January 23, 2006
When tough talking 14-year-old Marissa least expects it, she feels an attraction to the most unlikely of boys. An unplanned meeting between Marissa and Rene, a player whose only game is chess, causes sparks to fly. Marissa may start out believing that "Dang, the boy's a nerd," but she finds herself attracted to his manners and to this boy "whose bicycle was too big for him and whose eyeglasses were crooked on his cute small face." In somewhat of an abrupt move, she transfers to a magnet school to be closer to him ("far up north where the Sierras peeked through the valley smog"). Marissa and her "muy wimpy" novio learn a thing or two about each other and themselves when he coaxes her to audition with him for a part in Romeo and Juliet
. Their relationship develops slowly and credibly, and Marissa, in the novel's refreshing approach, soon realizes that she'd rather have nerdy Rene for a boyfriend than many of the macho guys she has come across. Soto accurately depicts popularity and stereotypes in high school, while conveying a melting pot of cultures. The teens' struggles shine through with simplicity and authenticity. Soto fluidly incorporates Spanish words into the dialogue (and ends with a glossary). He successfully bridges gender and cultural issues that affect teens, while pinpointing details that portray life in California's Central Valley. Ages 12-up.
September 1, 2013
Gr 6-10-Soto's novel (Harcourt, 2006) tells the story of Marisa, a tough Latina, and her surprising attraction to nerdy Rene, "a lamb with no sins except bad taste in clothes." Opposites in every way, the couple overcome obstacles in their relationship, including his abusive mother and her explosive temper. In the end, their romance brings out the best in each of them. Soto's simple, straightforward writing style, featuring lots of dialogue and teenage slang, is appropriately expressed by Barrie Kreinik's crisp, clear narration. The characters are easily differentiated, with appropriate accents for the Spanish words that naturally occur in conversations. The print version includes a helpful glossary. Listeners will understand the sense of most words by the narrator's tone, although hearing Marisa described as a "chola" won't quite express the ferocity of "gangster" to English-speaking listeners. The search for identity plays out here among stereotypes of checked-out urban youth from the barrio and chess-playing nerds from the magnet school across town Listeners will root for Marisa and Rene to beat the odds and live happily ever after.-"Toby Rajput, National Louis University, Skokie, IL"
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