The Inexplicable Logic of my Life by Benjamin Alire Sáenz (Book Review)

Hi all, I haven’t been blogging for a few months – life has a tendency to get mad at times but I haven’t stopped reading books or binging on Netflix so over the next few weeks I hope to get back on track and catch up on some book reviews.

The Inexplicable Logic of my Life is an amazing book written by Benjamin Alire Sáenz who also brought us Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe which I will be blogged about later in the month. This is Book 5 in my 52-weeks, 52-books challenge.

Plot Summary:

Seventeen-year-old Sal (Salvatore) lives in El Paso, Texas, with his adoptive father, a gay Mexican-American art professor named Vicente Silva. Vicente assumed responsibility for Sal after his mother died, when Sal was just three years old. (The connections between Sal’s mother and Vicente don’t become clear until late in the book, when Sal finally opens a letter his dying mother wrote and left in Vicente’s care.) Although Sal is white, the adoption secures his place in the heart of a loving Mexican-American family, which is headed by the matriarch Sal comes to know as Mima. 

As his adoptive grandmother, Mima refers to Sal as her “hijito de mi vida,” and the adoration is mutual. The warmth of the Silva family magnetically pulls in two other teen characters. Sal’s best friend, Sam (Samantha), is locked in raging conflict with her mom. Another friend, Fito, suffers the effects of a drug-addicted mother and an absentee dad. In order to survive, Fito must hold down two after-school jobs. (more here)

Alternative Book Covers from Goodreads

My tuppence:

There is a huge amount going on and Sal’s best friend Samantha keeps him grounded, their constant communications by text keeping them in contact – they sometimes even text each other when they are in the same room. Sal is dealing with homophobia, losing his grandmother, growing up and all the other stuff that adolescents go through and he’s not doing very well. He is throwing punches and questioning everything. When Samantha’s mother dies in a car accident she goes to live with Sal and Vicente and then the edition of Fito to the mix is fantastic and reinforces to Sal how lucky he is to have a loving and supportive family.

The book deals amazingly with the exploration of self and identity and it’s something we all go through. During the story the love of Vicente’s life –Marco - makes a reappearance. Vicente, once gave up on the relationship with a man he loved when that man said he didn’t want to be a stepfather. At first Sal isn’t in favour of Marco’s return as he knows how hurt his father was but it enables Sal to see how lonely his father is. Sal realises that as he will be leaving for college his father shouldn’t be alone and deserves another chance at love. But central to the story is how we deal with loss, how Samantha comes to terms with the loss of her mother – even though their relationship was always rocky and how Sal deals with losing his Mima when she is diagnosed with late stage cancer – their relationship couldn’t be more different than Sam and her mothers.

There are some great quotes in this book (find a selection of them here) and this is my fave:

(source Bongbong book blog)

Whilst slow moving the book is well worth a read, the way Sáenz deals with the topic of loss and grief is brilliant and heart wrenching. It just keeps you turning the pages. However, this slow pacing style will turn people off and in comparison to other young adult novels it is certainly aimed at the more experience reader.

Benjamin Alire Sáenz (born 16 August 1954) is an award-winning American poet, novelist and writer of children's books. You can read more about him here

Here is another great blog review about The Inexplicable Logic of my Life.

The verdict, a great read for either adults or advanced young adult readers, I give this book an 8 out of 10 planets.

John The Captain Ryan