| Mexican WhiteBoy |
The Novel:
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.
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.
Reviews:
"Danny Lopez is one confused dude: ”He’s Mexican, because his family’s Mexican,
but he’s not really Mexican. His skin is dark like his grandma’s sweet coffee, but
his insides are as pale as the cream she mixes in.”
Danny is 16, a big, gangly kid over 6 feet tall who appears in the mirror as if ”his
shirt is propped up by an upside-down coat hanger.” Most of the time, Danny
wishes ”he could morph into one of the ants zigzagging in and out of tiny crevices
in the street.”Except when he’s on the pitcher’s mound, where Danny has lights-
out stuff.
Danny is the remarkably human creation of young California-bred ”Ball Don’t Lie”
writer Matt de la Pena, ”a half-white boy” himself whose recent novel ”Mexican
White Boy” is the uplifting -- but never corny, sentimental or sappy -- story of a
young man trying to figure out who he is.
It’s also the theme of Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Oscar ”Mambo Kings”
Hijuelos’ autobiographical toe-dip into the young adult literature pool.
”Dark Dude” is the story of 15-year-old Harlem-born Rico, ”the palest Cubano who
ever existed on the planet.” He embarks on a Huck Finnish journey to whitebread
central Wisconsin. Indeed, Twain’s American picaresque classic is a key
touchstone for Rico.
Aside from the weighty fact that their main characters share a kind of cultural and
racial ”head trip,” as Rico, a child of the ’60s, might put it, these two recent young
adult novels enjoy perhaps an even more crucial connection: An important element
in Danny’s and Rico’s tangled psyches is their relationships with their fathers. Rico’
s is there, but not there, a waiter working two jobs who is beaten down by ”the
man.”
A taciturn type with a volatile temper, Danny’s dad has unexpectedly checked out
of his life and is living in his native Mexico in mysterious exile. Or so Danny’s been
told.
Fathers occupy the role of savior in both these novels, but the overriding question
these boys must come to terms with is: Am I worshipping a false idol?
De la Pena’s book is solid, a home run, if that’s not too obvious to say about a book
set against a backdrop of baseball.
It’s emotionally rich, a vivid portrait of a So-Cal barrio and its inhabitants. De la
Pena, a former jock in his 30s, doesn’t talk down and has street cred. The book
opens: ”Dressed in a well-worn Billabong tee, camo cargo shorts and a pair of old-
school slip-on Vans, Danny Lopez follows his favorite cousin, Sofia, as she rolls up
on the cul-de-sac crowd with an OG swagger.”
Hijuelos’ ”Dark Dude” is more problematic. He is in his late 50s and has a more
difficult time portraying a believable teenager -- ”getting into his head” is the
outmoded phrase he might use.
False notes ring out: His characters ”copped a squat” on their barrio stoops,
checking out the ”flyest” girls on the block. But Hijuelos’ novel takes on an
enhanced emotional resonance when Rico runs away from the barrio to Wisconsin
to live in a hippie-type commune. Here, Rico and Hijuelos find solid ground in the
head-high drifts of snow."
--Steve Bennet ©2008/THE NEW YORK TIMES
"Parallel lives intersect as Danny Lopez spends the summer with his Mexican
father's relatives, although he does not really fir in because he's half-white and
does not speak a word of Spanish. Almost immediately, Danny comes into contact
with African American Uno during a baseball mishap. Slowly before readers' eyes,
both boys' worlds develop. Senior, Uno's father, has found religious reformation
and is trying to impart wisdom onto his son, whereas Danny plans tofly farther
south and track down his dad in Mexico.
De la Pena does an excellent job of showing readers the potential his characters
possess and what they will have to pursue in the days ahead. Danny's cousin Sofia
is Uno's romantic interest and she also seems on the cusp of making strong,
positive choices for herself. Readers come to care for both Danny and Uno as they
finally come together through the sport they both love. Everyone in the book faces
mountains of obstacles, and in a fantastic move by the author that is not cloying or
obvious, they also have the temerity to overcome them. De la Pena makes their
world feel real by not shying away from the harsh realities. Readers see
themselves in Danny, Uno and Sofia, whether or not they share their backgrounds.
