El loro en el horno, mi vida

Rating:
Summary: Growing up Hispanic in California of the 1960's
Review: This is a semi-autobigraphical story of a poverty-ridden, dysfunctional family that many urban, American-born Hispanic students aged 12-18 years old may well identify with. I taught it to grades 6-8, and students were mesmerized by the poetic language (Mr.Martinez is a published poet), realistic episodes, true-to-life characters, and Jerry Springer-like trauma-drama.These characters may appear trailer-trash types, but the main character Manny, overcomes his emotional restraints bythe end of the novel. He's a strong, young, Hispanic male character, and we need more of these. The similies and metaphors alonemake this book worth reading.