘Oh please, please, please…mention Camus’s The Stranger. You have to!’ And sure enough, the name was eventually dropped. Miguel’s second travel companion, Mong, is without a doubt Camus’s Meursault! This book is an homage to all three of these wonderful stories, but it is also SO much more than that. It is a story that, in itself, will definitely become a classic.

The potential reader of We Were Here will just have to take my word for it when I say this is one of the best books I have ever read. I don’t want to give away too much of it here. I can only say that it unfolds with a beauty I have not seen in a while. The reader will grow so close to these three boys, they will want to protect them from both themselves and the world around them as they set out on the journey of their lives. The journey they take makes men of boys, and makes each of them realize the wealth they carry inside. Your heart will break and strengthen and break again as you take every step alongside Miguel and his broken friends. And when you hope beyond hope that they do the right thing, they might even hear you.

This was a beautiful story. Be prepared to feel all of the emotions you carry…and some you didn’t know you had. I will be re-reading this every now and again…it’s one of those books you want to hug close to you when you’re finished.

Expectation - I thought Mexican WhiteBoy was a great book. This book...this book! I love it so much. Expectation was annihilated! Matt de la Peña has written the quintessential coming of age book, the quintessential on-the-road book and the quintessential friendship book all in one! It's a must read!

Size: 5 (1/2)

Mexican WhiteBoy - Review

Title: Mexican WhiteBoy

Author: Matt de la Peña

Release Date: August 12, 2008

Format/Page Count: Kindle/258 Pages

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Purchased: Amazon

NOTE: This author was brought to my attention through BOOKALICIOUS.ORG

Pam posted about Matt's books being removed from the curriculum in Arizona...and she challenged other readers to read Mexican WhiteBoy along with her in April. I took her up on the challenge. (-:

Synopsis:

DANNY’S TALL AND skinny. Even though he’s not built, his arms are long enough to give his pitch a power so fierce any college scout would sign him on the spot. A 95 mph fastball, but the boy’s not even on a team. Every time he gets up on the mound he loses it.

But at his private school, they don’t expect much else from him. Danny’s brown. Half-Mexican brown. And growing up in San Diego that close to the border means everyone else knows exactly who he is before he even opens his mouth. Before they find out he can’t speak Spanish, and before they realize his mom has blond hair and blue eyes, they’ve got him pegged. Danny’s convinced it’s his whiteness that sent his father back to Mexico. And that’s why he’s spending the summer with his dad’s family. Only, to find himself, he might just have to face the demons he refuses to see right in front of his face. (From GOODREADS)

Expectation: This book sounded interesting, of course. But I didn't have any real expectation. I just thought it was pathetic that it would be removed from a curriculum. I wanted to support the author and send a message to the idiots who 'banned' his books. But I didn't really know enough about it to have any real sense of expectation.

REVIEW:

Before I start in on my gushing for this novel, I wanted to begin by saying that the story TOTALLY snuck up on me. As I was reading about a hitting competition in the beginning of the book, I had no idea how deep the story would go. Initially it was an interesting read, yes...but it suddenly became so much more than I first imagined it would be. It blossomed into such a great coming of age story...filled with wisdom and memorable characters.

Danny moves to National City to spend the summer with his father's family. Danny felt like an outsider at the preppy private school he attended, because he is half-Mexican, but coming to National City, he feels like an outsider because he is half-white. He doesn't speak a word of Spanish. He loves his father's family...almost irrationally. He wants so much to be like them...to be Mexican like them.

Upon Danny's arrival to the neighbourhood, he takes part in a batting competition after being prodded by his cousin Sofia. Sofia is feisty and fiery and she loves her cousin. She protects him in the neighbourhood...sticks up for him when kids ask why Danny doesn't talk.

When Danny shows prowess with a baseball bat, Uno, one of the neighbourhood boys, has a problem with him. Uno doesn't like the competition. He clearly feels threatened, so he pitches Danny a bad ball. Danny struggles to get a piece of the errant pitch and accidentally sends his bat through the air...right into Uno's developmentally handicapped brother's face. Uno's reaction is to break Danny's face open with his fist. This causes Danny to slam his head into the ground.

This is not a great start to Uno and Danny's relationship.

The great surprise I discovered as I continued to read is that these two boys become best friends. The turn in their relationship begins at a local fair, when some of the boys take turns at a pitching cage equipped with a speed gun to measure the speed of a thrower's pitch. Uno's quick switch from bitter jealousy and dislike to admiration of Danny's gift is absolutely transformative.

From this point on in the story, I was delighted by the way the two boys grew their friendship. It was great to see Uno teach Danny to reign in his wild pitches, and to watch the two grow together and take on each other's better qualities. Uno turns out to be the best coach (both life-coach and pitching-coach) that Danny has ever had. And Danny blossoms under Uno's tutelage. His thoughtful inward personality actually seems to wear off on Uno over the course of the novel. It's just a great relationship to witness...well worth reading Mexican WhiteBoy for.

There are some great moments in this book...from the hustling scenes Uno and Danny participate in, to the parties the close-knit group of teens have, to the quiet moments Uno and Danny share at the train tracks.

There is also a LOT of darkness in this story. To begin with, Danny's father is GONE. Just gone. He doesn't know why, but the truth comes out along the way...and it is a truth that initially crushes Danny. It's his passionate cousin, Sofia, who helps him through the difficulty he experiences with this plot-line. Sofia and Uno, who seems wise beyond his years...and is so much more than the bully we thought he was at the beginning of the story.

I won't get into everything that goes on in this story...because it is so worth picking up. I don't want to spoil any more of the surprises that happen along the way. Just go get this book! You won't regret it. But here's a hint...GIVE IT TIME. If you're anything like me, you'll be quietly reading along and suddenly think, 'heh...this is good. This is real good.' It's the first book that snuck up on me in a long time. It starts out quiet, but the ride picks up until you realize you're absolutely 100% hooked in.

I would happily recommend this book to anyone. Matt de la Peña does an amazing job playing with the reader's expectations. Quiet shifts in his characters become explosions on the page. Once you start reading Mexican WhiteBoy, you will fall in love with these strong characters and delight over the way they play off one another.

SIZE: 5

EXPECTATION: Ha! Even after the first few pages, my expectation wasn't that extreme. And then the shifts began and my love for the story grew and grew. I want to thank Pam from Bookalicious for turning me on to this author. I will be picking up more of his books! It's safe to say my expectations were blown out of the water.

AND Special Message to Arizona, who removed Matt's books from their curriculum: SHUT UP! This is a brilliant relationship book...a great book about friendship. I can't see anything inappropriate with it. It's been called anti-white...just ridiculous. It sounds like another case of book banning by people who didn't bother opening the book and reading it.