In the end, they find themselves wanting the characters to succeed." --VOYA
"Readers will sense that there's more to their family stories than Danny and Uno
suspect, and while they wait for the two very different but equally realistic
resolutions to play out, de la Pena keeps the chronicle of a summer's worth of
parties, romances, scheming, and hustles immediate and engrossing." --The
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"De la Pena deftly explores the subject of interracial mixing and the resulting
sometimes confusing questions that are part of the baggage. Noticeable also is a
certain rhythm to de la Pena's writing, a beat having to do with the way his words
fall onto the page, sometimes beyond simple syntactical order. A real treat for both
the eye and the ear." --Multicultural Review
"There's much more going on here than just baseball: some surprising realizations
about fathers, family, and street violence, related in street slang and terrific
dialogue. de la Pena, author of Ball Don't Lie, makes it all feel very real. This is a
winner, just like Danny, in the end." --KLIATT (starred)
"In this first-rate exploration of self-identity, Danny's growth as a baseball pitcher
becomes a metaphor for the conflicts he must overcome due to his biracial
heritage. Dialogue written in a coarse street vernacular and interwoven with
Spanish . . . starts to feel familiar and warm, and their subtle tenderness becomes
more apparent. This book a great pick for reluctant readers." --School Library
Journal
"Boisterous adult characters serve as outstanding foils for Danny and his friends,
especially Senior, Uno's domineering father, who is given to rodomontade. de la
Pena blends sports and street together in a satisfying search for personal
identity." --Kirkus
"This fast-paced baseball story is unique in its gritty realism and honest portrayal
of the complexities of life for inner-city teens, framed in the context of the
emotional confusion of broken homes and bicultural pressures. De la Peña
poignantly conveys the message that, despite obstacles, you must believe in
yourself and shape your own future."
--The Horn Book
"The author juggles his many plotlines well, and the portrayal of Danny’s friends
and neighborhood is rich and lively. Where the story really lights up is in the
baseball scenes, which sizzle like Danny’s fastball. A violent scene, left
somewhat unresolved, is the catalyst for him to confront the truth about his father.
Danny’s struggle to find his place will speak strongly to all teens but especially to
those of mixed race." --Booklist
"Danny Lopez is one confused dude: ”He’s Mexican, because his family’s Mexican,
but he’s not really Mexican. His skin is dark like his grandma’s sweet coffee, but
his insides are as pale as the cream she mixes in.”
Danny is 16, a big, gangly kid over 6 feet tall who appears in the mirror as if ”his
shirt is propped up by an upside-down coat hanger.” Most of the time, Danny
wishes ”he could morph into one of the ants zigzagging in and out of tiny crevices
in the street.”Except when he’s on the pitcher’s mound, where Danny has lights-
out stuff.
Danny is the remarkably human creation of young California-bred ”Ball Don’t Lie”
writer Matt de la Pena, ”a half-white boy” himself whose recent novel ”Mexican
White Boy” is the uplifting -- but never corny, sentimental or sappy -- story of a
young man trying to figure out who he is.
It’s also the theme of Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Oscar ”Mambo Kings”
Hijuelos’ autobiographical toe-dip into the young adult literature pool.
”Dark Dude” is the story of 15-year-old Harlem-born Rico, ”the palest Cubano who
ever existed on the planet.” He embarks on a Huck Finnish journey to whitebread
central Wisconsin. Indeed, Twain’s American picaresque classic is a key
touchstone for Rico.
Aside from the weighty fact that their main characters share a kind of cultural and
racial ”head trip,” as Rico, a child of the ’60s, might put it, these two recent young
adult novels enjoy perhaps an even more crucial connection: An important element
in Danny’s and Rico’s tangled psyches is their relationships with their fathers. Rico’
s is there, but not there, a waiter working two jobs who is beaten down by ”the
man.”
A taciturn type with a volatile temper, Danny’s dad has unexpectedly checked out
of his life and is living in his native Mexico in mysterious exile. Or so Danny’s been
told.
Fathers occupy the role of savior in both these novels, but the overriding question
these boys must come to terms with is: Am I worshipping a false idol?
De la Pena’s book is solid, a home run, if that’s not too obvious to say about a book
set against a backdrop of baseball.
