This story takes place in Latino neighborhoods in Fresno, as Chuy revisits people and places from his life such as friends and family and the local panaderia (bakery). Soto intersperses rich, Spanish words throughout the text to give the reader a true sense of Chuy’s culture. The use of Spanish words also conveys how the characters relate to one another like in the following quote: “I was thinking of Angel and me, and our past. This was all we had. The past. He was mi carnal (my blood brother), the guy I hung with. I was going to miss him and our crazy ways.” Culture is also represented by foods such as menudo and by mention of the magazine, People in Espanol.
Chuy is a kind soul in life and in death. He tries to save a homeless man who is dying from a fever. He helps Crystal, another teen whose life ended too soon, navigate this new “afterlife”. They each visit their families one last time before vanishing into the afterlife: “My dream had been to grow up, work a regular job, nothing special, hang out with friends, and be with someone special like Crystal. I received a portion of that dream and felt grateful for it. I loved her like no other. She flew at my side, southward toward what, I now knew, is called the afterlife.”
Booklist: “Soto has remade Our Town into Fresno, California, and he not only paints the scenery brilliantly but also captures the pain that follows an early death. In many ways, this is as much a story about a hardscrabble place as it is about a boy who is murdered. Both pulse with life and will stay in memory.”
Publisher’s Weekly: "Soto pens a sort of Lovely Bones for the young adult set, filled with hope and elegance," said PW. "The author counterbalances difficult ideas with moments of genuine tenderness as well as a provocative lesson about the importance of savoring every moment."
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