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.
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)
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)
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.
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.
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
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