It’s emotionally rich, a vivid portrait of a So-Cal barrio and its inhabitants. De la
Pena, a former jock in his 30s, doesn’t talk down and has street cred. The book
opens: ”Dressed in a well-worn Billabong tee, camo cargo shorts and a pair of old-
school slip-on Vans, Danny Lopez follows his favorite cousin, Sofia, as she rolls up
on the cul-de-sac crowd with an OG swagger.”
Hijuelos’ ”Dark Dude” is more problematic. He is in his late 50s and has a more
difficult time portraying a believable teenager -- ”getting into his head” is the
outmoded phrase he might use.
False notes ring out: His characters ”copped a squat” on their barrio stoops,
checking out the ”flyest” girls on the block. But Hijuelos’ novel takes on an
enhanced emotional resonance when Rico runs away from the barrio to Wisconsin
to live in a hippie-type commune. Here, Rico and Hijuelos find solid ground in the
head-high drifts of snow."
--Steve Bennet ©2008/THE NEW YORK TIMES
"Parallel lives intersect as Danny Lopez spends the summer with his Mexican
father's relatives, although he does not really fir in because he's half-white and
does not speak a word of Spanish. Almost immediately, Danny comes into contact
with African American Uno during a baseball mishap. Slowly before readers' eyes,
both boys' worlds develop. Senior, Uno's father, has found religious reformation
and is trying to impart wisdom onto his son, whereas Danny plans tofly farther
south and track down his dad in Mexico.
De la Pena does an excellent job of showing readers the potential his characters
possess and what they will have to pursue in the days ahead. Danny's cousin Sofia
is Uno's romantic interest and she also seems on the cusp of making strong,
positive choices for herself. Readers come to care for both Danny and Uno as they
finally come together through the sport they both love. Everyone in the book faces
mountains of obstacles, and in a fantastic move by the author that is not cloying or
obvious, they also have the temerity to overcome them. De la Pena makes their
world feel real by not shying away from the harsh realities. Readers see
themselves in Danny, Uno and Sofia, whether or not they share their backgrounds.
In the end, they find themselves wanting the characters to succeed." --VOYA
"Readers will sense that there's more to their family stories than Danny and Uno
suspect, and while they wait for the two very different but equally realistic
resolutions to play out, de la Pena keeps the chronicle of a summer's worth of
parties, romances, scheming, and hustles immediate and engrossing." --The
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"De la Pena deftly explores the subject of interracial mixing and the resulting
sometimes confusing questions that are part of the baggage. Noticeable also is a
certain rhythm to de la Pena's writing, a beat having to do with the way his words
fall onto the page, sometimes beyond simple syntactical order. A real treat for both
the eye and the ear." --Multicultural Review
"There's much more going on here than just baseball: some surprising realizations
about fathers, family, and street violence, related in street slang and terrific
dialogue. de la Pena, author of Ball Don't Lie, makes it all feel very real. This is a
winner, just like Danny, in the end." --KLIATT (starred)
"In this first-rate exploration of self-identity, Danny's growth as a baseball pitcher
becomes a metaphor for the conflicts he must overcome due to his biracial
heritage. Dialogue written in a coarse street vernacular and interwoven with
Spanish . . . starts to feel familiar and warm, and their subtle tenderness becomes
more apparent. This book a great pick for reluctant readers." --School Library
Journal
"Boisterous adult characters serve as outstanding foils for Danny and his friends,
especially Senior, Uno's domineering father, who is given to rodomontade. de la
Pena blends sports and street together in a satisfying search for personal
identity." --Kirkus
"This fast-paced baseball story is unique in its gritty realism and honest portrayal
of the complexities of life for inner-city teens, framed in the context of the
emotional confusion of broken homes and bicultural pressures. De la Peña
poignantly conveys the message that, despite obstacles, you must believe in
yourself and shape your own future."
--The Horn Book
"The author juggles his many plotlines well, and the portrayal of Danny’s friends
and neighborhood is rich and lively. Where the story really lights up is in the
baseball scenes, which sizzle like Danny’s fastball. A violent scene, left
somewhat unresolved, is the catalyst for him to confront the truth about his father.
Danny’s struggle to find his place will speak strongly to all teens but especially to
those of mixed race." --Booklist
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