Mexican Whiteboy by Matt de la Pena

Check out my Mexican Whiteboy Book Trailer


Danny, as the title says, is half-Mexican half-white. Danny's father, whom he loves, is Mexican and his mom is white. Danny's dad has disappeared to Mexico and his mom is left to take care of Danny and his little sister. When Danny's mom announces that he has one of two choices, (either go with her to live with her boyfriend Randy or to go to visit his cousins) he chooses to visit his family.


While living with his cousins, Danny runs into Uno. Uno is a half-black half-Mexican boy. He and Danny have much in common, but there first meeting is filled with conflict. Danny shows Uno up at playing baseball and Uno retaliates. Later, Uno realizes that Danny (and Danny's baseball skills) is his best bet to make the money he needs to go and live with his dad. So, Uno sets out to make things right and make a business deal with Danny. This business deal involves a little shady business, but they both really want to live with their dads. Is it worth the effort or will they get into big trouble?


Mexican Whiteboy covers a range of topics. He discusses the importance of a father-son relationship and how Danny deals with that. Pena also brings up important issues like: multi-culturalism and how that can affect identity, self-mutilation, violence, crime, reality v.s. imagination, the stark reality of sterotypes and rascism. This book reveals a world where everyone views everyone else as the lucky ones and sheds light on the fact that we all can be who we want to be.


Pena has an amazing touch with creating characters and letting you in on their thoughts and personal lives. I have a tie on my favorite characters. Raul and Lolo are best friends but also rivals. They are so much fun when they pick on each other. The way Lolo speaks, with his broken English, makes his statements so much funnier.

For more of my thoughts, check out my Reading Log

Mississippi Trial, 1955 by Chris Crowe

Mississippi Trial, 1955 Book Trailer


Hiram Hillburn, one of the youngest from the stubborn Hillburn family, lived with his grandparents for most of his adolescent years. He would wake up early in the morning to the smell of bacon cooking in the kitchen. He would spend lazy mornings with his grandpa, visiting the fields or fishing on the Yazoo river. Then, while his grandpa would visit with friends, Hiram would buy a 5 cent Coke and visit with a blind, local vendor.


Hiram's grandma passes away in the middle of the night and Hiram's world is turned topsy-turvy. His father and mother come in for the funeral and decide to take Hiram back with them. Though he doesn't want to leave his grandpa, he cannot fight his dad. At least, not out right. The young boy does argue with and pesters his dad for the chance to go back to Mississippi and visit his grandpa. Then, in the summer of 1955, Hiram's grandpa has a stroke and he is sent down to his grandpa get back on his feet.


When young mister Hillburn gets off the train in Greenwood, he meets a black youth from Chicago. Everyone calls this black boy "Bobo," but his real name is Emmett Till. Emmett is not used to the south and thier ways. He is used to being treated as an equal to white men, but in Mississippi he is no better than a common slave. Hiram briefly befriends the black youth and that is where things turn bad.


Some time later Emmett goes missing. He was rumored to have whistled at a white woman and then he was kidnapped. It turns out that he was actually tortured and murdered. His body was fished out of the river. As the news of Emmett's kidnapping and death races across the country, Hiram is faced with a terrible dilemma. He might have information that could help convict one of Emmett's killings. But he must decide whether it is worth turning against his fellow white men and standing up for a black youth. But, in a little town where everyone has secrets, you never know what you might find out.


This book had some good points and some bad points. The story was very good and it discussed some real issues such as: racism, tradition and education. The book is actually based on a true story. It is one of the only historical fiction novels that I have read, and I did enjoy it. However, the writing was basic and flat. It had the potential to be an amazing story, but it fell short on holding my attention. I also didn't like that you didn't know fact from fiction until the very end.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

North America is no longer the thriving nation it once was. Now, there are twelve districts that surround the Capitol. Each district has one city and normally one trade.What the Capitol demands, goes. No questions asked. And the Capitol demands blood.

 District Twelve, where Katniss Everdeen lives,  has the luck of being the coal miners. Katniss, or Kat, hates living there.Why does she hate living there? Her father died during a mining incident. So now, she lives with her mother and little sister.  She also hates living there because everything has a thin covering of black dust. Nothing is ever clean. She doesn't feel at home in the run-down building she calls a house. She feels more comfortable out in the woods past the perimeter fence. In the woods where her father taught her to hunt. In the woods, where most townfolk believe there are evil beasts and monsters, she hunts to feed her family. In the woods, she's free.


Each year the Capitol requires two adolescents, from the ages of 12 to 18 , to be selected at random to participate in what is known as the Hunger Games. In these games, the competitors must fight each other to the death. The winner recieves glory for their district and, more importantly, they win food. The losers get nothing. Kat is thrown into this all-important battle for food and life. With only her hunting skills to help her, she struggles to outlast 23 other competitors; including the other one from her district.


This compelling and fast paced novel will keep you guessing and wanting more. I've read through Hunger Games twice now. I loved it the first time and I was enthralled with it the second time. It will definitely be one of those books that you don't want to put down. Collins does an amazing job with crafting the main female characters, but some of her male characters don't get the same treatment. You don't get a good feel Kat's best friend Gale, but she makes Peeta, the guy that goes to the games with Kat, a little too transparent.


At times, the book can be a little frustrating. It drags on some of the parts that don't really seem necessary, but the action scenes tend to pick up the pace. And, there are lots of action scenes.


This book will capture your heart, run it through the wringer, and leave you wanting to come back.

Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine

Mockingbird Book Trailer

When it comes to Caitlin Smith, most people don't "Get" her. She is a 5th grader with Asperger's Syndrome (the highest functioning form of Autism). She has regular visits with a school counselor and even a second recess time, so that she might be able to "Deal" with her condition. The only person that really understands her, is her older brother Devon. However, Devon died during a school shooting. This... is where the book starts.

Caitlin is left with her grieving father, since her mother had died several years before. Her father can not function after the death of his son. He slams the door to Devon's room shut and tries to pretend that nothing is wrong. But, in his attempt to ignore his son's death, he tends to overlook Caitlin. He was used to Devon taking care of her.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Brook, the school counselor, is working with Caitlin on trying to build relationships. Mrs. Brook is now the only person that addresses Caitlin's aspergers. The counselor believes that Caitlin has the potential to overcome some of the social boundries that stand between her and having a friend. Caitlin, however, is not sure that she really needs someone to talk with. She thinks that the other students are too loud or messy or colorful. In the midst of her search for a friend, Caitlin discovers something that she and her father desperately need. She sets out to find a way to help her father and, ultimately, herself find this elusive thing called: Closure.

Mockingbird is a fascinating book. It brings several, major social issues into the lime-light. First, it discusses Asperger's Syndrome. The story is told from Caitlin's view in a first person format. Normally, I'm not a big fan of first person Point of View (P.O.V.); it's always driven me a little crazy. However, I thought that Erskine did an amazing job at crafting the grammar and language to fit that of a person with Asperger's. It was so insightful as to why people with Asperger's (and other forms of Autism) act in certain ways. Second, it discusses closure and how some people grieve in different ways. There are some people that shut down and there are others that put up a good front, but, in the end, they are all still suffering.

Also, the characters are funny. Several hilarious conversations center around miscommunications, where Caitlin's literal interpretation causes her to miss the point. One of the most interesting characters, besides Caitlin, is Michael. He is one of those amiable characters that you just can't help but like. I want to mention that there are one or two points where I thought that Erskine went a little overboard with the actions that Caitlin describes. They were pivitol to the book, but they might make you wince.