I do enjoy reading books with different settings, so I was glad to see that this adult novel started in inner-city Los Angeles and ended up in Unalakleet, Alaska. Just that journey makes a good story! Cesar is a white boy with a Hispanic name, running with Latino gangs in L.A. His older brother is doing the same, and ends up in prison for life for multiple offenses and murder. Cesar's Alaskan native mom doesn't want the same for her other boy and moves them up to Alaska.
Cesar isn't exactly someone you like, once you find out his past history. But his cousin Go-boy is very likable, even though you know his mental health is iffy. The two cousins form a friendship and lean on each to survive. Cesar's narrative is jumpy--traveling back and forth in time, and I'm not sure my high school readers would put up with the unevenness. I had to keep reading to figure out what happened though. The story held my attention though, even when the writing style did not.
No comments:
Post a Comment