Christopher Moning (Children's Literature)
Trino doesn't have much use for "school types." With a deceased father, a mother who works two jobs, three younger brothers, and a deadbeat cousin to worry about, he doesn't have much use for anything. It's too much to handle for a seventh-grader. When Trino inadvertently becomes the only witness to a brutal beating, he finds himself the target of a group of thugs, who threaten to kill him if he squeals. Running from the thugs, Trino takes refuge in a bookshop where he is befriended by a group of the "school types" he abhors and later, by an enigmatic poet who seems to see right through him. For the first time, Trino understands that he has choices, that it is possible to make decisions that will help him escape a life of crime and poverty. But the right choices are sometimes the hardest to make; it takes a violent tragedy, and the help of a pretty young girl, for Trino to take the first steps to a productive life. 1999, Piñata Books/Arte Publico Press, $9.95. Ages 10 to 14.

Sherry York (VOYA, April 2000 (Vol. 23, No. 1))
After witnessing a beating and robbery, Trino darts into a bookstore to evade boys who are chasing him. There he meets Lisana and her friends, "school types" disdained by Trino and his group. When he returns for a poetry reading and sees Lisana again, Trino begins to make comparisons between the school types and his loser friends. Still menaced by the felonious Rosca, Trino finally stands up to him but continues to vacillate between his old friends and his developing relationship with Lisana. When Rosca invites Trino and his friends to a late-night meeting, Trino must decide whether to take part in a robbery. Because his mom has just lost her job, little brother Beto is sick, and there is no money for medicine or food, Trino goes to the meeting to get some cash but arrives too late. When his friend is killed, Trino decides, "Never again would he let someone like Rosca run his life. Or make him run away from the truth." Realistic characters and settings meld in a story that is meaningful without being didactic. Skillful descriptions of the ratty trailer, school, and bookstore add to the atmosphere. Conversations are genuine without bad language. Bertrand has deftly woven many Latino issues into an age-appropriate book. The only flaw here is cover art that features a boy who does not appear to be Latino. With the scarcity of young adult fiction with Latino characters, thirteen-year-old Trino is a welcome addition in a book that deserves a sequel. VOYA CODES: 4Q 4P M J S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 1999, Piñata/Arté Publico, 128p, $16.95, $9.95 Trade pb. Ages 11 to 18.