Salva, a Mexican-American teenager raised by his adoptive gay father, begins his senior year of high school feeling an unfamiliar, simmering anger. This internal shift coincides with physical altercations at school and the declining health of his beloved grandmother, Mima. Alongside his best friends Sam and Fito, Salva navigates the logistical and emotional realities of grief, family secrets, and cultural heritage in El Paso. He questions whether his biological temperament is overriding his upbringing as he confronts death, identity, and the history of the man who raised him.
Readers drawn to realistic fiction about family dynamics and friendship find a blueprint for articulating difficult emotions here. The narrative serves those interested in the intersections of masculinity, adoption, and Latino identity in contemporary America. Rather than providing easy answers, the text provides a steady look at how people support one another through loss. A reader walks away with a concrete understanding of how biological heritage and chosen family interact to shape an individual’s sense of self during the transition into adulthood.
Inward-looking; an easy read.
Best for readers like The Empathetic Explorer. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2017
- Language
- EN
