This book has won multiple awards and is well-loved by many. There is really not much I can add to the accolades that are already out there. It is a coming of age story about two sixteen-year old Mexican-American boys living in El Paso, about their struggles of growing up and discovering by bits and pieces of who they are. Dante is an only child of loving parents who seem to be sharing with each other all of their thoughts and feelings. Ari, on the other hand, feels surrounded by family secrets and pain that his parents are unwilling to open up about. His much older brother is in prison and thus erased from the family history. His father is haunted by the horrors of the Vietnam war and never talks about his wartime experiences. Ari himself feels that he does not belong: he has no friends and is not interested in any social interactions with his peers. And then the two boys meet, and the world becomes a much brighter place for both of them...
Without retelling the entire plot, I must say that my favorite thing about this novel is the fact that the parents of both boys play such a huge role in it. I am really tired of reading books where teenagers roam around and tackle difficult questions completely on their own, and parents are totally disengaged, disinterested or simply absent. This book is filled with deep affection and unconditional acceptance on the part of parents of both boys, and I just loved that. It is not only a beautiful story about growing up and falling in love, it is also about the love parents have for their children and by the same token about the way children force their parents to re-examine themselves and strive to be better. A great read. 5 out of 5 stars.
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