Synopses & Reviews
When Luís's father joins the army shortly after the start of World War II, Luís's entire life changes. His mother decides to return to the dusty New Mexican village where she and her husband grew up. In Los Angeles, Luís had struggled to find a place in his ethnically diverse neighborhood and had been intimidated into ending a close friendship with a Jewish boy. In Las Manos, everyone is Hispanic and Catholic like Luís, but the way of life seems backward and slow. Luís and his mother stay in a cramped bungalow with his dying grandfather and sullen grandmother, and Luís must share a bed with his uncle, a priest. Then, just as Luís begins to feel more comfortable in Las Manos, he learns an settling fact-his family is not Catholic after all. They are Jewish, a secret that has been kept for generations. Angry and confused, Luís realizes he must confront his feelings about family, religion, and friends, and ultimately make his own decision about who he is. Glossary of Spanish words.
Review
While addressing themes of identity, family history, racism, and coming of age, Talbert (Heart of a Jaguar, 1995, etc.) doesn't focus enough on any one issue to give his book power. Attending school and Sunday mass, watching baseball games in the park, and hosing the clay off his father when he comes home from the brick factory are the routines that fill teenaged Lus's life in East Los Angeles. Life changes dramatically, however, when his father joins the fighting ranks of WWII, and Lus's mother receives news that her estranged father is dying. Coping with his father's absence, Lus must also adjust to a new way of life when he moves to his mother's childhood home in small Las Manos, New Mexico. It is hard for Lus to adapt to the simple farm life, but with the help of two uncles, he learns to love its charms. He also uncovers the truth about his family and their hidden Jewish heritage. While Lus grapples with a shifting sense of self, he and his mother return to Los Angeles where even more changes wait. Talbert skillfully draws contrasts between the citywith its sometimes simmering melting potand the more contained Las Manos; his knack for atmosphere, imagery, and characterization save the novel from its hastily developed themes and hurried, surface relationships. (glossary)
Review
"Talbert's language is earthy and immediate, and Luis' triumphant realization of his own maturity results in a resonant conclusion." Horn Book
About the Author
Marc Talbert is a well-known youg adult author who has written ten novels, three of them set in New Mexico. He lives in Tesuque, New Mexico, with his family.